Concert For Ukraine - Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol will all play at next week's Concert For Ukraine, which will be broadcast on ITV and STV. Emeli Sande, Becky Hill, Gregory Porter and Chic are also in the line-up, with more acts to be confirmed. Tickets for the concert, which will take place at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, go on sale today.
Proceeds from the concert will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian appeal, which is providing food, water, shelter and medical assistance to refugees in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
ITV has also pledged that all sponsorship and advertising revenue generated from the broadcast - an estimated £3m - will be donated to the appeal. “I will be singing to try to help every human being forced to flee their home and in solidarity with those being racially discriminated against even within this humanitarian crisis,” says Sande in a statement. The show is being produced by ITV in conjunction with the Global radio network - which will broadcast live, behind-the-scenes coverage on its Heart and Capital stations.
City of Culture - Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham have made the shortlist to be named UK City of Culture for 2025. A different location is given the title every four years. The winning place will be announced in May and will be the fourth holder, after Derry-Londonderry, Hull and the current City of Culture, Coventry. The title has brought £172m to Coventry, according to the government, as well as events like BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend and the Turner Prize.
"We have seen a huge positive impact in this year's host city, Coventry, with millions of pounds in investment and thousands of visitors," said Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay. The government said the finalists would have to show how they would use culture "to transform a place through social, cultural and economic regeneration" and recover from the COVID pandemic.
The four locations that missed out on progressing from the longlist were Cornwall, Derby, Stirling and a bid covering Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.
Forces’ Sweetheart - The life and work of Dame Vera Lynn was remembered at a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey yesterday. Stars including Katherine Jenkins and Sir Tim Rice were among those who paid tribute to the Forces' Sweetheart at the service in London.
The hour-long service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, who said: "We remember a talent and charm that sustained a breathtakingly long career - the only centenarian to have an album in the top 10." Among the performers were singer Katie Ashby and the D-Day Darlings, who performed Dame Vera's classic The White Cliffs of Dover, and operatic singer Jenkins, who closed the service with an emotional rendition of wartime favourite We'll Meet Again.
Walk On - Musical Kinky Boots is being revived to mark the 10th anniversary of its debut. It will be co-produced by the New Wolsey in Ipswich and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and directed by Tim Jackson. The revival marks 10 years since the show first ran at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre in 2012. It had a three-year run in the West End from September 2015.
Park Life - Kate Fleetwood is to lead the cast of 101 Dalmatians at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre as Cruella de Vil. The musical by Douglas Hodge and Johnny McKnight, based on a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris, will run from 12 July to 28 August. Dalmatians Pongo and Perdi will be brought to life by puppeteers Danny Collins, Emma Lucia, Yana Penrose and Ben Thompson. Set design is by Colin Richmond, costume is by Katrina Lindsay, sound is by Nick Lidster for Autograph, musical supervision and orchestrations are by Sarah Travis.
(Jim Evans)
22 March 2022

Latest Issue. . .