Chris Martin, Beyoncé and Bono are the three biggest names set to delight and dazzle the Pyramid stage audience at this weekend's musical extravaganza that is Glastonbury Festival. Despite being held in June, the festival is synonymous with heavy rain, and this year looks set to be no exception. So if you're heading down to the west country for the festival, you'd better follow Jay's advice and take your wellies, and when you get back you can start counting down the days until the Inbetweener's movie - set for an August 19th release. Check out the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.
One band not featuring at Glastonbury is the Arctic Monkeys, who, following the release of their brilliant new album, 'Suck it and See', will be performing at several other festivals around Europe instead, including Oxegen, Benicassim and V Festival, followed by a busy UK tour. Suck it and See is the Sheffield 4-piece's 4th album, and there is evidence of progression in the new sound. Whilst maintaining the maturity of Humbug, there is a shift back towards the catchy, melodic tones of earlier hits such as 'Fluorescent Adolescent' and 'A Certain Romance', a mix I have vastly enjoyed and plan to use as the soundtrack to my imminent holiday to Rhodes.
One thing concerning me about my trip to the beautiful Greek island is the state of their economy. Although tourist hotspots are not as badly hit as mainland Greece, the turmoil and anger is still evident there, and we were lucky to avoid the strikes at the airport last summer - our flight being the last one to leave before strike action grounded Kos airport to a halt. I pray that the coalition government consider the events in Greece, and their failed approach to rectify their financial crisis by imposing savage cuts to public services, with the need for another bailout showing that this does not always solve the problem, and often creates more.
The timing of my vacation inconveniently clashes with the final of this year's Wimbledon tournament, the climax of which is likely to include more heartache for British fans dreaming of seeing Andy Murray end the 75-year wait for a Briton to win at SW19. Fred Perry's legacy lives on and I cannot see the pessimistic Scot getting his hands on the silverware with the other 3 of the so-called 'big four' all playing fantastic tennis this year. Many of said fans, who have braved the long queues to get priority tickets at the All-England club, criticised the event's organisers for giving Murray an open-aired berth on Court No.1, arguing that he should be playing on the roofed Centre Court. Such decisions should be based on quality of play rather than fan's favourites - imagine seeing Nadal or Federer having to surrender spots in the Rod Laver arena in Melbourne because Lleyton Hewitt was playing that day.
Preparing for the fortnight in South-West London, Murray drew inspiration from a staggering display by Rory McIlroy at the US Open over the weekend. Finishing 8 shots ahead at the top of the leaderboard, the 22-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland put the demons of his capitulation at the Masters behind him by dominating all 4 days at the Congressional Country Club, Maryland. Comparisons have quite rightly been drawn between McIlroy and the legend that is Tiger Woods, and I am sure there are many more majors and Ryder Cup titles on the way following this win. His attitude following devastation at Augusta was exceptional, and his humble reception of praise this weekend was equally impressive. A great man at such a tender age, McIlroy is definitely one to watch.
I couldn't finish this post without at least mentioning football, and the off-season drama continued this week, with Chelsea finally giving up on their attempts to lure Guus Hiddink back to the Bridge, and taking what can only be described as a gamble on the emerging talent, Andre Villas-Boas. The former Porto manager won everything there was to win in his first season at the helm of Portugal's biggest club, and has been extensively compared to the Special One, but there is no guarantee of achieving the instant success Blues fans enjoyed under Mourinho. Regardless of how long Abramovich will give his new manager to deliver success, it seems apparent that Chelsea will once again flex their financial muscle this summer, with several sources claiming that they are willing to offer 40 million for the services of Brazilian youngster Neymar, as well as targeting other potential marquee signings for the new season.
With Alex Ferguson having already strengthened his title-winning side and the league's richest club Manchester City having Champions League football to offer next year, the battle to sign the world's hottest talents has already begun and it will be an interesting story to watch unfold until deadline day.
