Calendar
News and events from around our network
Full exposure
[ Until 3 January ]
IF YOU’RE IN ZURICH IN THE NEW YEAR try to catch this stunning retrospective of Michel Comte’s work. The Swiss-born photographer began his career as an art restorer, before switching to fashion photography in 1979 at the behest of Karl Lagerfeld. Comte is known for his nudes – it was his 1993 shot of Carla Bruni that caused an international incident when it was auctioned last year. Yet he’s also turned his lens to celebrity portraiture – like this portrait of English actor Jeremy Irons for a 1990 issue of Interview magazine – as well as serious reportage.
See all sides of this compelling contemporary photographer at the city’s Museum of Design. www.museum-gestaltung.ch
19 JANUARY
See Blur’s Great British reformation
Having gone on indefinite hiatus back in 2001, tickets for Britpop stars Blur’s 2009 reunion concerts were magma hot. Missed out? Then catch No Distance Left To Run, a rockumentary filmed throughout the band’s 2009 rehearsals and subsequent headline slots at Glastonbury and Hyde Park. It gets a theatrical release this month. www.blur.co.uk
20-31 JANUARY
Go ‘Out to Lunch’ in Belfast
Northern Ireland’s edgy festival returns to the capital, bringing with it a trail of comedians, theatre troupes, writers, musicians and poets to the city’s leading arts venue, The Black Box. www.cqaf.com
UNTIL 17 JANUARY
Get your skates on in Dublin
7Up Christmas on Ice is the city’s biggest and best seasonal icerink. Its 1,000 square metres of rink is divided up into beginners, kiddies and mainstream sectors, allowing everyone room to manoeuvre. www.7upchristmasonice.ie
8-17 JANUARY
Get afloat in London
The British capital takes a distinctly nautical turn in the New Year when the London International Boat Show, the leading boating, marine products and lifestyle trade show comes to town. Head (appropriately) to London’s Docklands, for the Excel Centre. www.londonboatshow.com
1 JANUARY
A late Christmas in Ukraine
Christmas comes late in Kiev. Their best-loved holiday falls on the first of January. Expect decorated trees, hearty dinners, the exchanging of gifts, and benevolent visitations from Ded Moroz or Father Frost.
25 JANUARY
Celebrate Burns Night with Old Pulteney
The anniversary of Robert Burns’s birthday is a highlight in the Scots cultural calendar. Yet, wherever you are, you can celebrate it in style, with a case of Old Pulteney WK499. Uncoloured and non-chill filtered, WK499 is matured in ex-bourbon barrels, giving it fine vanilla and toffee flavours. If you would like to win a case, visit www.bmivoyager.com
BOOKING AHEAD
[ 7-13 February ]
EAT BLINIS IN MOSCOW
Shrove Tuesday lasts a week in the Russian Orthodox calendar. Known as Maslenitsa (also Butter Week or Cheesefare Week) churchgoers celebrate this pre-fasting festival by gorging on the local buckwheat pancakes.
[ 16 February – 21 March ]
ORCHESTRATE IN LEBANON
Beirut’s classical music festival returns to the Lebanese capital. Listen out for chamber, operatic, symphonic and choral recitals with a distinctly Mediterranean bent, as this year’s theme is Italy. www.albustanfestival.com
[ 13-16 March ]
GET FASHIONABLE IN EGYPT
Hot trends meet leading industrial techniques at the Cairo Fashion Tex show. There will be stands featuring everything from lingerie and sportswear through to stitching and leather tanning. www.pyramidsfaireg.com
[ 9 April ]
TEST YOUR ENDURANCE IN AMMAN
The 50-kilometre Dead Sea Ultra Marathon begins at 6.30am on Amman’s airport road and ends at the shores of the Dead Sea – the lowest point on earth. Runners raise funds for the Society for the Care of Neurological Patients. www.deadseamarathon.com
[ 7-9 May ]
ROCK OUT WITH THE CREATOR OF THE SIMPSONS
Cartoonist Matt Groening, best known for creating The Simpsons series, curates All Tomorrow’s Parties, an experimental rock festival held at Butlins in Minehead, south England. Homer fans with wide-ranging musical tastes should book now. Bands include the Boredoms, The Raincoats, James Blackshaw and Anni Rossi. www.atpfestival.com
