News

Serena Williams criticized a luxury hotel in Paris on Monday evening for being “denied access” to the hotel’s rooftop restaurant along with her children. The retired tennis champion, who served as a torch bearer at the opening ceremony of this summer’s Olympics, shared an anecdote about her experience at the Peninsula Paris on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places … but never with my kids,” Williams wrote. “Always a first.” She added on a hashtag for the Olympics.

Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places...

Simone Biles capped an epic comeback today when she clinched her second women’s individual all-around gold medal and became only the third woman to win the all-around gold twice. She also broke a 120-year-old record to become the only U.S. gymnast to win six Olympic gold medals.

Stop what you’re doing right Now and watch Simone Biles on floor!

Paris delivered an Olympics Opening Ceremony worthy of the world’s attention.

The spectacle directed by French actor and artistic director Thomas Jolly celebrated the over 10,000 athletes participating in this year’s games while showing the world French culture on the highest level.

In what felt like a true Tour de France, audiences around the world were able to walk through the Louvre Museum, sit underneath the Eiffel Tower, sail on the Seine and watch Parisian culture on full display.

Rumored performances by Lady Gaga and Céline Dion did not disappoint and surprise returns from fan-favorite athletes made the four-hour special well worth it.

Before President Emmanuel Macron of France announced the official start of the games, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, thanked France for the “magical welcome” and gave a message of hope to the athletes before him.

“In our Olympic world, there is no global south or global north.

For months before the 2024 Summer Olympics, there had been questions surrounding Paris’ ability to hold such a massive event. The city’s residents had threatened to defecate in the Seine River — the site of the opening ceremony — in protest of its highly polluted waters. As the opening presentation neared, things didn’t exactly get better. Just this morning, France’s high-speed rail trains were a target of arson, and thunderstorms cast clouds over the city. Yet, when the opener finally commenced, audiences were transported through a whimsical and engaging four-hour showcase that presented the best of Paris’ glorious architecture and music while welcoming top athletes from across the globe to the French capital.

The ceremony launched with French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane jogging through the streets, carrying the lighted torch down into the Paris Metro and emerging on the Seine via sailboat in a gorgeous explosion of blue, white and red hovering above the river.

The 2024 Summer Olympics are officially underway in Paris. The city of love has become the center of the world as athletes from around the globe have trekked to participate in events that will take place from July 26 through August 11. The Olympics planned a special opening ceremony to kick things off that started with a special appearance from one of France’s most legendary athletes. Music icons Lady Gaga and Céline Dion were reported to be performing in the Opening Ceremony. Gaga did, indeed, end up performing a surprise number early on, and Dion closed out the ceremony in a spectacular surprise performance on the Eiffel Tower. Here are the highlights from what’s happened so far in the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. Soccer legend Zinedine Zidane carries the torch Jamel Debbouze et Zinedine Zidane lancent la #ceremoniedouverture des Jeux Olympiques de #Paris2024 ! pic.twitter.com/DJzhMHtdn8 — Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 26, 2024 Prologue.

The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics made history on Friday as the first to take place outside of a stadium, with a bevy of performances that included a French-language song from superstar Lady Gaga, a fashion runway show on a bridge and boats filled with global athletes cheering as they sailed down the River Seine.

The floatilla event, known for its pomp and grand displays from the host nation, was beset by a rainy day in Paris, but that didn’t stop spectators from lining up along Paris’ famous river to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.

Starting at the Austerlitz Bridge next to Paris’ Jardin des Plantes, the route followed the course of the Seine, east to west. It circumvents two islands in the center of Paris and then flows under several bridges and gateways in the City of Lights. The boat journey for the delegations finishes at the Iena Bridge,...

As one of the most successful games released annually, EA Sports took the opportunity to present the player who will be the star of the next cover.

Despite having a successful Euros but not winning the title, England is represented in the highly anticipated EA Sports Fc 25, primarily because one of Real Madrid’s star players will grace the cover. Jude Bellingham will be the chosen player. Fans are pleased with this choice.

EA Sports Fc 25 Is Coming This Year and Has Already Confirmed Its Cover Star EA Sports Fc 25 legends alongside star Jude Bellingham the new star for the cover of the game. Image via EA Sports.

For years, this soccer title has been the most popular on the planet, with enormous sales following it year after year. It seems this year will be no different, so the studio has already revealed who will be the face of the...

