MALAGA FAIR 2011

The annual Fair in Malaga (Spain) begins on 12th August and ends on 20th August.

These dates in mid-August which historically refer to the celebration of the capture of Malaga by the Catholic Monarchs on August 18, 1491 belong to one of the most anticipated events of the year where thousands of locals and tourists enjoy a few days of amusement: Dancing, singing, drinking (in moderation!), eating all contribute to making this one of the most popular festivities in all of Andalucía, if not Spain.

The “Feria de Málaga” boasts an average yearly attendance of 3 million people!

The fair officially starts on Friday 12th August at midnight with the “Pregon” (opening speech) which is usually carried out by a famous personality; this year the honour falls on local singing sensation, Pablo Alborán. Following the “Pregon” there will be a firework display and a free concert with Pablo Alborán. All the above takes place on the La Malagueta beach.

“Feria de Dia” (Day Fair)Saturday the 13th August is the first full “feria” day; the fun begins with the “Feria de día” or Day Fair which takes place in the city centre. The Calle Larios and surrounding streets are the place to be from around midday until the early evening (around 7pm). Expect lots of singing and dancing – you’ll probably end up joining in – as well as some great tapas, wines and sherry (referred to as “fino”).

Although you can expect warm temperatures – light clothing is highly recommended – the town hall has installed special canopies over the Calle Larios in order to provide some protection from the scorching August sun!
The Night Fair

After the madness of the day fair, the fun continues at the “Real dela Feria”, the main fairground located on the outskirts of the city, next to the Malaga Exhibition Centre. Here you’ll be able to enjoy the rides at the fun fair – a must-do if you have kids – and the traditional “casetas” where you will experience the best of flamenco singing and dancing. Throughout the whole week, the town hall has also organised over 200 free concerts which encompass a wide selection of musical styles and disciplines.
Not to be missed…

■The “Romería” – The traditional horse parade where hundreds of beautifully dressed fair-goers ride through the Malagueta area of the city on their horses and carriages, each decorated with beautifully coloured flowers and ribbons. This year, it takes place on Saturday the 13th August.

■Bullfighting – The Malaga Fair attracts some of the biggest names in the industry and every day, theLa Malaguetabullring hosts spectacular bull fights that will thrill all who attend. I understand it’s not for everyone but if you haven’t experienced a true bullfight, this might be your chance to see the real thing!

BARACK OBAMA - HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Barack Obama was born 4 August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Why is Barack Obama famous?

Barack Obama is the present President of the United States and the first African-American ever to hold the office of U.S. Commander-in-Chief. 

Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States on 4 November 2008, and sworn in on 20 January 2009.

Quick Facts about Barack Obama

Born: August 4, 1961 (Hawaii)
Lives in: Chicago, Illinois
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Height: 6′ 1″ (1.87m)
Family: Married wife Michelle in 1992, 2 daughters Malia and Sasha
Parents: Barack Obama, Sr. (from Kenya) and Ann Dunham (from Kansas)

VISITING LIVERPOOL

Liverpool. The very name conjures up images of a glorious maritime history, world-beating musical heritage, two of the Premiership’s biggest football teams and not one, but two majestically different Cathedrals. This Northwest city and the surrounding City Region is certainly all those things, but it is also so much more.

It is now bulging with fabulous new shops, has buzzing new restaurants, hip hotels and trendy wine bars, as well as a world class cultural offering with more museums and galleries anywhere outside of London. Not forgetting its inhabitants, of course, who are famously friendly and will welcome you with pride.

PLACES TO VISIT:

Liverpool Museum

Walker Art Gallery

World Museum

Merseyside Maritime Museum

International Slavery Museum

STORYTELLING AT THE BEATLES STORY

THE CAVERN CLUB



ANGLICAL CATHEDRAL

CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL

THE LIVERPOOL BIG WHEEL

ONE YEAR TO 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES IN LONDON

The London 2012 Olympic Stadium is illuminated to mark '1 year to go to the Olympic Games'. These exclusive photos show the number one mown into the grass in the Olympic Stadium to start the celebrations for the '1 year to go' milestone.

LONDON 2012

LONDON 2012 MASCOTS

Explore the website to find out more about Wenlock (the London 2012 Olympic Mascot) and Mandeville ( the London 2012 Paralympic Mascot) and join us on our journey. Come back often - there's always something new. Have fun

Wenlock and Mandeville

CAMDEN MARKET - LONDON

One of the biggest attractions in London are street markets.Camden is the best of all London street markets and is a world renowned place to shop for alternative clothing.

