Business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, defends PM over gifts he has received since becoming Labour leader
Keir Starmer’s attendance at Arsenal football matches and Taylor Swift concerts is “part of the job”, the business secretary has said.
Jonathan Reynolds described the occasions for which Starmer had accepted tickets, including a Coldplay gig and football matches, as “major cultural, sporting events”.
Continue reading...Second judge refuses bail to music mogul, 54, citing possibility that he could tamper with witnesses
Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will have to await trial on sex-trafficking and racketeering charges in a Brooklyn jail instead of his luxurious Miami Beach mansion after a second judge refused to grant a $50m bail package offered by his lawyers.
On Wednesday, US district judge Andrew L Carter Jr denied Combs’s request to be released to home detention with GPS monitoring, pointing to the possibility that Combs may tamper with witnesses.
Continue reading...Trafalgar Square piece by Mexican artist Teresa Margolles is made of masks depicting faces of transgender and non-binary people
A towering cuboid made of more than 300 masks depicting the faces of transgender and non-binary people, this year’s fourth plinth artwork, has been described as a piece designed to “unite the trans community around the world”.
The Mexican artist Teresa Margolles was flanked by members of her country’s trans community as Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant) was unwrapped in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Upmarket Kreuzberg club blames economic pressures, a pandemic hangover and Berlin’s dated image as factors leading to end of 22-year party
Berlin’s Watergate nightclub, one of the institutions of the German capital’s nightlife, is to close down after 22 years, with its owners saying the night-time economy still hasn’t recovered after the pandemic.
In a statement, the club’s management said it had made the “difficult decision” not to extend its lease and close its premises after a New Year’s Eve party at the end of the year.
Continue reading...The South African author’s work was described as ‘an impressive achievement’ by chair of judges Chika Unigwe
South African writer Nadia Davids has won this year’s Caine prize for African writing for her short story Bridling, described as a “triumph of language” by the chair of judges.
The prize, worth £10,000, is awarded annually to a short story by an African writer. Bridling, originally published in The Georgia Review in 2023, is told from the point of view of a female actor performing with other women in a show staging artworks by men that depict women. The story will be published in the Caine prize anthology, Midnight in the Morgue and Other Stories, to be published by Cassava Republic Press in the UK.
Continue reading...Oscar-winning actor will perform the lead role in Anne Carson’s adaptation of Sophocles’ play in London and Brighton next year
Oscar winner Brie Larson is to appear on stage in Brighton and London, making her West End debut, in Elektra.
Larson will play the anguished lead character in the revenge tragedy, adapted by poet Anne Carson and directed by Daniel Fish. It is the first major London staging of Sophocles’ play since Kristin Scott Thomas took the role in Frank McGuinness’s adaptation at the Old Vic in 2014.
Continue reading...Regulator says dynamic pricing is legal if consumers are not misled as fans considering giving the Saviors tour a miss
Tickets to Green Day’s Saviors tour in Australia were as high as $500 in the initial presale after Ticketmaster revealed dynamic pricing was in effect for the rock band’s upcoming shows.
The first presale for the March 2025 leg of the tour went on sale Monday for three locations – the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne. The cheapest general admission tickets were capped at $200 plus booking fee, but those wanting seated tickets were informed at purchase point that the price was as high as $500 due to what Ticketmaster calls “In Demand” pricing.
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Continue reading...Flow of foreign artists to China has slowed to a trickle, but economic pressures could be forcing authorities to rethink
When Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, took to the stage in Haikou on Sunday, his Chinese fans could barely believe it. One of the biggest and most controversial foreign acts in the world had been allowed in by China’s notoriously censorious regime.
Ye’s only China show – all the more surprising for skipping big cities in lieu of the holiday island of Hainan – was announced just days earlier, and more than 42,000 tickets sold out within minutes. It was his first time back in the country for 16 years. In that time the Chinese government’s tolerance for western musicians has diminished, while Ye’s reputation for controversy has grown.
Continue reading...The third of nine Jackson children and last to release a solo project, Tito was ‘incredible man who cared about everyone’
Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the pop group the Jackson 5, has died at the age of 70.
Tito was the third of nine Jackson children, including global superstars Michael and sister Janet.
Continue reading...Rapid assembly of structure for 1851 Great Exhibition in London was possible thanks to nut-and-bolt revolution
It was built at unprecedented speed to exhibit the British empire’s greatest treasures and manufacturing achievements to the world. Now, the mystery of how the Victorians managed to erect the Crystal Palace so quickly in 1851 has finally been solved.
Experts have discovered that the answer to this 173-year-old riddle lies in the first known use of standardised nuts and bolts in construction – a humble engineering innovation that would power the British empire and revolutionise the industrial world.
