City of Culture - Thousands of people braved sub-zero temperatures to watch an open-air spectacle starring magician Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo, a 10-year-old rapper and a dozen aerial dancers to launch Bradford's year as UK City of Culture. Frayne told the audience he started his career performing street magic in City Park, where the opening ceremony was held, and that his home city was "going to make its mark on the world" in 2025.
Organisers said about 10,000 people turned out to watch the show, which took place in temperatures of -3C (26.6F). Bradford is the fourth UK City of Culture, a title that is awarded every four years. The scheme is designed to boost the chosen city's visitor numbers, economies and reputations, and Bradford's year has received £15m government funding.
Oh yes it is! - Robin Hood has become the London Palladium’s best-selling pantomime of all time. More than 132,000 people attended the production, which starred Jane McDonald as Maid Marion, Julian Clary as the titular Robin and a special guest star each night in the role of King Richard – including Dawn French, Alexandra Burke and David Mitchell.
Running five weeks, from 7 December 2024 until 12 January this year, the show has broken the annual Palladium pantomime’s records for highest daily, weekly and season-wide gross sales, producer Michael Harrison has claimed. In its opening weekend alone, Robin Hood was reported to have opened to more than 9,100 audience members.
Welsh Theatre - Hollywood actor Michael Sheen is funding a new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales. He will be the artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, which will aim to tell "big stories on big stages for big audiences". The first production, due in autumn 2026 and starring Sheen himself, will be announced in the coming months. National Theatre Wales said it had "ceased to exist" last month after £1.6m in cuts to its core funding from Arts Council Wales.
Education - Local authority cuts to music education spending in Scotland would “have a resounding impact on both jobs and children", the Musicians’ Union has warned. Local authorities in Scotland currently receive ring-fenced funding from the Scottish government to provide free instrument tuition in schools, but are required to supplement the funding through their own budgets to cover the project’s full cost.
Several local authorities in Scotland, including Stirling Council, are considering axing their contribution in an effort to balance their stretched budgets. But the Musician’s Union has said that it is “gravely concerned” about the impact of these decisions.
Long Player - Sir Elton John's career-spanning greatest hits collection, Diamonds, has reached number one – after 374 weeks on the charts. Featuring signature songs like Tiny Dancer, I'm Still Standing and Rocket Man, the 51-track collection has given the star his ninth number-one album, at the age of 77. "I'm so excited and thrilled that Diamonds is the number-one album in the UK this week," he said. "What a great start to the new year. I could not be happier." Originally released in 2017, Diamonds has been a permanent fixture on the charts ever since. It received a sales boost last week after being re-released as a super deluxe edition on Blu-ray, cassette and diamond-effect vinyl.
Farewell - Laurie Holloway, the former musical director of BBC entertainment shows such as Parkinson and Strictly Come Dancing, has died aged 86. The pianist and composer was well known to a generation of TV viewers, and also worked with singers such as Petula Clark, Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. RIP.
(Jim Evans)
