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SINGAPORE – British Grammy-winners Coldplay will be performing their fourth gig in Singapore on April 1, 2017 at the National Stadium.
Tickets will go on sale through all Sportshubtix channels on Nov 21 at 10am, show promoter Live Nation Lushington said in a statement.
Seated ticket prices are going at $78, $128, $168 and $268, while standing tickets prices are $128 and $228. The standing tickets are available only to those aged 12 and above.
Limited VIP tickets costing $298 are also available.
Presale tickets are available for Citi card customers from Nov 17 at 10am to Nov 19 at 11.59pm, while Live Nation Lushington mailing list subscribers can purchase tickets one day early from 10am to 11.59pm on Nov 20.
This news comes after weeks of rumours about the band performing in Singapore. In a Nov 12 interview with The Straits Times about possible upcoming acts at the National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub chief executive Manu Sawhney said that the venue was never meant to be “acoustic-focused”.
While he noted that sound issue is a global phenomenon at multi-purpose stadiums around the world, including England’s Wembley Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub has engaged experts to improve the sound quality at the venue.
The band, which has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, also announced the rest of its Asian line-up for its A Head Full Of Dreams world tour.
After Singapore, the British band will move on to Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Japan in April. The tour will end in Australia and New Zealand in December.
Since March this year, the A Head Full Of Dreams Tour has played to 2.5 million people across Latin America, the US and Europe, while the eponymous album has sold more than 5 million copies since its Dec 2015 release.
Hit singles from the album include Adventure Of A Lifetime, Hymn For The Weekend and Up&Up, with more than a billion YouTube video views between them.
Coldplay’s last performance in Singapore was in 2009 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium where they performed to a sell-out crowd of more than 10,000.
Visit sportshubtix.sg for more information.
Rock fans will also be in for a treat when American rock band Journey returns to Singapore on Feb 10, 2017.
Journey will be performing at The Star Theatre, The Star Performing Arts Centre, LAMC Productions said in a separate statement.
Tickets go on sale on Nov 17 at 9:00 am through SISTIC, with prices starting at $108.
grongloh@sph.com.sg
SINGAPORE: Ever wondered what’s it like working on some of Disney’s big animation movies such as Zootopia, Big Hero 6 and Frozen? One Singaporean can shed some light on the matter – literally.
For the past four years, Roger Lee has been living in Burbank, California, where he works as a lighting artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. It’s a dream job for the 38-year-old Singaporean, whose efforts can be seen in Moana, Disney’s latest production.
(Photo: Walt Disney Animation Studios)
The animated movie revolves around Moana, a teenage daughter of a chief who sets sail to an island to save her family with the help from a demigod. Based on the island cultures of the Pacific, its voice cast includes young American singer-actress Auli’i Cravalho in the titular role, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) as her companion Maui, and Nicole Scherzinger as her mother. It also features the songs of composer-of-the-moment Lin-Manuel Miranda, who did the hit Broadway musical Hamilton.
But Lee’s role in this epic maritime adventure takes place behind the spotlight, as part of the team that makes sure everything looks seamless, lighting-wise.
“It’s a group of probably 50 to 60 of us and one of our main roles is to make sure it looks like (the movie) was lit by one person. So if you can tell that (one scene) is done by me, then it means I did a really bad job!” joked Lee, who was recently back in Singapore to promote Moana.
It’s been quite the journey for the Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate, who started off working in a post-production house before working for a year at Disney TV in Singapore, a decade ago.
“That was when Chicken Little came out. And I remember, I told my wife – who was my girlfriend back then – that Disney was going into 3D and it could be a chance for me,” he recalled.
“I remember very vividly telling her, maybe if I try and work hard, I may end up working for Disney Animation. But I knew that if I continued working for Disney TV, I wasn’t going to get a portfolio to go into the movie industry.”
(Photo: Walt Disney Animation Studios)
His game plan? He joined Lucasfilm in Singapore, where he worked on the first two seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and then Rango, which won an Oscar in 2012.
It was the perfect film to add to his CV and after finding out there was a vacancy at Disney Animation, he applied. “Within a week, I got a reply. So I had the interview—and a few hours later, I got an email telling me I got the job,” he said.
Lee added: “Before I applied, I had friends from Canada and even from the US telling me to not even bother trying (because) it was impossible. I think we are used to getting this negative feedback and don’t even bother to try. In fact, if your work is good enough, you’re going to get in.
“I’m really impressed with the studio culture (at Disney). They really respect the artist regardless of where you’re from, and give you all the credit for the work you’ve done.”
After moving to Burbank with his wife and triplets, he also realised that being part of the Disney family was really fun, too.
