Kylie
26th July – 4thAugust
O2
The high priestess of pop music returns to the UK eighteen months after her
sequins-and-feathers Showgirls Tour, with a bit of new material from her (electropop-by-numbers)
new album, and three decades of cast-iron pop hits. Kylie is promised a
completely new approach from her stupidly-named KylieX2008 tour, but we would
guess that this only stretches as far as a few fashion choices, rather than
dispensing with the oiled male dancers, huge sets and multiple costume changes
that have made her shows into legendary events. The Glittering sci-fi arena of
the O2 is the best venue in London for this kind of fabulousness, and even with
a full week of concerts, tickets are likely to sell out fast.
Raise the Red Lantern - National Ballet of China
1st – 2nd
Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
This summer sees the National Ballet of China gracing the Royal Opera House
stage for the first time. Hot on the heels of 'Swan Lake' comes 'Raise the Red
Lantern', Zhang Yimou's simplified ballet version of his 1991 film, specially
created for the company in collaboration with choreographer Wang Xinpeng. The
ballet tells the haunting tale of a young woman who, forced to be the third
concubine of a feudal lord, finds herself trapped in a stifling world of
resentment and distress. Her love for an opera actor and the jealousy of a rival
concubine lead to tragic consequences as the women compete for the raised red
lantern, which signalises their master's favour. One of the National Ballet of
China's fusion-ballets, for which it is internationally renowned, 'Raise the Red
Lantern' effortlessly combines western technique with Chinese theatre including
Peking Opera - along with sumptuous designs - to conjure up Yimou's cruelly
beautiful world.
The Red Bull Air Race
2nd – 3rd
O2
Anyone who has ever played Grand Theft Auto will know the basic principle of
this new sport - low-flying pilots in light aircraft, racing each other through
a slalom course of checkpoints just above street level. It sounds like an
accident waiting to happen, but clearly they know what they're doing. This is
the second year the Red Bull Air Race has stopped off in London as part of its
world tour. It takes place in the area around the Millennium Dome (possibly
chosen as the building Londoners would most like to see destroyed in a light
aircraft crash), with grandstand seats available on both sides of the river.
We're pretty confident there'll be other places in the area where you can get a
good view of everything for free, but the event goes on all day, so you might be
best served just paying for a decent spot.
Swan Lake - Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe of China
5th – 10th
Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
Thirteen years ago 'Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake' burst onto the Sadler's Wells
stage in its world premiere, revolutionising Tchaikovsky's 19th century Russian
ballet. The hype has never quite died down, earning this version a place in
history as the quintessential modern ballet. It may have been the first but it's
certainly not the last and as the Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe of China makes its
debut at the Royal Opera House with its 'Swan Lake', a co-production with the
Shanghai City Dance Company, it's with the same sense of anticipation that we're
about to witness something extraordinary. Just like Bourne's ballet, this 'Swan
Lake' opens with a dream sequence; in this one, Prince Siegfried sees a
beautiful girl who is turned into a swan by an evil black eagle. The ensuing
journey to find his swan-girl Odette is vividly communicated through a unique
fusion of acrobatics and ballet as fire hoops. tightropes, stilts, roller skates
and pirouettes all make an appearance. The striking image of Odette atop the
prince's head en pointe was the inspiration for creating a full-length ballet
and from the high acrobatics of sailors on a ship's rigging to the upside down
dance of the frogs (taken form the 'Dance of the Little Swans'), this production
is a visual feast.
Trafalgar Square Festival 2008
7th – 23rd
For the fourth year running, August sees Trafalgar Square filled by a program of
music, theatre, dance and art - a further reason to enjoy this beautiful space
at the heart of our capital. Lasting for three weeks events take place in the
evenings from 6pm, Thursday to Sunday and there's something different every day
so our advice is just to get down and see what's happening. The pedestrianised
Trafalgar Square is a lovely spot in summer, a natural meeting place in the
heart of the capital, and it's great to see it used in such innovative ways.
