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Funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival crowned

<p>The funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been crowned, with the top ten hilarious quips also receiving honourable mentions. </p> <p>Thousands of performers flock to Scotland's capital each year to entertain and delight crowds at the Fringe in all areas of the arts, including live comedy. </p> <p>For the last 15 years, British entertainment channel U&Dave, owned by British broadcaster UKTV, has handed out the "Funniest Joke of the Fringe Award" by popular vote. </p> <p>Despite coming up against fierce competition, comedian Mark Simmons won with his joke, "I was going to sail around the globe in the world's smallest ship but I bottled it."</p> <p>A panel that included leading UK comedy critics and comedians attended hundreds of shows across the festival and submitted their 10 top jokes, before a shortlist of gags were anonymised was presented to 2,000 members of the British public to vote on the one that evoked the most laughter.</p> <p>Upon winning the prestigious award, Simmons, who was at the Fringe celebrating his 10 year anniversary as a stand-up comedian, said, "I'm really chuffed to win U&Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe. I needed some good news as I was just fired from my job marking exam papers, can't understand it, I always gave 110%."</p> <p>Check out the list of the top ten jokes from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as voted by the public below. </p> <p>1. "I was going to sail around the globe in the world's smallest ship but I bottled it." Mark Simmons</p> <p>2. "I've been taking salsa lessons for months, but I just don't feel like I'm progressing. It's just one step forward… two steps back." Alec Snook</p> <p>3. "Ate horse at a restaurant once - wasn't great. Starter was all right but the mane was dreadful." Alex Kitson</p> <p>4. "I sailed through my driving test. That's why I failed it." Arthur Smith</p> <p>5. "I love the Olympics. My friend and I invented a new type of relay baton: well, he came up with the idea, I ran with it." Mark Simmons</p> <p>6. "My dad used to say to me 'Pints, gallons, liters' – which, I think, speaks volumes." Olaf Falafel</p> <p>7. "British etiquette is confusing. Why is it highbrow to look at boobs in an art gallery but lowbrow when I get them out in Spoons?" Chelsea Birkby</p> <p>8. "I wanted to know which came first the chicken or the egg so I bought a chicken and then I bought an egg and I think I've cracked it." Masai Graham</p> <p>9. "My partner told me that she'd never seen the film Gaslight. I told her that she definitely had." Zoë Coombs Marr</p> <p>10. "The conspiracy theory about the moon being made of cheese was started by the hallouminati." Olaf Falafel</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

International Travel

How to protect yourself from cyber-scammers over the festive period

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachael-medhurst-1408437">Rachael Medhurst</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a></em></p> <p>The festive season is a time for joy, family and festive cheer. However, it’s also a prime target for cybercriminals. As online shopping ramps up, so does the risk of falling prey to cyber-attacks. That’s why it’s crucial to be extra vigilant about your <a href="https://blog.tctg.co.uk/12-cyber-security-tips-of-christmas">cybersecurity</a> during this time.</p> <p>Here are some essential tips to safeguard yourself and your data during the festive period:</p> <h2>Phishing</h2> <p>Phishing is when criminals use scam emails, text messages or phone calls to trick their victims. Their <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams">goal</a> is often to make you visit a certain website, which may download a virus on to your computer, or steal bank details or other personal data.</p> <p>This type of scam tends to <a href="https://www.egress.com/blog/phishing/holiday-phishing-scam-guide">increase</a> at this time due to the amount of people having bought or received new gadgets and technology.</p> <p>Look out for there being no direct reference to your name in any communications, with wording such as “Dear Sir/Madam” or other terms such as “valued customer” being used instead. Grammar and spelling mistakes are also often present.</p> <p>Be wary of any suspicious links or attachments within emails too, and don’t click them. It’s better to contact the company directly to check if the message is genuine. You can also <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams">report</a> suspicious messages and phishing scams to the government’s National Cyber Security Centre.</p> <h2>Shopping safely online</h2> <p>The convenience of online shopping is undeniable, especially during the festive season. However, it’s crucial to prioritise your security when buying online.</p> <p>Before entering your personal and financial information on any website, ensure it’s legitimate and secure. Look for the “https” in the address bar and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-vast-majority-of-us-have-no-idea-what-the-padlock-icon-on-our-internet-browser-is-and-its-putting-us-at-risk-216581">padlock</a> icon, which indicates a secure and encrypted connection.</p> <p>When creating passwords for online shopping accounts, use strong, unique combinations of letters, numbers and symbols. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts, as a breach on one site could compromise all your others.</p> <p>As with shopping in the real world, be cautious when encountering offers that are significantly below usual prices or which make extravagant promises. Always conduct thorough research on the seller and product before making a purchase. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.</p> <p>And if you are out shopping in towns or city centres, there will often be a large number of public wifi options available to you. However, criminals can intercept the data that is transferred across such open and unsecured wifi. So, avoid using public wifi where possible, especially when conducting any financial transactions.</p> <h2>Social media</h2> <p>While social media platforms provide people with a means to keep in touch with family and friends over the festive period, they are often a goldmine for <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-social-media-scam-aMtwF3u1XKGt">scams</a> and malware (software designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorised access to a computer). In the spirit of the festive season, people often share an abundance of personal information on social media, often without considering the potential consequences.</p> <p>This trove of data can make people vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Scammers can exploit this information to gain unauthorised access to social media accounts, steal personal information, or even commit identity theft. To protect yourself, be mindful of what you share.</p> <p>Be wary when interacting with posts and direct messages, especially if they contain suspicious links or attachments. Before clicking on anything, hover over the link to verify its destination. If it shows a website you don’t recognise or seems unrelated to the message, do not click on it. If you receive a message from someone you know but the content seems strange or out of character, contact them directly through a trusted channel to verify its authenticity.</p> <p>Likewise, be wary of messages containing urgent requests for money or personal information from businesses. Genuine organisations will never solicit sensitive details through social media.</p> <p>There are many buy and sell platforms available on social media. But while such platforms can be a great place to find a unique gift, it is also important to remember that not all sellers may be legitimate. So, it’s vital that you don’t share your bank details. If the seller sends a link to purchase the item, do not use it. When meeting to collect an item, it’s generally safer to use cash rather than transferring funds electronically.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aO858HyFbKI?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Advice for staying safe online.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Package delivery scams</h2> <p>As well as being a time for giving and receiving gifts, the festive season is also ripe for cybercriminals to exploit the excitement surrounding <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/media/press-releases/scams-linked-to-parcel-deliveries-come-top-in-2023/">package deliveries</a>.</p> <p>Scammers often pose as legitimate delivery companies, sending emails or text messages claiming that a delivery attempt was unsuccessful or requiring additional fees for processing, or even customs clearance. Typically, these messages contain links or phone numbers that, when clicked or called, lead to fake websites or automated phone systems designed to collect personal information or payments.</p> <p>To protect yourself, always verify the legitimacy of any delivery notifications you receive. Check the sender’s email address or phone number against the official contact information for the delivery company. If the information doesn’t match or seems suspicious, don’t click any links or provide personal details.</p> <p>Legitimate delivery companies will never ask for upfront payment or sensitive information through unsolicited messages or calls.</p> <p>Remember, cybercriminals are skilled at manipulating the festive spirit to their advantage. Stay vigilant, exercise caution, and don’t let your excitement for gifts and deliveries compromise your cybersecurity.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218294/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachael-medhurst-1408437"><em>Rachael Medhurst</em></a><em>, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security NCSA, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-cyber-scammers-over-the-festive-period-218294">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

