Features
Black to front
Recognising the historic 9,000 year, £45 per annum lease Mr Guinness signed for the St James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin in 1759, Arthur’s Day was every bit as flavoursome and unique as the brew itself.
Wheel of Fortune
Protests in Dublin stopped U2’s groundbreaking 360° tour in its tracks on the back of a third night at Croke Park. But Nic Howden saw production director Jake Berry get the show to the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg despite it all.
Great expectations
German promoter Franz Abraham’s £500m Ben Hur - Live premieres at The O2 in September, with a sea battle, a five team chariot race, a cast of hundreds, humans, horses and eagles among them, and dialogue in Latin. Nic Howden looks at the enormity of the proposition.
A Great Reception
Radio 1’s Big Weekend was a couple of hours down the M4 from the capital this year, in the picturesque Lydiard Park, just outside Swindon. Nic Howden went along.
Board Meeting...
The London skyline long since broke with any semblance of architectural symmetry, but a 32ft ski jump next to Battersea Power Station still catches the eye. Nic Howden saw Finland’s 2007 champion, Peetu Piiroinen, take the spoils in front of 10,000 people at the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup.
Energy Hit
Red Bull X-Fighters pits the world’s best freestyle motocross riders in a stunt battle bending the laws of physics. Lisa Gudge sees Battersea Power Station in a new light.
Magnificent Seven
Kent University’s Summer Ball stretched across the 117m by 96m Giles Street car park this year, providing for nearly 5,000 students through some structural ingenuity. Nic Howden drinks in the scene.
Champion Effort
The Great Manchester Run had a record 33,000 entries this year, world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie among the elite competitors. But when it was announced in March that triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt would also be coming to the city, to compete in a showcase sprint, interest went into overdrive.
No Easy Street
Nova International’s fifth 10k Bupa Great Edinburgh Run drew more than 10,000 participants, along with Channel Five, which broadcast the event live for the first time. And with the multi-start Meadow enjoying a well-earned reprieve, it was one for all on George IV Bridge. Nic Howden reports.
Nil by mouth
Dublin’s biggest export demonstrated their standing in the rock ‘n’ roll pantheon with a four song set on the roof of Broadcasting House. Nic Howden saw the secrecy of success.