EA Sports Fc 25 is around the corner. This highly anticipated football simulation will be launching on September 24, 2024, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. Like its previous edition, this time as well, the main hype is centered around the cover of the Ultimate Edition of the game.

And the long wait is finally over as the cover of the Ultimate Edition of Fc 25 is finally revealed. However, fans have their own concerns regarding an important feature of the game, which we have been missing in previous titles.

EA Announces the Cover of the EA Sports Fc 25 Ultimate Edition

The EA Sports Fc 25 Ultimate cover will have Jude Bellingham in it. | Credit: Electronic Arts.

EA Sports Fc has recently announced the Ultimate Edition cover of the highly anticipated title from its official Twitter handle. The caption of the tweet depicts the whole cover: “Defined by silverware delivered for the club.” That...

In the vast landscape of ever-changing music, becoming a pop icon is a rare and prestigious achievement that many big names have failed to attain. Michael Jackson, who is often hailed as the King of Pop, was a legendary figure who secured this massive feat.

Michael Jackson in his Smooth Criminal music video. Credits: Vevo

The man revolutionized the music industry with his talent, and his sense of rhythm and melody made fans groove to his music. His fame and stardom were unrivaled until another massive name came into the picture: none other than Taylor Swift.

However, the fans of the Delicate singer did not go out of their way to prove her popularity, as they respect Mj. Moreover, an old video has surfaced showcasing how Jackson could not escape his stardom even in the deep jungle of the Amazon Rainforest.

Michael Jackson’s Music Was Even Enjoyed By Amazonian...

Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 will take place on June 9 at Stamford Bridge.

The live show on ITV1, Stv and Itvx will be hosted by Unicef UK Ambassador Dermot O’Leary, who will be joined once again by Unicef UK High Profile Supporter, Alex Scott. Sam Matterface returns as Commentator, with Iain Stirling on Co-Comms duty. A half-time entertainment show will also be announced in due course. Previous performers include Rita Ora, Robbie Williams and Tom Grennan.

England have won five times since the game began in 2006 – but their last victory came in 2018. They trail the Soccer Aid World XI Fc who have won the fixture seven times – and are on a record five-year winning streak.

England will take to the pitch in a specially commissioned Euro ’96 kit. This is ahead of Euro 2024 – the first game of which is just five days after Soccer Aid. The Soccer Aid World XI Fc will...

When he won the Un Certain Regard jury’s joint Best Actor prize for Harka in 2022, Adam Bessa wasn’t onstage to accept it. He’d figured he didn’t stand a chance, so he’d gone fishing in Marseille instead and was struggling with a seabass when the call came. He laughs. “‘You have to come back,’ they said. I was like, ‘Nah. I’m in the middle of nowhere right now, I can’t.’ So, I made a little video instead.”

Adam Bessa

This year, Bessa is back in Cannes with Critics’ Week opener Ghost Trail by Jonathan Millet. “It’s the story of a Syrian intellectual who was jailed during the civil war in Syria and now he’s chasing the man who tortured him. It’s based on a true story, about these guys who escaped from prison and tried to create a secret militia, a secret spy group.

It’s been 100 years since ink first flowed through Montblanc’s Meisterstück, the fountain pen wielded by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Yoko Ono, Presidents Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy, and others.

To mark the luxe instrument‘s centennial, the German luxury house took over Los Angeles’ Paramour Estate (once the home of silent movie star Antonio Moreno) for a starry soirée to launch a new global campaign conceived by Wes Anderson — complete with a red carpet inspired by the short film’s alpine setting.

Though the Oscar-winning filmmaker was absent (he was busy filming in Berlin), campaign co-stars Jason Schwartzman and Rupert Friend were on hand for a seated dinner alongside guests Adrien Brody, Maude Apatow, Emma Roberts (who requested a custom sketch from on-site artist Kevin Zych), Simu Liu (who was seen sneaking a peek inside the hilltop manse’s speakeasy), Kiernan Shipka, Waris Ahluwalia, Dylan Sprouse,...

South African filmmaker John Barker is developing a six-episode, “Last Dance”-style documentary series about the South African national soccer team’s stirring triumph at the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, a landmark moment for a young nation still celebrating its transition to democracy after the end of apartheid.

“Bafana the Boys,” which has already been acquired by South African streaming service eVOD and is currently being circled by global platforms, features interviews with legendary players from the championship squad, such as team captain Neil Tovey and star midfielder Doctor Khumalo. Barker is in talks with icons of the international game, including French players Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry — who scored his first international goal against South Africa — as well as coaching legends Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho.