4 tips to help your loved one with dementia enjoy the festive season

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nikki-anne-wilson-342631">Nikki-Anne Wilson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>The festive season is fast approaching, and if you’re organising celebrations with family or friends, you might be grappling with a seemingly endless to-do list. But as you make these plans, it’s important to consider how you can best include any friends or loved ones living with dementia.</p> <p>While no two people experience dementia in the exact same way, <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/about-dementia/what-is-dementia">dementia</a> often affects the way people process and respond to their environment. Too much stimulation – like a lot of noise and activity at a Christmas party – can be overwhelming and may cause confusion or agitation.</p> <p>Finding ways to create a <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/creating-a-calming-home-for-people-with-dementia#:%7E:text=The%20physical%20environment%20is%20important,in%20and%20enjoy%20everyday%20activities.">safe environment</a> at home for your loved one with dementia will help maximise the chances everyone has a good time.</p> <h2>1. Plan ahead, but be flexible</h2> <p>Planning celebrations can be overwhelming for everyone involved, and having excessive expectations can raise stress levels. Try to keep <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/information/about-you/i-am-a-carer-family-member-or-friend">expectations realistic</a> and in line with the current needs of your friend or loved one living with dementia.</p> <p>For example, people with dementia may experience <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/information/about-you/i-am-a-carer-family-member-or-friend/personal-care/eating">changes in their appetite</a> or food preferences, or difficulties chewing and swallowing. These changes might make some of the things on your festive menu unappetising or difficult to eat. Be guided by the needs and preferences of the person with dementia and keep options limited to one or two special foods if larger banquets are likely to be overwhelming.</p> <p>Things can change quickly for people living with dementia and their abilities will likely <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/about-dementia/what-is-dementia/progression-of-dementia#:%7E:text=A%20person%20with%20dementia's%20abilities,over%20a%20number%20of%20years.">vary from day to day</a>. Try to be flexible and have a backup plan in place. For special events, plan to record speeches or ceremonies to share when things are quieter.</p> <p>If you’re planning a large event, consider having a smaller gathering with your loved one with dementia and just a few special people.</p> <h2>2. Stick to the familiar</h2> <p>The sudden appearance of lots of decorations <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/sites/default/files/helpsheets/Helpsheet-TipsToAssistSocialEngagement03-TipsForHolidayCheer_english.pdf">may be overwhelming</a> for a person with dementia and trigger a negative sensory reaction or distress. Ensure decorations are safe and familiar and put them up slowly over a period of a few days.</p> <p>Try to also stick to familiar traditions and routines. <a href="https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/daily-care/daily-care-plan">Daily routines</a> are an important way of supporting people with dementia and sudden changes <a href="https://memory.ucsf.edu/caregiving-support/behavior-personality-changes#I-Investigate-Possible-Causes">may result in agitation and distress</a>. Stick to routine eating, bathing, and rest times where possible throughout the holiday period.</p> <p>For many people with dementia, long-term memories are less affected than <a href="https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/symptoms/memory-loss">more recent memories</a>. Familiar family traditions can therefore be a good way to <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/national/support-and-services/carers/therapies-and-communication-approaches">reminisce</a>. Family keepsakes or <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/sites/default/files/20110303-NSW-LifeHistoryBook.pdf">memory books</a> can also help connect with stories from past celebrations.</p> <h2>3. Have a quiet space</h2> <p>Try to have <a href="https://www.scie.org.uk/dementia/supporting-people-with-dementia/dementia-friendly-environments/noise.asp">a quiet place</a> where the person living with dementia can go if things become overwhelming. Designating a support person who can stay with them throughout the day and take them to a separate room or area away from the action can help to keep things calm.</p> <p>Having some familiar objects or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5432607/#:%7E:text=Passive%20music%20listening%20is%20reported,et%20al.%2C%202013">quiet music</a> in the space can be a good way to block out the noise of activities and reduce agitation.</p> <h2>4. Make sure everyone has a part</h2> <p>Everyone wants to feel a part of the activities on a special day, including people living with dementia. Ensuring everyone has a role to play may mean modifying tasks to suit the abilities of the person with dementia.</p> <p>For example, if you’re hosting an event at home, try to get your friend or relative with dementia involved in the kitchen by tossing the salad or helping to set the table.</p> <p>People with dementia are still the same person, even if their abilities have changed or they can no longer communicate their needs and feelings like they used to. It’s important to treat everyone with dignity and try to include your friends and loved ones with dementia in celebrations whenever possible.</p> <h2>Sometimes, you can’t be together</h2> <p>Despite the best laid plans, sometimes it won’t be possible to share in festive celebrations with your loved one living with dementia. More advanced dementia, <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/racf-latest-advice.aspx">aged care visitor restrictions</a> or even just distance can keep many of us apart from our loved ones.</p> <p>Be prepared for this separation to bring up your own feelings of <a href="https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/caregiver-health/grief-loss-as-alzheimers-progresses">grief or sadness</a>. Look after your mental health as well as the person with dementia.</p> <p>Caring responsibilities still largely <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource/download/national-strategy-gender-equality-discussion-paper_0.pdf">fall to women</a> and it’s important to share the load. Where possible, the holidays can be a good time to think about giving primary carers a break to help them recharge for the year ahead.</p> <p>If you’re caring for someone with dementia and need support, <a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/support">Dementia Australia</a> or <a href="https://www.carergateway.gov.au/about?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_campaign=10841470526&utm_adgroup=146956908840&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAjw9-6oBhBaEiwAHv1QvI1uJVJRppcDJtdgYNTDeObUk1tyrNUtLGBqpp3ytjb_khYkGExICBoC_5EQAvD_BwE">Carer Gateway</a> offer useful resources.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214944/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nikki-anne-wilson-342631"><em>Nikki-Anne Wilson</em></a><em>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-tips-to-help-your-loved-one-with-dementia-enjoy-the-festive-season-214944">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

