Over 100 acts have now dropped out of The Great Escape 2024 in Gaza boycott, with support from Massive Attack

here.The report from AIF also comes after NME looked into why so many UK festivals have been cancelled or postponed in recent years, and spoke to industry experts to shed light on the rapid decline.It highlighted how Herefordshire’s Nozstock Hidden Valley announced that 2024 would be their final incarnation after 26 years due to “soaring costs” and financial risk”, and Shepton Mallet skating and music festival NASS announced that they wouldn’t be putting on an event this summer either as it was “just not economically feasible to continue”.Others mentioned were the cancelled Dumfries’ Doonhame Festival, Bluedot – which announced a year off for the land to “desperately” recover after being struck by heavy rain and cancellations last summer – Nottingham’s Splendour, which was canned this year due to planning delays from a financially-struggling city council, and Barn On The Farm shared that it would be taking a fallow year due to financial constraints.Discussing the issues at hand, co-manager for the latter, Oscar Matthews, told NME: “From our perspective, the festival in 2023 itself was brilliant – it was a really successful year – but we were hit majorly on a financial level by a mix of increased production costs and a very big reduction in ticket sales,” he said.

The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia will be the recipient of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award, an annual honor recognizing a regional theatre company that has displayed “a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Chi is still going strong.

The Great British Sewing Bee left viewers 'infuriated' just moments into the new series.The hit BBC show returned to TV screens on Tuesday, 21 May, with a fresh set of amateur sewers competing to be crowned Britain’s best seamster. Patrick Grant and Esme Young returned as judges, while presenting duties have been taken over by actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe, who has replaced former host Sara Pascoe for the tenth series. He made his hosting debut in the 2023 Christmas special, and also competed on a celebrity edition of the show in 2021.

A ‘generation of new towns’ modelled on areas including Hale will be built if Labour wins the next election, according Angela Rayner. The party’s deputy leader was setting out her party’s plans at the UK Real Estate, Investment & Infrastructure Forum in Leeds on Tuesday (May 21).

Princess Catherine‘s brother is ready to tell all when it comes to his life growing up alongside the future member of the royal family — and much more!

Gogglebox has become a firm favourite with TV viewers over the years, with the format of the Channel 4 show proving to be a genius idea.The hit show sees families across the UK watch the latest television shows and react to them - a simple but incredibly effective idea. Gogglebox launched in 2013 and is now in its 23rd series.There's been several spin-off editions too, including a well received celebrity version and a kids' show, dubbed Gogglesprogs.

A good section of Denise Van Outen’s wardrobe at home is a homage to 90s fashion, with vintage designer clothes, sentimental pieces and a very special tiara. As the Chicago actress approaches her 50th birthday and is now a mum to a teenager, she talks to OK! about how her fashion style has changed, what her daughter Betsy “steals” from her wardrobe and why she’ll never airbrush her selfies. “I think it’s nice to keep certain clothes because they evoke certain memories, so I’ve got loads,” she says, laughing.

Charlie Hunnam is talking about his exit from the Fifty Shades of Grey film franchise, over 10 years after he dropped out of the project.

Chaka Khan, Jessie Ware and the Earth, Wind and Fire Experience have been announced to headline this year’s Cambridge Club Festival – check out the full roster below.The Cambridge Club Festival will arrive at Childerly Orchard, Cambridge on June 7-9, where you can expect to see other acts such as Mel C, Natasha Bedingfield, Rebecca Ferguson and Sister Sledge. Additionally, Fat Tony, Mousse T., Norman Jay, DJ Paulette and Denise Van Outen are set to DJ at the festival.Cambridge Club Festival also offers some exciting non-musical experiences such as a family-friendly area, a new on-site cinema, and an array of talks and comedy shows.

Gregg Goldstein Raoul Peck‘s life is as fascinating as his films, filled with unexpected twists and turns. From his early stints as a cab driver and journalist, to a minister of culture post in his native Haiti, to teaching, to founding his Velvet Film production shingle to his breakthrough when he earned an Oscar nomination as producer/director with the James Baldwin doc, “I Am Not Your Negro,” the common denominator is Peck’s drive to make life better through his work.

Thousands of fans are campaigning to get Harrison Butker kicked off the Kansas City Chiefs after that sexist graduation speech!

Soft Play – FKA Slaves – have dropped out of the Great Escape Festival in solidarity with Palestine.The 2024 edition of the event – which showcases new and rising artists – is currently being held across various music venues in Brighton until Saturday (May 18).The Great Escape is sponsored by Barclays, which has been a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza because of the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel with over 35,000 Palestinians killed since the October 7 attacks. Over 100 acts have now dropped out of this year’s event with Soft Play, who were due to perform at The Paris House on Saturday, becoming the latest.Posting on Instagram, they wrote: “We will not be playing at the great escape this weekend.

