1st
BE A BEACH BUM 18 July-17 August Every July and August the residents of Brussels enjoy summer fun on an artificially created sandy beach. Bruxelles les bain is the venue for sporting action, barbecues and live music, every day except Mondays at Place Sainctelette and rue de la Dyle (take the metro to Ribaucourt or Yser-User); www.bruxelleslesbains.be
GET YOUR JAZZ SHOES ON
4-13 July
For the 30th year, Denmark’s capital celebrates all things
jazz-related with the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Big names
in the genre, like singer Angélique Kidjo (pictured) and
saxophonists Ornette Coleman and Wayne Shorter, are
among the many musicians who are playing here this month;
www.jazzfestival.dk
4th
DECLARE INDEPENDENCE In Las Vegas you certainly don’t have to be American to get swept up in the party atmosphere of Independence Day celebrations. This is not just one event, but a whole series across the city, ranging from parades and spectacular fireworks’ displays to special pancake breakfasts and pool parties; www.visitlasvegas.com
5th
LET’S DANCE 5 July Sensation, The Netherlands’ answer to Cirque du Soleil, come home to the Amsterdam Arena this month with their new show ‘White’. The dance troupe’s circus-style performances are coordinated to pulsing dance beats; www.sensation-white.com
FALL IN LOVE
Until 31 July
‘And then he kissed her… 100 years of
Mills & Boon’ at Manchester Central
Library is an exhibition of jacket art,
manuscripts and memorabilia. There’s
even a romantic writing workshop;
www.millsandboon.co.uk
23rd
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD If you enjoyed the hit West End musical Wicked, now you can also see The Wizard Of Oz. This stylishly-executed stage adaptation of the muchloved film runs at the Royal Festival Hall, London until 31 August. (Tickets are from £10 to £40.) www.southbankcentre.co.uk
29th
MOZ FEST Indie crooner Morrissey may be famous for his sulky songs but his loyal fans light up when they see him. This month he plays in Israel, as part of the Heatwave festival in Yarkon Park, the largest public park in Tel Aviv; www.itsmorrisseysworld.com
MEET A DINO
Until 31 October
Brave children (and their parents) can
come face-to-face with seven lifesized,
animatronic dinosaurs as part
of the ‘Dino-Jaws’ exhibition, new to
Belfast’s W5 centre. From the eight
and a half metre Baryonyx, to the fivefi
ngered Iguanodon, the event allows
today’s tweens to see how these
beasts lived. There’s a fossil dig game
to play, too, and entry is free;
www.w5online.co.uk
Or how about…
AMSTERDAM Until 24 August Vondelpark Summer Festival A range of free events, including theatre, cabaret, concerts and dance, in Amsterdam’s largest green space; www.vondelpark.orgANTIGUA 26 July-5 August Antigua Carnival Parades, parties, elaborate costumes and revelry at what is billed as ‘the Caribbean’s greatest summer festival’; www.antiguacarnival.com
BARBADOS All of July Crop Over The huge carnival of folk music, dance, markets and parades marks the traditional end of the sugar harvest; www.cropoverfestival.bb
CHICAGO 15 July-26 August Chicago Outdoor Film Festival Classic movies are shown every Tuesday at sunset in Grant Park, with All About Eve opening the season; www.cityofchicago.org
COLOGNE 4-6 July Summerjam Stephen Marley (son of the late and legendary Bob) and Luciano headline this weekend reggae-fest; www.summerjam.de
NEAR COPENHAGEN 3-6 July Roskilde Festival The popular Danish music festival is one of the very best in Europe. This year’s headline acts include Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers and Gnarls Barkley; www.roskildefestival.de
HANOVER 9-27 July Kleines Fest im Grossen Garten The labyrinthine Herrenhausen Gardens are the stage for more than 100 pantomime and theatre performers; www.kleines-fest.de
VENICE 16 July The Feast of the Redeemer Dine in the streets with Venetians, see a regatta and enjoy music, to mark the end of the 1576 bubonic plague; www.comune.venezia.it
ZURICH 4-6 July Caliente!Salsa, merengue and flamenco are on tap for this Latin music festival, with concerts, dancing and a market; www.caliente.ch
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