Mariah Carey slapped with multi-million dollar lawsuit over hit festive song

<p dir="ltr">Mariah Carey is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit over her hit festive song, as another musician has come forward claiming she plagiarised an original work.</p> <p dir="ltr">Carey’s song <em>All I Want For Christmas Is You</em> has long been a staple of December, and has sold over 10 million copies since its 1994 release. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, Andy Stone, lead vocalist of Vince Vance and the Valiants, claims Carey infringed on his copyright. </p> <p dir="ltr">Stone co-wrote a song, which has the same title as Carey’s smash hit, in 1989 to which he claims Carey and her team of copying his song’s “compositional structure,” according to the complaint obtained by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/mariah-carey-facing-20-million-lawsuit-over-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News Digital</a>.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w8HWHd0EYJA?si=IdW0GIKXEQBJqaO_" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">The court documents state that Carey “directly” copied lyrics from Stone’s 1989 hit and “approximately 50 per cent” of the song is copyright infringement.</p> <p dir="ltr">Stone went on to claim that Carey and her team “undoubtedly” had access to his version of <em>All I Want For Christmas is You</em> due to its “wide commercial and cultural success.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Stone’s track charted on Billboard for years, with the band even performing the track at the White House in 1994 - the same year Carey’s festive song was released. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Carey has capitalised on the success of her infringing work,” Stone’s complaint alleged. </p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yXQViqx6GMY?si=Exrq9M0AA2u5XRpB" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">“<em>All I Want For Christmas is You</em> has become a ubiquitous part of popular culture, and Carey’s name has become synonymous with the season.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Stone first sued Carey over the copyright issue in June 2022 in a Louisiana court before dropping the claim five months later. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

"A true legend": Jane Fonda pegs award at director's head

<p>Film icon Jane Fonda is known to entertain the masses, and her cheeky antics at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival saw her do just that.</p> <p>While hosting Palme d’Or Awards on May 27, Fonda, 85, called up director Justine Triet who had won the award for <em>Anatomy of the Fall</em>, but it was Fonda’s deliverance of said award that had viewers in stitches.</p> <p>The 85-year-old tried to get Triet's attention, but after multiple attempts of calling out to her, Fonda decided to throw the scroll at the director’s back.</p> <p>When the scroll hit Triet on the back of the head and fell to the floor, she didn’t appear to notice.</p> <p><em>The Book Club</em> star’s unconventional passing of the award sent Twitter users into a frenzy, with many praising her, calling her a “queen” with an “excellent shot.”</p> <p>"A true legend." one person wrote.</p> <p>"This just made my day! 😂😂😂" another said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">favorite cannes moment is officially jane fonda throwing the palme d'or certificate at justine triet because she forgot to take it <a href="https://t.co/6tv8TEj8zw">pic.twitter.com/6tv8TEj8zw</a></p> <p>— flo ¨̮ (@astralbarnes) <a href="https://twitter.com/astralbarnes/status/1662568221931601920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>Fonda hit the red carpet dazzled in black sequins. Her black gown was faired with a chain necklace and matching earrings.</p> <p>The beloved actress has been documenting her Cannes weekend via Instagram, sharing photos of herself with Hollywood greats Eva Longoria and Kate Winslet, as well as a snippet of her accommodation.</p> <p>Fonda’s attendance comes five months into her remission after <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/jane-fonda-reassures-fans-after-cancer-diagnosis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing her non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis</a> in September 2022.</p> <p>She revealed the happy news on her Instagram, titling it "BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!"</p> <p>”Last week I was told by my oncologist that my cancer is in remission and I can discontinue chemo," she wrote. "I am feeling so blessed, so fortunate."</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Tragic end for pensioner struck by royal motorcade

<p dir="ltr">Helen Holland, the 81-year-old woman who was struck by a police motorcade escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh, has died. </p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/elderly-woman-hospitalised-by-royal-motorcycle-escort">Helen was hit on May 10 at the junction of West Cromwell Road and Warwick Road in west London’s Earl’s Court</a>, and was taken to hospital after receiving treatment from paramedics at the scene.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her family confirmed the news of her passing, telling the<em> BBC </em>that while she had fought "for her life for nearly two weeks”, tragically “irreversible damage to her brain finally ended the battle”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Helen had suffered “multiple broken bones and massive internal injuries” in the crash, despite using the “safe route of [a] pedestrian crossing”, according to her son, Martin Holland. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the wake of the devastating incident, her family had announced that Helen was in a coma, with the police later revealing that she remained in a critical condition. </p> <p dir="ltr">In a statement reportedly shared with <em>Sky News</em>, the family had described Helen as a "beautiful, loving, kind, and caring lady who would always put anyone before herself.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The family are deeply saddened and shocked at the news Helen was involved in such a tragic accident.”</p> <p dir="ltr">They went on to share that while she had been 81 years old, she was “sprightly for her age and nothing stopped her living life to the full, spending precious time with her family, muddy walks with the dogs and lunches with friends is what she enjoyed most”, before asking that everyone keep her in their thoughts and prayers. </p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace had announced that Sophie - the Duchess of Edinburgh - had offered her “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” to “the injured lady and her family”, and that she was “grateful for the swift response of emergency services and will keep abreast of developments".</p> <p dir="ltr">An investigation was launched by The Independent Office for Police Conduct soon after the event, and it remains ongoing, with the police watchdog assuring Helen’s family that they would keep them “regularly updated as the investigation progresses".</p> <p dir="ltr">That investigation involved examining footage from neary CCTV as well as footage from police body cameras. Additionally, officers who were present at the scene were to be interviewed, while the organisation sought other witnesses to come forward with any more information they might have.</p> <p dir="ltr">While the family waits for answers, they are also coming to terms with their difficult loss, with Helen’s grandson - Joe Strutter Holland - sharing on Facebook, “rest in peace Nanny (Helen) Holland. One of the kindest and most joyful souls you'll ever of had the pleasure of meeting. Taken before her time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He went on to note that he was glad his grandmother and his son had gotten the chance to meet, writing 'I'll ensure he knows who you are, till we meet again”. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Facebook, Getty</em></p>