Mazda London Triathlon
9th -10th
ExCel London Exhibition Centre
The triathlon is fast replacing the marathon as the event of choice for testing
your body to the limit, and the London Triathlon is the world's largest event of
its kind. Over 8000 people participate in a punishing program of running,
swimming and cycling, while 40,000 are expected to visit the Triathlon Expo.
There is a strong focus on raising money for charity, with £1 million usually
donated each year, and media celebrities, major sporting figures and some of the
world's best triathletes all expected to take part. Taking place around the
ExCel Centre, the Docklands setting is idyllic on a sunny summer weekend, and
the Thames hopefully not too cold for the brave athletes. It's a great spectator
event too, with the chance to see some of the fittest sports people do battle
across three gruelling disciplines.
The Community Shield
10th
Wembley Stadium
For the first time in four years, there will be no Chelsea in the Community
Shield, since, much to the satisfaction of 90% of Londoners, they failed to win
anything in 1998. Instead, the blue half of Wembley Stadium will be filled by
Portsmouth's famously noisy fans, celebrating once again last year's FA Cup win.
Last year's opening match gave the season a neat symmetry, with the first and
last games seeing Chelsea beaten by Manchester United on penalties. It's
unlikely to prove quite so prophetic this time, but Portsmouth have spent to
match their ambition, while United have been severely unsettled by the Ronaldo
transfer saga, so there's plenty here to excite the neutral.
London Mela 2008
10th
Gunnersbury Park
Ealing
One of the biggest celebrations of Asian music and culture outside the Indian
subcontinent, last year's London Mela attracted 55,000 visitors, and this looks
to be even bigger. Like so many of London's festivals (the Notting Hill
Carnival, the Brick Lane Festival, Respect) this has extended beyond its ethnic
roots to attract a multitude of Londoners out for a good time. Expect a line-up
of the brightest lights on the British Asian music scene, Bhangra MCs, Bollywood,
as well as traditional and classical performances. This is all backed up with
hundreds of stalls selling food and handicrafts, a funfair for the kids and a
fantastic convivial atmosphere
Middlesex Charity Sevens
16th
Twickenham Stadium
The most popular, the largest and the longest-running sevens tournament in the
world, this annual event is a showcase for everything that's good about rugby.
With just seven players on either team, the game relies on explosive pace and
free-flowing passing moves. The games are only 20 minutes, which means they can
fit the whole competition into just one day. The tournament has been revamped to
include all 12 teams in the Premiership which split into four groups of three,
who all play one another, with the top two teams from each heading into the
quarter-finals. As well as the rugby itself there will be live music and a
colourful funfair going on all day. A brilliant curtain-opener for the new
season - fast, furious and fun - this should be a fabulous day out, not to
mention raising loads of cash for worthy causes.
The Unforgettable Tour
24th
O2 (Formerly the Millenium Dome)
Three weeks after the Kylie world tour rolls out, comes an event that will have
a serious attempt to out-fabulous the Princess of pop. Bollywood's first family
Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are joined by Preity Zinta, Riteish
Deshmukh and Big Brother's own Shilpa Shetty for a night of comedy, costume
changes and ridiculous choreography. London is the last leg on a tour that has
taken in all the American cities with large Indian populations, and so the show
will be pretty polished by the time it hits the O2 Dome. A rare to chance for UK
audiences to see some of the stars of the world's most prolific movie industry.
George Michael – Final
24th – 25th
Olympia
Hammersmith
George Michael is claiming that this pair of shows at Olympia will be his last
ever UK performances. You have to take statements like this from popstars with a
pinch of salt (especially from popstars as authentically barmy as Mr Georgios
Kyriacos Panayiotou), but the sense of 'last ever' will definitely add a little
frisson to this emotional return to Britain. He's promising to mix some
previously unperformed tracks (boo!) with his biggest hits (yay!). Graceful
dancing and a voice that still drips honey even after two decades of
enthusiastic weed-smoking ensure that he doesn't need a big stage show to keep
the audience's attention - this is just George, doing what he does best,
possibly for the last time.
