WOMEX announced the first much anticipated, prestigious list of international artists selected to showcase at WOMEX 13, hosted in Cardiff this year between 23 and 27 October. The competition for the career making public showcase slots was intense, with over 850 applications from world music groups and musicians worldwide for the 60 showcase slots. It’s an impressive line up of some of the best emerging world music talent on the planet, and heading the line up of WOMEX World Music Showcases is Wales’s own singer-songwriter, Gwyneth Glyn. She will perform a set from ‘Ghazalaw’, a new collaboration with Indian Ghazal singer Tauseef Akhtar. ‘Ghazalaw’ is a fusion of Welsh folk songs and Indian ghazal, an ancient poetic form originating in 6th-century Arabic verse. In this way it shares ...
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The beautiful Upper Rhine Valley is located in the heart of Europe, where the Rhine connects France, Germany and Switzerland. With an area of more than 21.000 km² the region is almost as large as Tuscany, and has the same centuries-old tradition of attracting tourists who love art, culture and fine cuisine. The Upper Rhine Valley is a compact region of versatile scenery and culturally of extraordinary diversity with many charming towns and villages on both sides of the Rhine. The economically prosperous region with its six million inhabitants is within easy reach and offers its visitors a lot of everything. It never takes more than ten minutes to get from one highlight to another. Famous for its short and mild winters and pleasing summer temperatures from April to October, the region
Read MoreOur paper heroes are everywhere: bookshops, wall murals, exhibitions, art galleries, television, even Hollywood has fallen under their spell: on 21 October 2011 the world premiere of Steven Spielberg's cinema adaptation of Tintin took place in Brussels whilst the Smurfs, strengthened by their initial success, will be reappearing this summer. The Comics Festival was created in 2010 by the Brussels-Capital Region as the logical continuation of the comic strip themed year organised in Brussels in 2009. In 2013, Brussels is going to experience a highly colourful weekend from 5-8 September, with its now famous Comics Festival taking place in Place des Palais, but also a 3D projection mapping on the Place Royale, the Balloon’s Day Parade, the Tintin magazine, guided visits and comics exhibitions...
Read MoreThe Disneyland Resort, now bursting with even more live entertainment, has a lineup of unforgettable thrills and enchantment to welcome guests for a summer of fun. Well-known as the Happiest Place on Earth, the Disneyland Resort Just Gets Happier with the spectacular, new stage show “Mickey and the Magical Map” and Fantasy Faire, a new storybook village with Disney Princesses and two Princess-themed shows at the Royal Theatre, all at Disneyland Park. The new, live shows extend the resort’s legacy as a magical stage for live entertainment, a place where children often enjoy their first experience with live performers and theatrical storytelling. In addition, Cars Land is going full throttle with excitement for the whole family, and Buena Vista Street creates an entertaining new vibe
Read MoreState of Assam in Eastern India is promoting religious tourism in the state and the ongoing "Ambubachi Mela" at the famous Kamakhya Temple is the first step in this direction. Other festivals like Doul (Holi) Utsav at Barpeta and Bordowa, Shivaratri at Umananda and Shiva Doul at Sibsagar and Urs Festival at Poa Mecca at Hajo will similarly be focused, Tourism Director Anjan Chakraborty said. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has urged the concerned department to undertake publicity campaigns, both within and outside the state, to attract tourists to the 'unique' festivals. Gogoi formally threw open the Ambubachi Mela a day before the annual festival last Saturday and said that the state government would leave no stone unturned to provide adequate facilities to the pilgrims d...
Read MoreThe devastation caused by torrential rains that lashed Uttarakhand in Himalayan India earlier this month is expected to cause a loss of Rs 12,000 crore to the state's tourism industry in the current fiscal, says a PHDCCI survey. "Uttarakhand was expected to generate Rs 25,000 crore from tourism in 2013-14. Although Rs 5,000-6,000 crore have been generated from the first three months alone, the state is expected to realise only Rs 5,000-6,000 in the coming months as major tourism destinations have been washed away by recent floods," SP Sharma, Chief Economist at the PHD Chamber said quoting the survey. Tourism sector contributes 25 to 30 per cent of the state GDP, and therefore the state exchequer is likely to take a major hit, Sharma added. The survey conducted by PHD Chambe...
Read MoreTourism has been worst hit in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand in northern India, with pilgrims fleeing the disaster-struck state and tourists cancelling their bookings. May and June are considered peak season for tourism in the state with hotels registering 100 per cent occupancy, but now, most wear a deserted look and several have also been washed away in the floods. "Every year, 23 to 24 lakh pilgrims arrive in the state for the Char Dham Yatra -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The disaster has hit tourism badly. "If we consider government figures, thousands of hotels, inns and residential houses have been severely affected by the flood and hundreds among them have been obliterated," Joint Director, state Tourism Department, A K Dwiwedi said. State Tourism Minister Amrita...
Read MoreInterested in discovering Brussels and its museums and getting a great deal as well? The Brussels Card now offers benefits worth over ! 200! All you need is one card: just show it at the museum entrance or scan it on the bus, tram or metro. Ideal if you’re spending a day or a weekend in Brussels. And it’s really practical too! This essential pass gives you free admission to no fewer than 32 Brussels museums for a period of 24, 48 or 72 hours. It covers all the major museums: the Magritte Museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Centre, the Old Masters Museum, the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Cinquantenaire Museum and the Museum of the City of Brussels to name just a few. The pass allows free admission to all the exhibitions held at BOZAR, Wiels and the ...
Read MoreOne of India’s most known religious shrine has been facing nature’s fury like never before. Little township housing Kedarnath shrine at an altitude of 3593 metres above sea level in hill state of Uttarakhand has been ravaged by a sudden cloudburst on Sunday, 16th June 2013. Euphoria over early onset of yearly monsoon in the peninsular region has quickly turned into tragedy and despair of very large magnitude. Both the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have suffered through a sudden downpour, nobody was ready for this early in the season. With casualty figures in hundreds and thousands other missing and loss of property worth millions, worst still seems to unfolding. More than 75 thousand pilgrims and tourists are still stranded at various places in both the states. Catast...
Read MoreFor nine days from 22 to 30 June, the lakeside scene at Putrajaya in Malaysia will be transformed by shades of all colours as Putrajaya FLORIA returns, featuring over 5,000 orchids from different species at Precinct 2, Putrajaya. With the theme Orchid – Tropical Treasure, more than 200 cultivars, hybrids, and species of orchids will be used to landscape indoor and outdoor gardens of this much-anticipated event. This year, Putrajaya FLORIA will feature 23 international participants from 18 countries, consisting of garden designers, growers, as well as the International Orchid Society. There will be indoor and outdoor garden displays from Australia, Chile, China, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and Vietnam – so lots of inspiring garden...
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