Caring

All grown up! Catherine Zeta-Jones' daughter makes Cannes debut

<p dir="ltr">Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas’ daughter, Carys Zeta-Jones, has made her debut at the Cannes Film Festival.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 20-year-old, who appeared alongside her parents, attended the screening for <em>Jeanne du Barry</em> on Tuesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Carys stunned in a semi-sheer white gown with intricate floral detailing. She completed the look with a pair of statement diamond earrings and had her hair up in an elegant bun.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her mother, Catherine, looked glamorous in a flowy red gown with a plunging neckline which she paired with a matching dark red lip.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her father, Michael, who was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or award during the evening, looked dapper in a suit and stood centre frame as they made their glamorous entrance.</p> <p dir="ltr">The festival will also screen a previously-unreleased documentary about Michael’s life, called<em> Michael Douglas: The Prodigal Son</em>, as part of a tribute to his lengthy career.</p> <p dir="ltr">Carys’ appearance in the Cannes Film Festival feels like a full circle moment as it is where her parents met in 1998.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair ended up getting married just two years later and have been considered as one of the power couples in the industry since.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Elderly woman hospitalised by royal motorcycle escort

<p dir="ltr">A pensioner in her 80s is in critical condition after a collision with a police motorcycle that was escorting Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.</p> <p dir="ltr">The rolling motorcade, manned by motorcycle outriders, was escorting the Duchess when the collision happened.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Duchess was being escorted by the Met Police‘s Special Escort Group, who provide armed escorts for Royal Family members, VIPs, protected members of the Government, visiting royals, heads of state and other visiting dignitaries.</p> <p dir="ltr">Met Police released a <a href="https://news.met.police.uk/news/woman-injured-following-collision-with-police-motorcycle-in-west-london-466651#:~:text=A%20woman%20has%20been%20injured,Road%2C%20Earls%20Court%2C%20SW5." target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that said: “A woman has been injured after being involved in a collision with a police motorcycle in west London.</p> <p dir="ltr">“At approximately 15:21hrs on Wednesday, 10 May a police motorcycle on escort duties was involved in a collision with a member of the public on West Cromwell Road, Earls Court, SW5.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance attended and a woman, aged in her 80s, was taken to hospital.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She remains there in a critical condition. Her family have been informed”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Road closures were in place and two bikes – one with King Charles‘ cypher – were seen inside the cordon after the collision happened.</p> <p dir="ltr">A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace has said: “The Duchess’s heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She is grateful for the swift response by the emergency services and will keep abreast of developments.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

News

What’s behind the magic of live music?

<p>For months, fans were relegated to watching their favorite singers and musicians over Zoom or via webcasts. Now, live shows – from <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/lollapalooza-2021-vaccine-requirement-saturday/10922695/">festivals like Lollapalooza</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/14/theater/broadway-reopening-shows-nyc">Broadway musicals</a> – are officially back.</p> <p>The songs that beamed into living rooms during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic may have featured an artist’s hits. But there’s just <a href="https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/emotional-and-surreal-fans-return-to-live-music-in-ireland-40525205.html">something magical</a> about seeing music surrounded by other people. Some fans reported being so moved by their first live shows in nearly two years that <a href="https://twitter.com/CaitlinSchiffer/status/1437988855676817411?s=20">they wept with joy</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://music.columbia.edu/bios/mariusz-kozak">As a music theorist</a>, I’ve spent my career trying to figure out just what that “magic” is. And part of understanding this requires thinking about music as more than simply sounds washing over a listener.</p> <h2>Music as more than communication</h2> <p>Music is often thought of as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00052">twin sister to language</a>. Whereas words tend to convey ideas and knowledge, music transmits emotions.</p> <p>According to this view, performers broadcast their messages – the music – to their audience. Listeners decode the messages on the basis of their own listening habits, and that’s how they interpret the emotions the performers hope to communicate. </p> <p>But if all music did was communicate emotions, watching an online concert should’ve been no different than going to a live show. After all, in both cases, listeners heard the same melodies, the same harmonies and the same rhythms.</p> <p>So what couldn’t be experienced through a computer screen?</p> <p>The short answer is that music does far more than communicate. When witnessed in person, with other people, it can create powerful <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/music-as-a-coevolved-system-for-social-bonding/F1ACB3586FD3DD5965E56021F506BC4F/share/467b545a472056b57236dd84e46e9495712b2a6e">physical and emotional bonds</a>.</p> <h2>A ‘mutual tuning-in’</h2> <p>Without physical interactions, our well-being suffers. We fail to achieve what the philosopher Alfred Schütz called a “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40969255">mutual tuning-in</a>,” or what the pianist and Harvard professor Vijay Iyer more recently described as “<a href="https://www.ojaifestival.org/2017-ojai-music-festival-program-notes/">being together in time</a>.” </p> <p>In my book “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/enacting-musical-time-9780190080204?cc=us&lang=en&">Enacting Musical Time</a>,” I note that time has a certain feel and texture that goes beyond the mere fact of its passage. It can move faster or slower, of course. But it can also thrum with emotion: There are times that are somber, joyous, melancholy, exuberant and so on. </p> <p>When the passage of time is experienced in the presence of others, it can give rise to a form of intimacy in which people revel or grieve together. That may be why physical distancing and social isolation imposed by the pandemic were so difficult for so many people – and why many people whose lives and routines were upended reported an <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581036">unsettling change in their sense of time</a>.</p> <p>When we’re in physical proximity, our mutual tuning-in toward one another actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094446">generates bodily rhythms that make us feel good</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00782">gives us a greater sense of belonging</a>. One study found that babies who are bounced to music in sync with an adult <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12140">display increased altruism</a> toward that person, while another found that people who are close friends tend to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121213104230.htm">synchronize their movements</a> when talking or walking together. </p> <p>Music isn’t necessary for this synchronization to emerge, but rhythms and beats facilitate the synchronization by giving it a shape.</p> <p>On the one hand, music encourages people to make specific movements and gestures while they dance or clap or just bob their heads to the beat. On the other, music gives audiences a temporal scaffold: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hYYgz-AJKU">where to place these movements and gestures</a>so that they’re synchronized with others.</p> <h2>The great synchronizer</h2> <p>Because of the pleasurable effect of being synchronized with people around you, the emotional satisfaction you get from listening or watching online is fundamentally different from going to a live performance. At a concert, you can see and feel other bodies around you. </p> <p>Even when explicit movement is restricted, like at a typical Western classical concert, you sense the presence of others, a mass of bodies that punctures your personal bubble.</p> <p>The music shapes this mass of humanity, giving it structure, suggesting moments of tension and relaxation, of breath, of fluctuations in energy – moments that might translate into movement and gesture as soon as people become tuned into one another.</p> <p> </p> <div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"> <div> </div> </div> <p>This structure is usually conveyed with sound, but different musical practices around the world suggest that the experience is not limited to hearing. In fact, it can include the synchronization of visuals and human touch.</p> <p>For example, in the deaf musical community, sound is only one small part of the expression. In Christine Sun Kim’s “<a href="http://christinesunkim.com/work/face-opera-ii/">face opera ii</a>” – a piece for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31750130/">prelingually deaf</a> performers – participants “sing” without using their hands, and instead use facial gestures and movements to convey emotions. Like the line “fa-la-la-la-la” in the famous Christmas carol “<a href="https://youtu.be/WgEVI8DEkF8">Deck the Halls</a>,” words can be deprived of their meaning until all that’s left is their emotional tone.</p> <p>In some cultures, music is, conceptually, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0096">no different</a> from dance, ritual or play. For example, the <a href="https://doi-org.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/10.2307/850267">Blackfeet in North America</a> use the same word to refer to a combination of music, dance and ceremony. And the <a href="https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262018104.003.0002">Bayaka Pygmies of Central Africa </a>have the same term for different forms of music, cooperation and play.</p> <p>Many other groups around the world categorize communal pursuits under the same umbrella.</p> <p>They all use markers of time like a regular beat – whether it’s the sound of a <a href="http://www.kumeyaay.info/music/gourdrattles.html">gourd rattle</a> during a <a href="http://eviada.webhost.iu.edu/scripts/collection.cfm?mc=7&ctID=33">Suyá Kahran Ngere ceremony</a> or <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814731208/the-games-black-girls-play/">groups of girls chanting</a> “Mary Mack dressed in black” in a hand-clapping game – to allow participants to synchronize their movements.</p> <p>Not all of these practices necessarily evoke the word “music.” But we can think of them as musical in their own way. They all teach people how to act in relation to one another by teasing, guiding and even urging them to move together. </p> <p>In time. As one.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-magic-of-live-music-169343" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