Produced by Joel Phiri and Athos Kyriakides for Known Associates Entertainment, “Bafana the Boys” also includes interviews with former South African President Thabo Mbeki,...

The big surprise on the runway of Yohji Yamamoto’s Fall Winter 2024 men’s collection in Paris was the appearance of Wim Wenders. The 78-year-old German filmmaker, currently enjoying box office success in Europe with Perfect Days, walked the runway wearing classic pieces in the fashion house’s style of layering and varying lengths.

Yamamoto’s connection to Wenders dates back to 1989, when the director of Wings of Desire made a documentary about the founder of the Japanese brand called Notebook on Cities and Clothes.

“We became close like brothers a long time ago. We share the same memory from when we were very young — the Tokyo and Berlin bombings,” the fashion designer stressed backstage at the event inside Yamamoto’s European headquarters on Rue Saint-Martin, in the heart of Les Halles.

The soundtrack featured famous songs such as Radiohead’s “Creep,” Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” and Johnny Cash’s “The Little Drummer Boy,...

Exclusive: Fresh from reflecting on his Real Madrid career in his Netflix series, David Beckham is now preparing an ESPN documentary about the Galácticos.

Beckham’s Studio 99 has teamed up with Fulwell 73 to develop the project, which has not yet officially been greenlit by ESPN but is gearing up for production.

Spotlighting one of sport’s most iconic teams, the documentary has echoes of ESPN series The Last Dance, which won acclaim for its depiction of Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls.

The so-called Galácticos were assembled by Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who had a mission to sign superstar footballers from the best leagues in the world.

Real Madrid broke the world transfer record five times by signing the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Gareth Bale across two Galácticos eras.

The first of these eras, when Pérez was president between 2000 and...

Disney+ has set cast for UK psychological drama Playdate, adapted from Alex Dahl’s best-selling novel of the same name, and revealed details of its latest unscripted slate from Britain.

The series, directed by Eva Husson (Mothering Sunday), will star Denise Gough (Andor), Holliday Grainger (Strike), Ambika Mod (I Hate Suzie), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Bronagh Waugh (The Suspect) and Michael Workeye (This is Going to Hurt).

Deadline revealed the show, EPed by Nicola Shindler and Tanya Seghatchian, last month. General series synopsis reads: Elisa’s world is turned upside down when her young daughter Lucia is kidnapped at a sleepover. Who is the mystery woman who took Lucia, and what secrets does she know about Elisa?

The series is executive produced by Shindler (Nolly) for Quay Street Productions, Seghatchian and John Woodward (The Power of the Dog) for Brightstar, Johanna Devereaux, VP of Scripted Content for Disney+ Emea, and Alex Dahl,...

Disney+ will put the spotlight on such music stars as Dua Lipa, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Mark Ronson, Little Simz, Boy George and the Black Eyed Peas in upcoming documentary series Camden, previously unveiled with Academy Award winner Asif Kapadia (Amy) as the series director.

Episode directors are Toby Trackman, Yemi Bamiro and co-director Sarah Lambert.

The show, produced by Lightbox in association with Day One Pictures and Dua Lipa’s production company Radical22, will also feature Pete Doherty, Questlove, Little Nile Rodgers, Yungblud, Jazzie B, Bob Vylan, Chuck D and Sister Bliss among its lineup of stars whose careers and lives have been changed forever by London’s Camden neighborhood, Disney+ executives revealed at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday.

They also announced news of a new three-part doc series with the working title World War Shoe: Adidas vs. Puma from Matador Content (Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Bs High...

New Delhi, April 11 (Ians) When Rohit Sharma was bought by Mumbai Indians for Inr 9.2 crore in 2011, little did the ‘Paltan’ know that that he would grow into becoming the most successful captains in Ipl history.

After spending 12 years with the franchise, Rohit has become a stalwart of the Mumbai Indians team and has become a crowd favourite among the Mumbaikars.

Speaking to Star Sports, Rohit mentioned the one person who he wants to meet this lifetime.

“Zinedine Zidane. There is lots to ask him, how did he headbutt in that game? What made him do that? As a manager to Real Madrid how did he manage to pull those championship titles back-to-back with a lot of guys in his team at the end of their career. How did he manage to keep the consistency and get the best of the team in all the matches? These are the things I...

Rid de Janeiro, Dec 26 (Ians) Zinedine Zidane has emerged as a frontrunner to assume Brazil’s vacant head coaching job, according to media reports in the South American country.

