A statement on the Eurovision website said, "The EBU has withdrawn member services from Romanian public service broadcaster Televiziunea Romana (TVR) following the non-payment of debts totalling CHF 16m."
Reasonably Well Off - Adele has been named as Britain's richest ever female musician, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. A list of the top 50 music millionaires in the UK and Ireland puts the singer's £85m fortune in 30th place - an increase of £35m compared to last year. The only female singer with a bigger fortune on the list - which also covers Ireland - is Enya on £91m.
For the fifth year running Adele is also ranked top of the Young Music Rich List, covering those aged 30 and under. The 27-year-old's fortune was boosted by the November release of 25 - her first album in four years. The singer made her debut on the under-30s list in 2011 in ninth place, but by 2012 she had secured the top spot, a position she has held onto ever since. Adele is now ranked at number 30 in the overall UK and Ireland music millionaires list, above Sir Cliff Richard, Gary Barlow and Kylie Minogue, and up from 43rd place last year.
Coliseum Benefits - Andrew Lloyd Webber has given more than £17,000 to a new education scheme at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre. The Education Partnership Scheme will offer industry-led workshops and masterclasses to young people, as well as giving them the chance to perform on the venue's main stage. The grant from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, which will total £17,128 over three years, will reach students from 12 schools in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The programme will stage inter-school performances at the Coliseum, in a move that the theatre said would promote intercultural relations. Schools will also receive tickets to productions and pre-show workshops.
Secret Service - A new immersive theatre production that allows audiences to tap into secret performances using an app will begin a run next month in central London. Created by theatremaker David Rosenberg, and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham and Andrew Rutland, Wiretapper will lead audiences through the streets of London, allowing them to listen to the show's hidden sound via a mobile app. Rosenberg, who founded performance collective Shunt with Rutland, said the inspiration for the production had come from work the company had done with audio-led performances in the past.
"We wanted to take that idea into a public space. So much of our life now we spend with our own individualistic soundtracks, where there is increasingly less engagement with the public. One of the big motivations was trying to create connections between audience members who are wearing headphones in public," Rosenberg told The Stage. Wiretapper will take place in a location revealed to ticket holders on the day of the performance, and the app's audio will allow them to follow the show through public spaces.
Farewell - American soul singer Billy Paul has died at the age of 80. He was best known for his 1972 hit Me and Mrs Jones, which won a Grammy award and reached number one in the US. In 2003, Mr Paul won a $500,000 (then £250,534) lawsuit for royalties owed for it from 1994 to 2002 by Assorted Music. The company said it was an accounting issue and not a case of trying to cheat anyone out of money.
(Jim Evans)