King Charles III “saving” title for Princess Charlotte

<p dir="ltr">King Charles III is reportedly saving the title of Duchess of Edinburgh for his granddaughter Princess Charlotte.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was previously expected that when Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died in 2021, the title would be given to Prince Edward. </p> <p dir="ltr">But Charles inherited the title and now its future is up in air with talks of him saving it for Princess Charlotte as she is third in line to the throne. </p> <p dir="ltr">"It would be a fitting way to remember the Queen – who, of course, had the title Duchess of Edinburgh – and a way for His Majesty to honour the line of succession,” a source told The Mail on Sunday. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Palace did not release any comment about the title. </p> <p dir="ltr">Princess Charlotte is the first female in the Royal Family to not be removed from her line of succession by her younger brother thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act (2013).</p> <p dir="ltr">The new law saw women born in the Royal Family after October 2011 holding their place of succession no matter if they had a younger male in the family. </p> <p dir="ltr">"It is not beyond the realms of possibility that she will accede the throne if, for example, Prince George does not have children," the source continued. </p> <p dir="ltr">The decision of who becomes the Duke or Duchess of Edinburgh was always going to be King Charles’ decision.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was also his parents’ wish that Prince Edward would become the next Duke of Edinburgh, but now only time will tell. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Family & Pets

Diwali festivals light up the world

<p dir="ltr">Celebrations of Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, has seen homes across India and elsewhere in the world light up with colour as many gathered to celebrate it for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p dir="ltr">For Hindus and Jains, Diwali symbolises the victory of light over darkness and commemorates the return of Lord Ram to the Ayodhya kingdom after 14 years of exile.</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s a time of gift-giving and celebrating with friends and family at mandirs (Hindu temples) or at home, with spaces decorated with oil lamps, candles, fireworks and intricate rangoli designs in doorways.</p> <p dir="ltr">While the festivities are due to end on Wednesday, the celebration reached its peak on Monday, the darkest day of the year.</p> <p dir="ltr">On Sunday night, more than 1.5 million lamps were lit and kept burning for 45 minutes at Ram ki Paidi in the city of Ayodhya, beating last year’s World Guinness Record of 900,000 lamps staying lit.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ahead of Sunday’s event, the city was decked out in fairy lights and a laser and fireworks show illuminated the lanes and riverbanks.</p> <p dir="ltr">The festivities weren’t just restricted to Ayodhya either, with celebrations occurring around the world.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Sikh community celebrated a different festival called Bandi Chhor Divas, or the Day of Liberation, which marked the day that the religion’s sixth teacher, Guru Hargobind, led 52 princes out of prison to Amritsar, a city in the north-western Indian state of Punjab.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a9c086f-7fff-3f66-a77e-8ff307af47cb"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The two-day festival serves as a reminder of the importance of freedom and civil rights, with the second day coinciding with Diwali.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images</em></p>

International Travel

"Last great journey": Queen’s coffin arrives in Edinburgh

<p dir="ltr">Queen Elizabeth II's coffin arrived in Edinburgh on Sunday following a six-hour journey from her summer home in the Scottish Highlands.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her solemn arrival was greeted by thousands of people at the city's Royal Mile; Her Majesty's body will remain there for two days to allow people to pay their final respects.</p> <p dir="ltr">The queen's daughter Anne and her sons, Princes Andrew and Edward, curtsied and bowed as the coffin was carried inside by soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland.</p> <p dir="ltr">This is just ahead of the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following her <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-dead-at-96" target="_blank" rel="noopener">death</a>, the Queen's son, King Charles III, spoke of her long 70-year reign.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Her dedication and devotion as Sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">He also spoke about looking forward to following in his mother’s footsteps.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply,” King Charles III continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">"But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: Thank you.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years.</p> <p dir="ltr">"May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

International Travel

"You get burnt together, you get wet together, you dance together": how festivals transform lives – and landscapes