The Great Escape Festival 2024 line-up have pulled out of the festival with over 125 artists joining the boycott, a number of the acts have spoken to NME about their decision and showing solidarity with Palestine.The Great Escape kicked off last night (May 15), but every artist booked to play the opening party canceled their appearance at the festival, alongside more than 100 others including Picture Parlour, Miso Extra and Alfie Templeman – while Big Special will be playing but donating their fee from the festival to the Palestine Child Relief fund.Festival sponsors Barclays are accused of investing in a number of companies that supply arms to Israel, with over 35,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the historic conflict escalated last year, with Hamas committing the October 7 attacks. The bank also sponsors a number of other festivals, including Latitude, Download and Isle Of Wight.We've pulled out of this year's @thegreatescape due to their ongoing partnership with Barclays- who have, and still are, investing billions in arms companies involved in the genocide on Palestinians.

Big Special have shared a statement explaining why they have decided to play The Great Escape amidst the boycott.The gothic Black Country duo – comprised of Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney – took to their official Instagram account to explain why they will go ahead with performing at this year’s edition of the Brighton-based music festival.The 2024 event – which showcases new and rising artists – is due to take place across various music venues in Brighton from today (May 15) until Saturday (18).The Great Escape is sponsored by Barclays, which has been a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza because of the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel.“We will still be performing at The great escape this week and donating our fee to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, of which our label will also match the donation. Here is our statement,” wrote the duo in an Instagram post.A post shared by BIG SPECIAL (@bigspecial_)“There’s been a lot of chat about The Great Escape festival recently and their sponsorship from Barclays, who are helping fund arms sales to Israel, weapons being used to commit war crimes against the Palestinian people.“A lot of bands have boycotted the event in solidarity.

Eurovision this year “until the last second”.This year’s song contest has seen multiple controversies arise in the build up to the finale, which aired last Saturday (May 11).On top of the shock disqualification of Dutch entry Joost Klein, Eurovision organisers the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) had faced significant criticism for the inclusion of Israel amidst the Israel-Palestine crisis.Additionally, there were reports of a “crisis meeting” between four countries and the EBU just hours before the finale was due to begin. These four countries were later revealed to be the United Kingdom, Portgual, Ireland, and the eventual winner of this year, Switzerland.Now, Norway’s entry Gåte have spoken to Norwegian media about their own threat to pull out.

Kyle Richards just had a FREAK encounter with a rat!

Eurovision is set to take place tonight (May 11) – check out the full running order and list of contestants below.Altogether, 37 countries entered the contest and were split in half to compete for a place in the finals across two semi finals on Tuesday (May 7) and Thursday (May 9). Tonight, 26 of them will perform in the final, with Big Five nations France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK and the host nation Sweden all going straight through.Representing the UK this year is Olly Alexander, who will be performing his song ‘Dizzy’ which has been compared to the likes of the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s A Sin’.According to Eurovision World, the favourites to win the competition is Croatia, whose entry Baby Lasagna currently has a 42 per cent chance at snagging the crown this year with their song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’.The full running order for Eurovision 2024 is:1. Sweden | Marcus & Martinus – ‘Unforgettable’2. Ukraine | alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – ‘Teresa & Maria’3. Germany | ISAAK – ‘Always On The Run’4. Luxembourg | TALI – ‘Fighter’5. Netherlands | Joost Klein – ‘Europapa’6. Israel | Eden Golan – ‘Hurricane’7. Lithuania | Silvester Belt – ‘Luktelk’8. Spain | Nebulossa – ‘ZORRA’9. Estonia | 5MIINUST x Puuluup – ‘(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi’10. Ireland | Bambie Thug – ‘Doomsday Blue’11. Latvia | Dons – ‘Hollow’12. Greece | Marina Satti – ‘ZARI’13. United Kingdom | Olly Alexander – ‘Dizzy’14. Norway | Gåte – ‘Ulveham’15. Italy | Angelina Mango – ‘La Noia’16. Serbia | TEYA DORA – ‘RAMONDA’17. Finland | Windows95man – ‘No Rules!’18. Portugal | iolanda – ‘Grito’19. Armenia | LADANIVA – ‘Jako’20. Cyprus | Silia Kapsis – ‘Liar’21. Switzerland | Nemo – ‘The Code’22. Slovenia | Raiven – ‘Veronika’23. Croatia | Baby

So many K-Pop superstars are also massive on social media – and the top idols have millions and millions of followers!

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem embarked this week on one of the more tumultuous book tours in recent memory, as she was peppered with questions about an anecdote about killing her dog Cricket, and another story about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Major doubts were raised that the latter story was true.