Monday 31 December 2012

2013, here we come!

It's worth remembering that as 2013 ends, two members of punk group Pussy Riot remain in custody in Russian gulags for their protest against Vladimir Putin.    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova will mark the new year in a prison camp in Mordovia, 360 miles south East of Moscow. Maria Alyokhina will be in Perm, 750 miles further east, in solitary confinement.  Both have young children, Nadezhda has a four year old daughter Gera, and Maria a five year old son Philip.


France enters 2013 with a £300 million budget disaster at the Philharmonie de Paris. The costs for the  new aluminium encased classical concert venue, designed by Jean Nouvel,  are spiralling out of control with state auditors pointing to an 'exorbitant inflation in costs'.  A Senate committee warned of a 'worrying drift' in the budget. The project is being funded by the state and the city of Paris.


Wembley Arena will be under new management in 2013 after Live Nation terminated it's venu management contract for after six years. The entertainment company has managed the north London venue since April  006. Wembley Arena owner Quintain is in talks with AEG Live for the company to become the arena's new operator, with an announcement due to be made next year. Live Nation says it now wants to focus on the music promotion side of its business, as well as running festivals in Europe. Paul Latham, UK president of Live Nation, said: "We have been privileged to operate Wembley Arena, but we are focusing increasingly on promotion and new  venues as we review our Europe-wide events calendar." All events planned at the arena for 2013 will take place as scheduled.

Emile Sande will end the year with the No 1 album in the UK with Our Version of Events.  X-Factor winner James Arthur tops the singles chart with Impossible. Adele's album 21 has sold 4.562 million copies in the UK and, despite being released in 2011, was the second biggest seller in 2012. She won six Grammy awards. Korean pop star Psy's Gangnam Style has been seen by more than 1.083 billion people on You Tube, the most watched You Tube video of all time. And  'Fairytale of New York' has joined the UK's million sellers, 25 years after it was first released by the  Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. 


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