<p>Every year in lutruwita/Tasmania, <a href="https://www.triplem.com.au/story/dark-mofo-2022-figures-show-festival-was-a-success-202082">tens of thousands of people</a>journey to and meander through the island state and take in festivals such as <a href="https://darkmofo.net.au/">Dark Mofo</a>, <a href="https://cygnetfolkfestival.org/">Cygnet Folk Festival</a> or <a href="https://www.nayriniaragoodspirit.com/">Nayri Niara Good Spirit Festival</a>. </p> <p>Part of the pull of this place and its cultural offerings are the landscapes in which such events are placed: picturesque mountain ranges and deep valleys; vast open paddocks and pristine bushlands; glistening coastlines; quirky city spaces.</p> <p>As human geographers, we understand that festival landscapes are more than a party backdrop. They are not waiting, ready to greet us like some sort of environmental festival host. They have <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-deep-time-1440836">Deep Time</a> and layers of meaning.</p> <p>But when they become spaces for creative adventures, these landscapes also have profound effects on how people experience festivals, affecting our sense of place, of ourselves and others. </p> <p>Festivals come with specific boundaries – dates, gates or fences – and mark a period and place in which we experience <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02614360802127243">some shifting of social norms</a>. </p> <p>In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458622000354#!">our research</a>, we wanted to explore how festivals affect people’s sense of place, self and other.</p> <p>As Grace, an avid festival-goer, told us “social expectations that come with adulthood get removed at a festival.” </p> <p>"I don’t know what happens when you walk through the gate of a festival [..] you leave all that behind and you step into what feels like […] a more authentic version of yourself. Or at least a freer one."</p> <h2>Creating spaces</h2> <p>A lot happens to make a festival landscape.</p> <p>Teams of staff and volunteers establish campsites, install rows of toilets that often are also composting works of art, build stages, lay kilometres of pipes and power chords and design paths, sculptures and dance floors. </p> <p>These collective labours create a special atmosphere; serve basic needs for sleep, food, hydration, warmth and sanitation; invite journeying to and from; and foster relationships to places and sites via immersive experiences and hands-on engagements with the landscape itself, for itself.</p> <p>Travis, a stage-builder and DJ, told us: "If you use what’s already there, then [the stage] blends in with that whole environment and ties in to how people see it and how people feel in it."</p> <p>Marion, a festival artist, spoke of her desire to show care and respect by creating work that “doesn’t impose and can […] naturally be reabsorbed” into the landscape. </p> <p>She described how all of the rocks for a labyrinth at one event came from the festival site. Once, the sheep who lived there walked through on their usual path – destroying her installation.</p> <h2>Transformative experiences</h2> <p>When people attend festivals, they often attach themselves to the landscape and detach from their daily lives: they are looking for transformative experiences. </p> <p>In lutruwita/Tasmania, festivals such as <a href="https://www.fractangular.com.au/">Fractangular</a> near Buckland and <a href="https://m.facebook.com/panamafestival">PANAMA</a> in the Lone Star Valley take place in more remote parts of the state. </p> <p>Grace, from Hobart, told us that being in those landscapes taps into "something that humans have done forever […] gather around sound and nature and just experience that and feel freedom."</p> <p>Even when festivals are based in urban landscapes, the transformation of these spaces can evoke a sense of freedom. </p> <p>For Ana, a festival organiser, creating thematic costumes is part of her own transformation. </p> <p>At festivals she feels freedom to “wear ‘more out there’ things”.</p> <p>"If I was on the street just on a Wednesday I’d have to [explain my outfit] […] Whereas at a [street] festival[it] flies under the radar."</p> <h2>Body memories</h2> <p>Festival landscapes have features conducive for meeting in place (think open spaces, play spaces, food and drink venues) and for separating out (think fences and signs). </p> <p>Commingling at festivals can literally lead people to bump into each other, reaffirm old bonds and create new connections through shared experiences. </p> <p>One artist, Marion, told us, "When you go and you camp, you get burnt together, you get wet together, you dance together. [It creates] an embrace for me."</p> <p>Festivals often linger in people’s memories, entwined with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-008-9222-0">bodily experiences</a>. People we spoke with talked about hearing birdsong and music, seeing the sun rise and fall over the hills and feeling grass under their dancing feet.</p> <p>While <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038514565835">one-off events</a> can be meaningful, revisiting festivals may have an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1440783318773531">especially powerful effect</a>. </p> <p>Annual festival pilgrimages become cycles of anticipation, immersion and memory-making. This continuing relationship with a landscape also allows festival goers to observe how the environment is changing.</p> <p>As festival organiser Lisa said, "Since 2013 […] every summer our site just got drier and drier. 2020 was the driest year of all. There was no creek. There was just a stagnant puddle."</p> <h2>Writing new stories</h2> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic led organisers and attendees to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/how-music-festivals-are-surviving-coronavirus-cancellations/a-54374343">rethink engagements with live events</a>. Many were cancelled; some were trialled online. </p> <p>But after seasons of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-17/music-festivals-in-tasmania-after-coronavirus/12462076">cancellations</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-visiting-headliners-can-local-artists-save-our-festivals-154830">downscaling</a> and <a href="https://untv.theunconformity.com.au/">online events</a>, some festivals in lutruwita/Tasmania are back, attracting thousands of domestic and interstate visitors. </p> <p>For those festivals that have disappeared, their traces remain in our countless individual and collective stories of the magic of festival landscapes.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-get-burnt-together-you-get-wet-together-you-dance-together-how-festivals-transform-lives-and-landscapes-186558" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