Zidane has been linked with the France managerial role but could make Brazil a priority if Didier Deschamps remains in charge of the Les Bleus, the newspaper O Globo reported on Sunday.

Deschamps told reporters after France’s defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final last Sunday (Dec 18) that he would discuss his future with French football federation chiefs in the coming days.

Zidane, 50, has been out of work since parting ways with Real Madrid, whom he led to three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, in May last year, reports news agency Xinhua.

Brazil’s head coaching position became vacant earlier this month when Tite stepped down following the team’s World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Croatia.

Others to have...

World football champion Lionel Messi got clicked by celebrity Indian photographer Rohan Shrestha for his #WhiteTSeries. Sharing more about this dream shoot, Shrestha said: “For those who know me would know I’m a big fan of Lionel Messi since he was 17 and a professional shoot was on the top of my wishlist ever since I picked up the camera professionally in 2010. I got the chance in Paris & my dream shoot was just a flight away. After Zinedine Zidane, this was my second shoot with an international Footballer.”

Speaking of his experience Shrestha said: “My hands were shaking, my heart was pumping fast, my palms were sweaty while I was doing the shoot but yes I did it.”

“After the shoot, I had the chance to speak with him & his team. Messi was then informed that I was a huge fan and that’s when he came up to me and hugged me.

Deschamps’ future were not a matter for discussion on Monday, as the team travelled back to Paris.

However, French Football Federation (Fff) President Noel Le Graet does not want to waste any time, and he is seeking clarity so has promised to call Deschamps by Wednesday at the latest, Le Graet told French broadcaster Bfmtv.

"I will call him tomorrow or the day after tomorrow when he has recovered, too. We will see each other as soon as possible, of course," he said on Monday.

Deschamps’ contract is up, but it is widely expected there will be another deal on offer if he wishes to stay on and target Euro 2024 success.

The France coach said on Sunday night in Qatar that a decision about his future was one for early in the new year.

Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has long been linked as the likely next national team coach,...

Besides Bachchan, portraits of a host of worldwide personalities drawn from various walks from the sports world to performing artists feature on the canvas paintings of Iranian artist Emad Al Salehi called the ‘Ball story’.

FIFA President Giovanni Infantino, along with current footballers Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and past footballers like Ali Daei of Iran, late Diego Maradonna of Argentina and Zinedine Zidane of France are those whose portraits find a prominent place on the canvas, which is equivalent to the size of a football field and will be formally unveiled on Wednesday evening at one the University football grounds in Qatar.

The painstaking five-month artistic painting of Emad is all connected to the football game and will cover an area of 9600 square meters and tries to tell the story of the World Cup from its inception in 1930 until the World Cup Qatar 2022 through art.

"Sometimes I...

France’s 2-1 victory in the World Cup group stage over Denmark on Saturday evening drew an average 11.6 million viewers to TF1 from the 5Pm hour local time. This is second best audience score of the year for all programs and across all channels in the Hexagon. Upon entering the tournament last week, Les Bleus set a record for viewership in 2022, and since June 2021.

Viewing figures peaked on TF1 at 14.6 million for the France/Denmark face-off on Saturday with a 63 share, which is significantly higher than Tuesday’s 48.1 share when France beat Australia.

For the first time since providing World Cup ratings, French audience measurement firm Médiamétrie is also keeping tabs on out-of-home viewing including in bars, restaurants and hotels. This year, owing to the controversy over host country Qatar, major cities in France are not erecting the usual giant outdoor screens.

In the second half on Saturday, Kylian Mbappé scored both goals for Les Bleus, bringing his total to three in the two matches so far this tournament. Mbappé’s career World Cup record increased to seven goals in just nine appearances.

The striker has also tied Brazilian legend Pelé as the only other player under 24 to mark seven World Cup goals. What’s more, Mbappé now has a total 31 international goals for France, level with Zinedine Zidane. German player Miroslav Klose remains the top scorer in the history of the World Cup with 16 goals across four tournaments.

Now qualified to move on to the round of 16, Didier Deschamps’ reigning world champions will next face Tunisia on Wednesday.

Today’s play includes Japan v Costa Rica, Belgium v Morocco, Croatia v Canada and Spain v Germany.

Doha, Nov 19 (Ians) It could well be a history-defining FIFA World Cup for France as Didier Deschamps and his boys aim to become only the third country ever to win successive FIFA World Cup titles after Italy and Brazil.