Notting Hill Carnival 2008
24th – 25th
Carnival sets London on fire in a blaze of Caribbean spirit as extravagantly
costumed dancers, calypso and soca musicians, giant soundsystems and steelbands
are joined by over a million revellers of all ages. Held since 1966, and
originally a local affair for west London's homesick Caribbean community, this
has evolved into Europe's biggest street party. Sunday is officially Children's
Day, but there are loads of kids on both days enjoying the bright colours of the
floats and the dancers' feathered costumes. Adults can shake their battys at
dozens of stages: our favourites are Channel 1's booming dub, and the
jazz-reggae at Gaz's Rockin' Blues, but there are tunes for all tastes, from
house to hip-hop. It's a huge area, and can get very crowded, so be prepared for
an exhausting day out, but for anyone who loves a party, Carnival remains the
absolute highlight of the London summer.
England v South Africa, One Day International
28th
The Oval
One Day cricket matches were always a slightly unsatisfactory compromise, and
the rapid growth of the Twenty20 suggests that this medium pace version of the
sport is on its way out. This is currently the only set of domestic One Day
Internationals in the calendar - and it's not impossible that this will be the
last ever chance to see England playing this game that has offered them even
greater opportunities for underachievement than Test matches. South Africa
dished out one of the most spectacular humiliations we've ever received when we
last played them, in the Cricket World Cup. Player-for-player England might even
be a slightly better one day side this time round, so revenge is very possible.
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
Until 30th
O2
The legendary treasures from the tomb of Boy King Tutankhamun were last seen in
UK in 1972. Then, the British Museum's exhibition drew a record 1.8 million
people. Now, over 30 years later, the newly revamped Dome is the host of the
golden hoard - the first exhibition to be held at the vast O2 Bubble. The
British Museum's lack of space has forced a re-think and prompted plans to build
an enormous £70 million exhibition centre in Bloomsbury, London (due in 2011).
This major exhibition has already toured four cities in America - where there
were grumbles that the king's gold death mask is not among the 300 objects on
show. But, that aside, there is plenty of interest here and it's likely to be
the last time the fragile artefacts are seen outside Egypt. It's thought King
Tut was only about 18 or 19 when he died, which begs the question: how exactly
did the young king die? In the run-up to the exhibition there was great
excitement that recent tests done using the latest CT scanning technology may
finally answer that question. Though results were not entirely conclusive, it's
now thought most likely that a fractured leg which turned septic was the cause
rather than murderous intent. This rare - and final - opportunity to see the
Pharaoh's riches and other objects from the royal graves of the Valley of the
Kings on show here in the UK is one not to be missed.
Liberty 2008
30th
Trafalgar Square
The fifth year of London's disability rights festival, Liberty in Trafalgar
Square features disabled performers, musicians, actors and dancers, alongside a
host of stalls and displays. There's also an organic café and a family art
workshop to keep the youngsters happy. Performers include comedians, cabaret
acts, dancers, musicians and circus acts. Whether you want to take part, educate
your kids about disabled arts, or just enjoy some music and comedy in the
sunshine, this is an excellent piece of free entertainment
English Premier League
London Teams
Fixtures in August 2008
ARSENAL
16th West Brom H
23rd Fulham A
30th Newcastle H
CHELSEA
16th Portsmouth H
23rd Wigan A
30th Tottenham H
TOTTENHAM
16th Middlesbrough A
23rd Sunderland H
30th Chelsea A
WEST HAM
16th Wigan H
23rd Man City A
30th Blackburn H
FULHAM
16th Hull A
23rd Arsenal H
30th Man Utd A |
H = Home A = Away CL= Champions League |