The world's best cities in 2022 revealed

<p>The top 53 cities in the world have been crowned, after Time Out asked 20,000 city dwellers around the world to share their opinion.</p> <p>The guide's <a href="https://www.timeout.com/things-to-do/best-cities-in-the-world" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">2022 World's Best Cities Index</a> revealed that Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, has been voted the best city in 2022, due to its beauty, history and walkability. </p> <p>The Illinois capital city of Chicago came in second, the Colombian city of Medellin in third, Glasgow in fourth place and The Netherlands' capital of Amsterdam in fifth place. </p> <p>The ranking is now in its fifth year, as it calls on those who live in a city to "point people in the direction of the places that locals are raving about" and putting an emphasis on "the things that make cities great places to visit as well as to live".</p> <p>Edinburgh took the crown as the best city in world, with locals calling the city "ever-evolving". </p> <p>Time Out added about the city, "Self-expression is encouraged, with 88 per cent of locals saying it is easy to express who you are in the city. It's something that’s celebrated every summer with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which this year will be marking its 75th anniversary."</p> <p>Chicago's second place spot is largely due to the city's thriving art and culture scene, with 95% of people claiming there is always something new to do. </p> <p>The guide adds, "Whether you want to try world-class dining from high-end restaurants to outstanding family-run eateries, party until 4am at historic clubs, spend a day soaking up the sun along Lake Michigan, see iconic artworks or just wander among different neighbourhoods – all this is putting the city on the map for visitors."</p> <p>One New Zealand city was featured in the list, with Auckland coming in at 47th. </p> <p>Two Aussie cities also made the list, with Melbourne coming in at 15th and Sydney taking out the 46th spot. </p> <p>Check out the entire list of the top 53 cities for 2022 below. </p> <p>1. Edinburgh, Scotland</p> <p>2. Chicago, USA</p> <p>3. Medellin, Colombia</p> <p>4. Glasgow, Scotland</p> <p>5. Amsterdam, The Netherlands</p> <p>6. Prague, Czech Republic</p> <p>7. Marrakech, Morocco</p> <p>8. Berlin, Germany</p> <p>9. Montreal, Canada</p> <p>10. Copenhagen, Denmark</p> <p>11. Cape Town, South Africa</p> <p>12. Madrid, Spain</p> <p>13. Manchester, England</p> <p>14. Mumbai, India</p> <p>15. Melbourne, Australia</p> <p>16. Taipei, Taiwan</p> <p>17. London, England</p> <p>18. Porto, Portugal</p> <p>19. Lyon, France</p> <p>20. New York, USA</p> <p>21. Buenos Aires, Argentina</p> <p>22. Birmingham, England</p> <p>23. Stockholm, Sweden</p> <p>24. Tokyo, Japan</p> <p>25. San Francisco, USA</p> <p>26. Delhi, India</p> <p>27. Toronto, Canada</p> <p>28. Lisbon, Portugal</p> <p>29. Boston, USA</p> <p>30. Mexico City, Mexico</p> <p>31. Tel Aviv, Israel</p> <p>32. Paris, France</p> <p>33. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia</p> <p>34. Manila, Philippines </p> <p>35. Athens, Greece</p> <p>36. Dublin, Ireland</p> <p>37. Sao Paulo, Brazil</p> <p>38. Miami, USA</p> <p>39. Barcelona, Spain</p> <p>40. Dubai, United Arab Emirates</p> <p>41. Rome, Italy</p> <p>42. Los Angeles, USA</p> <p>43. Accra, Ghana</p> <p>44. Singapore</p> <p>45. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates</p> <p>46. Sydney, Australia</p> <p>47. Auckland, New Zealand</p> <p>48. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil</p> <p>49. Johannesburg, South Africa</p> <p>50. Istanbul, Turkey</p> <p>51. Bangkok, Thailand</p> <p>52. Hong Kong</p> <p>53. Doha, Qatar</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

International Travel

Royal fans claim they spotted Queen Elizabeth at Glastonbury Festival

<p>Royal fans have hilariously claimed they spotted Queen Elizabeth in the crowd at the annual Glastonbury Festival.</p> <p>Glastonbury is a five-day festival that takes place in Somerset, England, with this year featuring artists such as Diana Ross, Glass Animals, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and many more. </p> <p>During Robert Plant's performance on the final night of the festival, spectators thought they saw a familiar face in the crowd that looked very similar to Queen Elizabeth. </p> <p>The woman, who is most definitely not the Queen, wore a jacket with a hood up and sunglasses and bore a striking resemblance to Her Majesty. </p> <p>The three second clip of the Queen's doppelganger has been making the rounds on Twitter and has since gone viral.</p> <p>It was shared by royal fan Andy on Twitter along with the caption, "Lovely to see the Queen enjoying a bit of Robert Plant at #Glastonbury."</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lovely to see the Queen enjoying a bit of Robert Plant at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Glastonbury?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Glastonbury</a>. <a href="https://t.co/Ra4jyNz9lZ">pic.twitter.com/Ra4jyNz9lZ</a></p> <p>— Andy (@alreadytaken74) <a href="https://twitter.com/alreadytaken74/status/1540427529705627653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>"Classic Liz," one person responded. </p> <p>It is, of course, extremely unlikely that Her Majesty would be in the Glastonbury crowd, considering the fact that her currently health condition has prevented her from attending many recent official engagements. </p> <p>The monarch recently celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the British throne.</p> <p>Increasing mobility issues meant she was unable to attend most engagements but any appearance she did make was appreciated by royal fans.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Twitter / Getty Images</em></p>

Music

Kylie Minogue and Sharon Stone stun at Cannes red carpet

<p dir="ltr">The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival has seen stars embrace the most glamorous of looks that could rival those spotted at the 2022 Met Gala - and it’s safe to say that Kylie Minogue and Sharon Stone’s gowns were among the highlights.</p> <p dir="ltr">Appearing for the screening of <em>Elvis </em>on Wednesday, the <em>Neighbours </em>alum and Aussie icon styled a stunning Versace corset dress featuring sheer panelling and a side split, accessorised with a jade-embedded Bulgari necklace.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2c0493f5-7fff-4169-953c-b903a616a260"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Minogue took to Instagram with clips from the night and photos, including a close-up shot of her Bulgari jewellery.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/minogue-necklace.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Kylie Minogue shared a close-up shot of the luxe jewellery she donned for the film festival. Image: @kylieminogue (Instagram)</em></p> <p dir="ltr">“Thank you @Versace & @Bulgari for the GLAM this evening,” she captioned a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd_0OEQrXkD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> from the night, adding that she “LOVED” <em>Elvis </em>and that its director, Baz Luhrmann, was “THE BEST”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, Sharon Stone walked the red carpet in a tightly-fitted red gown with intricate beading across the neckline and along the straps, completing the look with a bedazzled red handbag and a pair of Elvis’ signature aviator sunglasses.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd4R38rugSs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd4R38rugSs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Sharon Stone (@sharonstone)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">It wasn’t the only time Stone impressed the crowd with her look during the festival, having appeared in a heavily-embellished blue-and-white gown with a peplum skirt which her two accompanying male models removed to reveal a full-length body con dress at Sunday’s screening of <em>Forever Young (Les Amandiers)</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7f15ac6a-7fff-9c6f-cb35-4ea91866a58e">The next day, the 64-year-old star was throwing up peace signs in another form-hugging gown - this time emerald green and bedazzled - ahead of the screening of <em>Crimes of the Future</em>, where she was photographed with her god-daughter Helena Gatsby.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd_aVnHsLrb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd_aVnHsLrb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Helena Gatsby (@helenagatsby)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The 20-year-old later took to Instagram with photos of the pair, describing Stone as her hero and role model.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My hero forever, so honoured to be next to my role model. I love you and cherish you,” she captioned the post.</p> <p dir="ltr">Both Minogue and Stone received floods of praise for their looks, with fans describing them as stunning and “elegance personified”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Absolute perfection Kylie!!” Donatella Versace, the fashion designer and sister of Versace’s founder, said of Minogue’s outfit.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A real diva 💚💚💚 loving this 30s vibe,” Lucio Di Rosa, the head of worldwide celebrities relations at Dolce & Gabbana, commented on a photo of Stone’s green gown.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Good Lord. You must teach me your ways!” <em>Will & Grace</em> star Debra Messing commented on Stone’s blue-and-white look.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-322613e5-7fff-f0c8-4b2e-fce7e1a8e370"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Enchanting Cherry Blossom Festival returns to Sydney