If you need help, you can read the transcript at any time.

MACHU PICCHU DISCOVERED 100 YEARS AGO

On July 24, 1911, American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world's top tourist destinations.

Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a summer retreat for Inca leaders, whose civilization was virtually wiped out by Spanish invaders in the 16th century. For hundreds of years afterwards, its existence was a secret known only to the peasants living in the region. That all changed in the summer of 1911, when Bingham arrived with a small team of explorers to search for the famous "lost" cities of the Incas.

Traveling on foot and by mule, Bingham and his team made their way from Cuzco into the Urubamba Valley, where a local farmer told them of some ruins located at the top of a nearby mountain. The farmer called the mountain Machu Picchu, which meant "Old Peak" in the native Quechua language. The next day--July 24--after a tough climb to the mountain's ridge in cold and drizzly weather, Bingham met a small group of peasants who showed him the rest of the way. Led by an 11-year-old boy, Bingham got his first glimpse of the intricate network of stone terraces marking the entrance to Machu Picchu.

The excited Bingham spread the word about his discovery in a best-selling book, sending hordes of eager tourists flocking to Peru to follow in his footsteps up the Inca trail. The site itself stretches an impressive five miles, with over 3,000 stone steps linking its many different levels. Today, more than 300,000 people tramp through Machu Picchu every year, braving crowds and landslides to see the sun set over the towering stone monuments of the "Sacred City" and marvel at the mysterious splendor of one of the world's most famous man-made wonders.

FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

On 21 July 1969, American Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon.

Eagle landing craft.

As he put his left foot down first Armstrong declared: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

He described the surface as being like powdered charcoal and the landing craft left a crater about a foot deep.

Take off

On 16 July 1969, the Saturn V rocket launched Apollo 11 into the sky from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The Crew

Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins

The Lunar Module

To land on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin used a lunar module nicknamed Eagle.

When they landed Neil sent the following message back to Earth

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Everything is achievable

A remarkable achievement especially as no human being had ever been in space prior to 1961. Within a short space of only 8 years, we had learned not only how to send someone into space but also to land safely on the moon.

THE FOURTH RUNNING OF THE BULLS

 This fourth running of the bulls, with bulls from the mythical Miura bull-ranch, the most veteran bull-breed of the Sanfermin fiestas and the most often used on Sundays precisely because this breed traditionally behave well, turned out to be a very fast running of the bulls (2 min.29 sec.) and very exciting. There were lots of trip-ups and falls due to the large number of runners taking part, especially in the final stretches of Estafeta, Telefónica and the entrance down to the bullring.

The pack of bulls ran the whole stretch at a very fast pace with a big black bull leading the field from the end of the first stretch at Santo Domingo. In Mercaderes, some of the bulls slipped up, but they then continued to run head together and at a very fast pace. In Estafeta, in spite of the fact that there was a lot of pushing and shoving, slips-ups and falls, some good running was also to be seen close to the horns as the bulls began to loosen up and form three small groups. This bull-breed once again behaved nobly without shaping up to make charges at the runners.

Three black bulls lead for most of the way followed tightly behind by the bell-oxen, with a brown-colored bull then coming up behind this group. Further back, there were two more black bulls taking up the rear. The bulls entered the bullring in this order and the black colored bulls were quickly led towards the pens. The brown-colored bull turned back in the center of the ring and caused a few moments of tension before it too was skillfully led towards the pens by the "dobladores" without offering further resistance.

STATUE OF LIBERTY - NEW YORK

WEDDING OF HSH PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO WITH MS CHARLENE WITTSTOCK

The civil wedding will take place on Friday 1 July at 5pm in the Throne Room of the Palace of Monaco. It will be celebrated by H.E. Mr Philippe Narmino, Director of the Judicial Services and President of the Council of State.

H.E. Mr Philippe Narmino is the Ruling Family's Registrar.

The religious ceremony will take place on Saturday 2 July at 5pm in the Main Courtyard of the Palace of Monaco, where Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Bernard Barsi.

The gates to the Palace will remain open to enable some 3 500 guests to be seated for the ceremony, which will be broadcast on giant screens.

The official dinner, followed by a ball, will take place at the Opera Garnier and on the Terraces of the Monte-Carlo.

On this occasion, Friday 1 July and Saturday 2 July will be public holidays.
MORE IMFORMATION

MELODY STREET GAME

INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is annually observed on June 26 to remind people that human torture is not only unacceptable – it is also a crime.

Rehabilitation centers and human rights organizations around the world celebrate the UN’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26 each year. The day serves as a reminder to people that torture is a crime. This event gives everyone a chance to unite and voice their opinions against human torture.