Being the defending champions, there will be a lot of hope from France who will be making their 16th appearance in the World Cup, a competition they have won in 1998, 2018. Barring Denmark, there is little to suggest they would be troubled much by the likes of Australia and Tunisia — the other teams in Group D — as they seek a knockout berth.

As the French national team looks to defend its title, there’ll be a bit of similarity as the group they are in is weirdly familiar to the one they won in Russia in 2018.

They have Australia and Denmark again, with Tunisia replacing Peru this time around. The Danes, though,...

Paris, Oct 18 (Ians) French striker Karim Benzema claimed the 2022 Ballon d’Or here after a dazzling season with Real Madrid which saw the Spanish giants win both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

Spain’s Alexia Putellas won the women’s trophy for the second year in a row following another stellar season with Barcelona.

The first French player to win the prestigious individual football prize since Zinedine Zidane in 1998, Benzema had his best season ever at Madrid, finishing with 44 goals in 46 matches and becoming the top scorer in both domestic and continental tournaments, reports Xinhua. A highlight for the 34-year-old came in the knockout stages of the Champions League when he grabbed two consecutive hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, and Chelsea in the quarterfinals.

“It’s a collective victory. It’s an individual trophy but without your teammates, you can’t score. Sometimes you might get a screamer but,...

Money in the world of football has become a big talking point within the game. Be it transfer fees, ticket prices, imaging and TV rights, or even the odd FIFA related bribing scandal, the financial element of the game will now always be questioned. With figures nearly exceeding £100,000,000 for a single player it’s beginning to feel that clubs can demand stupid money for any player within their squad. You only have to look at players like Dwight Gayle, Jake Livermore, and Robert Snodgrass who are being bought for £10 million plus. I mean, Crystal Palace bought Jeffery Schlupp for £12 million! Am I missing something here? It’s like money doesn’t have any value within the game anymore.

Of course, there are some transfers that warrant clubs splashing out large amounts of money to get their man. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, and Neymar to name a few.

James Franco pulled a Zinedine Zidane on a photographer at a Lana Del Rey concert ... according to the photog who says he suffered the blow. David Tonnessen says he was snapping photos of Lana at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 2014 when Franco, unprovoked, viciously charged and head-butted him in the stomach. According to the docs ... Franco was "smiling, rather demonically" when Tonnessen first spotted him, and then -- with a "blank expression of joy on his...

The Oscar-winning director of 12 Years a Slave has pushed back the boundaries of film because of the fearlessness that comes with a background in art

When the director Steve McQueen was an art student learning basic film-making skills at Goldsmiths College, London, he joked he was already aiming for the time when his name would eclipse that of his glamorous namesake, star of The Great Escape and Bullitt. "One day," he told his tutor, Professor Will Brooker, "when people talk about Steve McQueen, I am going to be the first person they think of."

Now, with an Oscar for his film 12 Years a Slave, the transition from Turner prizewinning artist to celebrated director has been made in style. It is a path to cinematography also taken by the British artist Sam Taylor-Wood, nominated for a Turner prize in 1998 and now editing her high-profile film of the erotic bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.

By Neil Pedley

This week's new films include the Western going Eastern, a couple of exotic music docs, Cinderella stories for girls and for boys and Vin Diesel attempting to walk, chew gum and shoot people -- all at the same time.

"Babylon A.D."

Second chances all around in this stylish cyberpunk romp that sees "La Haine" director Mathieu Kassovitz take another bite at the mainstream cherry after stumbling with his last detour into Hollywood, the Halle Berry clunker "Gothika." Vin Diesel, who passed on "Hitman" for this, also gets another shot at a potential franchise after eliciting a collective yawn with his Neo-lite performance in "The Chronicles of Riddick." After a troubled shoot fraught with budget overruns and uncooperative weather, Diesel has the bigger challenge on his hands as Toorop, a mercenary charged with trying to save the world with a snowboard while escorting a genetically altered young woman...

English soccer ace David Beckham is set to make his big screen debut in Mel Gibson's sports film Goal!. The Real Madrid player will take a small role, playing himself alongside teammates Zinedine Zidane and Raul, in the film about South American football star Santiago - played by Diego Luna - who signs for English team Newcastle United. And Beckham's England teammates Kieron Dyer and Wayne Rooney will also star in the movie, which is financed by Gibson's Icon Productions and directed by Danny Cannon. Beckham enthuses, "I believe the Goal! trilogy will provide a positive message to kids around the world."...