Month: July 2022

It comes after organisers announced the contest would not be held in Ukraine, which won this year's event, due to the ongoing war in the country, and would instead be hosted by the UK. Several cities including London, Manchester and Sheffield are already jostling for the honour. Another former winner, Lulu, has pitched for her home town Glasgow. Baker, who was a member of Bucks Fizz when they were victorious in 1981 with their pop hit Making Your Mind Up, told BBC Breakfast: "It needs to go to a city where there's an international airport, where they've got a venue that's big enough, where there are enough hotels, so any one of those would work. "I think it would be nice if it didn't go to London although, for me, I live in Kent, I'm half an ...

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said more than 80% of recorded music was now listened to via streaming, with more than 138 billion streams in the UK last year. MPs had demanded a "complete reset" of the industry, amid "pitiful returns" for artists. They had called for the CMA to look into the power of the major players. Although the primary focus of the report was on consumers, the watchdog found a small number of high-profile artists enjoyed most of the financial success while the majority made no substantial earnings. CMA interim chief executive Sarah Cardell said: "For many artists, it is just as tough as it has always been - and many feel that they are not getting a fair deal." But the report notes streaming has m...

Each of the seven teenagers spoke of a similar experience. An invite, heavy on gravitas, light on detail. A blacked-out taxi pulling up outside their door. A journey to east London and a freshly-finished Olympic Stadium. They had been met by London 2012 officials, who were friendly, but not forthcoming. And then they were left alone. Down a concrete corridor, in a bare room, they talked. Why them? What next? "No-one had an answer," remembers Desiree Henry, who at the time was a 16-year-old sprinting hopeful. "We were all trying to figure out what we all do, asking each others' ages, where we were from, what we did. "We weren't too sure what was going on." Henry recognised another youngster - Adelle Tracey - as a familiar face from the youth athletics scene. The talle...

Sheffield will bid to host the Eurovision song contest in 2023, the city's council has confirmed. Ukraine won Eurovision in 2022 and usually the winning nation hosts the following year, but because of the war with Russia it cannot host the contest. Sheffield City Council said it wanted to host the event "in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people". At least 17 UK cities hope to host the popular music competition instead, including Leeds. Councillor Martin Smith, from Sheffield City Council's economic development and skills committee, said the city was "made for hosting Eurovision". "We also have one of the strongest creative and cultural sectors in the country," he said. 'Music runs through our blood' Sheffield...

The MS Victoria has 739 rooms and will initially house between 1,600 and 1,700 people. About 9,000 refugees have made their way to Scotland since war broke out in Ukraine. But earlier this month the Scottish government had to suspend its super-sponsor scheme due to a shortage of suitable housing. Shona Robison, cabinet secretary for social justice, housing and local government, said the "safety and welfare of displaced people from Ukraine, who are primarily women and children who may have experienced much stress and trauma, is of paramount importance". The vessel has been chartered as part of a £6.7m deal with Bradford-based firm Corporate Travel Management (North). Ms Robison said: "We do not want people spending more time in temporar...

A member of Viktor Orban's inner circle has resigned after the Hungarian prime minister spoke out against becoming a "mixed race". Zsuzsa Hegedus, who has known the nationalist Mr Orban for 20 years, described the speech as a "pure Nazi text", according to Hungarian media. The International Auschwitz Committee of Holocaust survivors called the speech "stupid and dangerous". Mr Orban's spokesman said the media had misrepresented the comments. The speech took place on Saturday in a region of Romania which has a large Hungarian community. In it, Mr Orban said European peoples should be free to mix with one another, but that mixing with non-Europeans created a "mixed-race world". "We are willing to mix with one another, but we d...