Organizations, including the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and Amnesty International, have played an active role in organizing events around the world to promote the day. Activities may include: photo exhibitions; the distribution of posters and other material to boost people’s awareness of issues related to human.

On June 26, 1987, the Convention against Torture came into force. It was an important step in the process of globalizing human rights and acknowledging that torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment should be universally illegal. In 1997 the United Nations General Assembly decided to mark this historic date and designated June 26 each year as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

The first International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was held on June 26, 1998. It was a day when the United Nations appealed to all governments and members of civil society to take action to defeat torture and torturers everywhere. That same year marked the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

INTERACTIVE FITTING ROOM

Hi fashion victims!

Levis Roadwear Fitting Room  is an amazing interactive fitting room where you can dress up and down a model who moves and changes on your command.
 Go and choose your model and create the style that best suits your personality! 

THE MUMMY

Basma and Hossam are on holiday with their parents. They are visiting the Pyramids near Cairo in Egypt. But they find something very strange in one of the pyramids. Read the story and find out what happens to them.

CLEAN AND GREEN

Your room is a mess! There's rubbish lying all around, but you can recycle it. Can you put the rubbish in the right recycling bins?

I LOVE SPORTS

Listen and do the activities

I love sports

THE ROCIO PILGRIMAGE

El Rocio is normally a quiet village but once a year the village transforms into an undulating sea of people. The yearly El Rocio Romeria or pilgrimage attracts more than one million people.

Every spring people from all over Spain gather in El Rocio, on the border of Doñana National Park, between Seville and Huelva, for the largest romeria or pilgrimage in Andalusia. The word "romeria" occurred because pilgrims traditionally walked to Rome, and therefore they became known under the name "Romero".

Many people travel for days to participate in the worshipping of the "Madonna of the Dew". They gather in the flat marshlands of the Guadalquivir River delta (south of Almonte), where the statue of the "Madonna of the Dew" has been worshipped since 1280.

Every late May, or early June - to be precise: the weekend before Pentecost Monday, the seventh weekend after Easter people start to arrive on friday.

Various Catholic Fraternals from all corners of Andalucia are traveling with their own "Virgin" from their local church. They come from near and far, on horseback, in overcrowded horse carts or ox-drawn carts. They come with wagons decorated – gypsy style. The women are dressed in stunning flamenco dresses and the men are dressed in leather boots and hats Western-style.

The trip can take days, and each night they camp along the way and dance, sing and party - and consume oceans of vino ... The songs they sing tell stories from the journey, about life, about love and the love for the "Camino" - the way to El Rocio.

The streets of el Rocio are sandy as The Wild West and old cowboy movies, and in front of all houses and bars are wooden bar where you can tie your horse.

GOING TO / PRESENT CONTINUOUS (FOR FUTURE ARRANGEMENTS)

What are you going to do?

 

 

ARMED FORCES DAY - MALAGA

Spain's Queen Sofia , King Juan Carlos , Crown Prince Felipe , Princess Letizia, Andalusia regional president Jose Antonio Grinan  and Malaga's Major Francisco de la Torre preside over a military parade to mark the Spanish Armed Forces Day in Malaga May 29, 2011.

MALAGA PREPARES FOR A MILITARY CELEBRATION

More than 1,000 personnel from the three Spanish armed forces will take part in various exhibitions organised in Malaga from Friday 27th May. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía will be attending the event on Sunday as will the Minister of Defence, Carme Chacón, and other dignitaries. There will be various exhibitions and displays, starting today Friday with an exhibition on the Heredia wharf.

On Saturday morning there is a display by all three armed forces simulating a rescue of kidnapped civilians. This will take place on the Malagueta beach. After the simulation will come an aerobatic display by the Patrulla Águila, and the Navy aircraft carrier, Príncipe de Asturias, will be open to visitors.

The main event is scheduled for Sunday, 29th May at around midday in the Plaza del General Torrijos. King Juan Carlos will be presiding over the ‘Homenaje a la Bandera’ (Homage to the Flag) and the ‘Caídos’ (The Fallen) ceremonies.

After the formalities King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia will be hosting a reception for the dignitaries at the La Concepción Botanical gardens.

Although hotels in the centre of Malaga have reported that more than ninety per cent of their rooms are booked not everyone is as pleased. Around 200 people attended a demonstration in Malaga on Tuesday against the Dia de las Fuerzas Armadas saying that it was an unnecessary expense in a time of economic crisis.