<p dir="ltr">The wildly popular Cherry Blossom Festival is returning to Western Sydney following a two-year hiatus, promising two weeks of live entertainment, delicious food, and the iconic pink blossoms.</p> <p dir="ltr">The festival, held in Auburn’s Botanic Gardens, will run from August 20-28 and ring in the start of cherry blossom season, all while paying homage to Japanese culture.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the <a href="https://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/sydneycherryblossomfestival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cumberland City Council website</a>, the festival will include a return of the popular ‘Cherry Trail’ and the Japanese fusion food village, as well as plenty of spots to take photos.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tickets are expected to cost just $10 and can be booked via the council’s websites, where you can also find the latest updates on what’s in store.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3384b697-7fff-01ae-b776-565dcc492d61"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Cumberland City Council</em></p>

Domestic Travel

A new light festival is heading to Sydney Zoo

<p dir="ltr">Sydney’s newest zoo is welcoming a festival of lights that promises to rival the annual Vivid festival with dazzling exhibitions and a chance to get up close to some iconic critters.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7e369fc9-7fff-34bd-6b21-7ab03378e625"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">GLOW will be taking over the Western Sydney zoo in Bungarribee nightly between Friday, May 13 and Sunday, June 5.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdIVzWDqMPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdIVzWDqMPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Sydney Zoo 🦁 (@thesydneyzoo)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The star of the show will be the GLOW Light Walk, which takes visitors on a full tour of the zoo complete with giant glowing animal lanterns and sculptures, and past the festival’s other attractions, including a12-metre tunnel of fairy lights, and a giant glowing Ferris wheel.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-999ef17b-7fff-5aa2-77cb-1020dec7dfb5"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Fans of creepy crawlies can also enjoy the Reptile & Nocturnal house - the biggest in the country - and come face-to-face with snakes and glowing UV scorpions.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/glow-1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>GLOW’s extensive list of attractions include real-life UV scorpions (left) and towering interactive installations such as Trumpet Flowers (right). Images: Sydney Zoo</em></p> <p dir="ltr">The neon festival will also include the Glow Zone, featuring an ice rink, golf course, and Octopoda, a giant statue with eight tentacle-drums that light up, as well as plenty of food and drink.</p> <p dir="ltr">GLOW has also been designed to be as accessible and inclusive as possible with no hills of steps to grapple with.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tickets start at $25 online - which you can book <a href="https://sydneyzoo.com/glow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> - or $30 at the gate, while babies under two enter for free.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-09f693ab-7fff-720f-8380-e9042b4dbaac"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Sydney Zoo</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Learn something new at a Pint of Science event near you

<p dir="ltr">Global science festival <a href="https://pintofscience.com.au/festival/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pint of Science</a> is back for 2022, with in-person and online events across 23 pubs and breweries from May 9-11.</p> <p dir="ltr">As the name suggests, Pint of Science takes scientific talks - tackling everything from tarantulas and time travel to 3D-printing body parts and the afterlife of stars - into a community environment to drive our appreciation of all things science.</p> <p dir="ltr">This year’s program sees a return of talks to venues across <a href="https://pintofscience.com.au/locations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11 Australian cities</a> and one New Zealand location, including:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Melbourne</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Brisbane</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Sydney</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Adelaide</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Perth</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Canberra</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hobart</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Darwin</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Cairns</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Newcastle</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Geelong</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Palmerston North</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">The festival’s online component will see scientists take over podcasts and radio shows to talk about their field, and will include interviews and articles diving into science, and Pod of Science, a piece of festival you can listen to wherever you are via <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-307180657" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soundcloud</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr">“After two years of being able to enjoy Pint of Science in your comfy loungeroom, we’re stoked to welcome you back to your local pub,” Pint of Science CEOs Jin-oh Choi and Chanel Egan <a href="https://pintofscience.com.au/festival/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a> on Pint of Science’s website.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The brilliant thing about Pint of Science is that everyone learns from the events - the attendees learn about current research, the speakers gain experience in presenting their research, the local volunteers meet like-minded people and have fun organising events, and the national volunteers gain experience about how a not-for-profit works behind the scenes to facilitate a banger of a festival.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The entire festival is run entirely by volunteers, with this year’s program enlisting the help of 38 national volunteers, 100 event volunteers, and 120 speakers.</p> <p dir="ltr">To find out what’s happening near you and buy tickets, click <a href="https://pintofscience.com.au/locations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for Australia’s program or <a href="https://pintofscience.nz/locations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for New Zealand’s. </p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c85afb15-7fff-185e-2cf3-a17b2b539c7a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Pint of Science AU (Facebook)</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Shania Twain makes surprise appearance on Coachella stage

<p dir="ltr">At the first Coachella festival since 2019, audiences on the first night of performances were shocked with a surprise performance from a music legend.</p> <p dir="ltr">During Harry Styles’ headlining set at the show, the crowd went wild as the intro to Twain’s iconic girl power anthem <em>Man! I Feel Like a Woman!</em> began to play. </p> <p dir="ltr">To the surprise of the 100,000-strong crowd, the Canadian songstress appeared on the stage, in a matching sequined outfit to mirror Styles. </p> <p dir="ltr">Together the pair performed the 1997 song, with the audience singing and dancing along to every word. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcZ6Tu8Dtm8/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcZ6Tu8Dtm8/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Harry Styles Updates ♡︎ (@harry_update)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Concluding the song, Styles spoke of his admiration of Twain and how she influenced his music tastes when he was growing up. </p> <p dir="ltr">“In the car with my mother as a child, this lady taught me to sing. She also told me that men are trash,” Styles said when introducing Twain.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To you, to the memories you gave me with my mother, I will be forever grateful. I’m so grateful you’re with us here tonight. This is very special for me.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In a stripped back acoustic number, the pair then sang Shania’s 1997 track <em>You’re Still The One</em>, before Shania left the stage to an overwhelming crowd reaction. </p> <p dir="ltr">The surprise guest appearance has delighted young and old music fans around the world, with many praising Styles’ expression of gratitude to the legendary singer. </p> <p dir="ltr">With Styles set to play another Coachella headlining show in the coming weeks, many are excited at the prospect of another high-profile guest performer on the global stage. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Shania Twain makes surprise appearance on Coachella stage