Continue reading...Period epic is first non-English language series to win for best drama as Netflix’s controversial breakout hit takes home four awards
Shōgun has made Emmys history as the first ever non-English language series to win for best drama.
The historical epic, based on the 1975 novel, picked up four awards during the evening, including Emmys for lead stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, the first Japanese actors to win their respective awards.
Continue reading...Film producer’s former assistant says decision calls into question CPS’s ability to deal with rape and sexual assault cases
Women who were key to exposing the disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein have told of their frustration at the decision by UK prosecutors to discontinue two indecent assault charges against him.
Zelda Perkins, a former personal assistant to Weinstein who broke a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to help expose him as a rapist, said the decision called into question the justice system’s attitude towards sexual assault and rape.
Continue reading...Figure of woman on her back underwater draws inspiration from Hamlet’s Ophelia and death of senior Tudor judge
Almost 500 years ago, a wealthy and well-connected judge named Sir James Hales walked into the River Stour near Canterbury in order to take his own life. Hales had risen to favour under King Henry VIII but had refused to convert to Catholicism under the repressive regime of his daughter Mary, and had been imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Struggling with his mental health after his release in 1554, he drowned himself. But as suicide was a crime at the time, his widow was denied the right to inherit his property and so took the matter to law, in a case that became so famous in the 16th century that it inspired Shakespeare’s portrayal of the suicide by drowning of Hamlet’s Ophelia.
Continue reading...Football club announces cancellation or rescheduling of gigs at refurbished Santiago Bernabéu stadium
Real Madrid has cancelled or rescheduled all concerts at its Santiago Bernabéu stadium and is working to comply with council noise regulations after local people complained that a series of loud, late gigs had turned the arena into a “torture-drome”.
Although best known as the home of one of Spain’s greatest football teams, the Bernabéu – which has just undergone a five-year, €900m (£760m) refurbishment – has hosted a string of high-profile concerts over the spring and summer. Recent headliners have included Taylor Swift, Luis Miguel and the Colombian star Karol G.
Continue reading...High court told ‘culture-jammed’ apology for high-profile corruption scandal ‘did not qualify as parody’
Iceland’s biggest fishing company is suing an art student at London’s high court for spoofing its website and issuing a fake public apology over a high profile corruption scandal.
The costly lawsuit, which will be heard this month, is feared by the student’s supporters to have a potentially chilling effect on artists engaging critically with large corporations, while also raising questions about the UK’s status as the go-to litigation jurisdiction for powerful businesses.
Continue reading...Sierra Leone-born DePrince, who moved to US as a child, danced with Boston Ballet and performed with Beyoncé
Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a trailblazer and inspiration to many in the ballet world, has died at 29, a spokesperson announced on her Instagram page on Friday. No cause of death has yet been reported.
“Her life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength,” the caption said. “Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts, and her courage in overcoming unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us. She stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can rise from the darkest of places.”
Continue reading...Controversies over AI-generated material spurred release of guidelines addressing transparency and historical accuracy
Over a year after the dual Hollywood strikes put a spotlight on the industry’s adoption of AI, film-makers have often found themselves at a crossroads – how to use generative AI ethically, if at all? Where to draw the line on synthetic material? Documentary film-makers, in particular, have faced mounting concerns over “fake archival” materials such as AI-generated voices, photos or video.
As Hollywood continues to adopt artificial intelligence in production, a group of documentary producers have published a groundbreaking set of ethical guidelines to help producers, film-makers, studios, broadcasters and streamers address questions over use of the technology.
Continue reading...Eugene and Dan Levy set to host this weekend’s big TV awards where historical drama series and controversial Netflix miniseries are predicted to be big winners
Big-budget epic Shōgun is set to become a historic winner at this weekend’s Emmy awards, a ceremony that itself is also making history.
It’s the second Emmys in the same year, an unprecedented and expensive challenge for the industry, a traffic jam insisted by last year’s dual strikes which led to a postponement.
Continue reading...West Yorkshire city to host magic, music, film and theatre performances celebrating local talent, plus Turner prize
A city centre magic show, the Brontës as you’ve never seen them before, and a bassline house symphony are all part of Bradford’s City of Culture lineup, which its organisers call a celebration of everything that makes the West Yorkshire city great.
Shanaz Gulzar, the creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said the whole of the country was invited to come next year to a place she billed as young, diverse, creative and “the heart of the UK”.
Continue reading...From crummy pubs to a ‘cheeky Tesco run’, some of the most mundane aspects of British life are going viral
Think of British cultural exports in the 21st century and you might reach for the familiar examples: James Bond, Downton Abbey, Adele.
But in the algorithm-driven universe of TikTok where a trend known as “Britishcore” is one of the most in demand movements of the moment, it’s the mundane aspects of life in the UK which are going viral.
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