“Yeah, we have ping pong tables. And when Wreck-It-Ralph first came out, we had that video game in the studio. There’s also a Disney store at Disney – and I’m always there buying stuff,” he laughed.
Moana animation artist Roger Lee from Singapore (right), with producer Osnat Shurer and actress Auli’I Cravalho, who voices the character of Moana. (Photo: Yasin Rahim)
But ultimately, one of the coolest things about working at Disney has been the fact that he can bring his kids to work.
“There are always company screenings, where we can bring the family. So my kids literally grew up at the studio – they had just barely turned one when I brought them over from Singapore. So from then, they’ve been running around in the studio all the time.”
In the eyes of his three five-year-old children, that probably makes him a very cool dad, right?
“I think I’m pretty cool – I hope they think the same,” he laughed. “I hope my kids are proud of what I’m doing. Because I’m proud of it myself.”
SEOUL – South Korean President Park Geun-hye has retained a lawyer ahead of being questioned by prosecutors investigating a political scandal engulfing her presidency, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Park will be the first president to be questioned by prosecutors over a criminal case.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Park exerted improper pressure on “chaebol” conglomerate bosses to raise funds for foundations involving a Park friend, Yonhap reported on Sunday.
They are also investigating Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have used her ties to the president to meddle in state affairs and wield influence.
Hundreds of thousands marched in the capital Seoul on Saturday demanding Park resign.
LOS ANGELES – Leading films at the box office saw a collective bump over the weekend following the caustic United States presidential election, with sci-fi flicks performing particularly well, according to industry data released on Sunday.
Doctor Strange worked its magic on American moviegoers in need of a bit of escapism after the grinding presidential campaign, raking in US$43 million (S$61 million) in its second week to bring its total earnings to US$153 million, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
The film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, centres on world-famous neurosurgeon Stephen Strange – whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of use of his hands.
Trolls, a 3D computer-animated film, held on to the second-place spot for a second straight week, earning US$35 million.
The feel-good musical comedy flick based on the classic plastic dolls of the same name features the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake.
Arrival notched third place, launching its run by grossing US$24 million.
Starring Amy Adams, the movie centres on an elite team led by a linguist tasked with investigating mysterious extraterrestrial spacecraft after they touch down on Earth.
In Almost Christmas, the number-four flick with US$15.6 million in its debut weekend, a dysfunctional family get together for the first holiday season since their mother’s death.
The dramedy stars Danny Glover, Kimberly Elise and Gabrielle Union.
Biographical war film Hacksaw Ridge – directed by Mel Gibson – came in at No. 5, with US$10.8 million in its second weekend.
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NEW YORK – British author J.K. Rowling has conjured up her Harry Potter magic in the spin-off film Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
But some early reviews wondered if it may be too dark for a family audience and whether the story can sustain four more movies.
The Warner Bros film, to be released worldwide on Nov 18, got mixed reviews, with critics in Britain generally proving more enthusiastic than their United States counterparts.
“That entertainment enchanter J.K. Rowling has come storming back to the world of magic in a shower of supernatural sparks and created a glorious fantasy-romance adventure,” wrote Peter Bradshaw in Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them takes place 70 years before the first Harry Potter books and features a cast of new characters with magical powers.
Set in 1926, it centres on Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who arrives in New York with a case full of strange creatures that quickly escape.
It marks Rowling’s debut as a screenplay writer and is the first of five movies based on the Scamander character that seek to build on a wizarding franchise that has made US$7 billion (S$9.9 billion) at the global box office.
The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore said Fantastic Beasts would appeal both to Potter fans and newcomers, praising its invention and special effects.
But he added that casual audiences “may be less convinced that this spin-off demands the five feature-length instalments Warner and Rowling have planned”.
Variety noted the movie’s themes of intolerance and xenophobia. “Just when you thought the world of Harry Potter couldn’t get any darker, along comes a bleak-as-soot spin-off that makes the earlier series look like kids’ stuff,” wrote Peter DeBruge.
Others were less impressed.
Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Nashawaty called the film “oddly lifeless”.
Several critics found the plot and its multiple characters overstuffed, with The Wrap’s Jason Solomons writing that “despite immaculate design and splashes of wonder, a touch of magic is missing in this Harry Potter prequel”.
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A 36-year-old woman from Singapore who was on a business trip in Hong Kong was found dead in a hotel on Saturday (Nov 12).
The woman, who is identified as Ms Linda Koh, had arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday (Nov 9) and was scheduled to fly back to Singapore on the day of her death, reported Shin Min Daily News.
She is the company director of family-run KSP Marketing, which specialises in processing pork.
On Saturday morning, she had breakfast with her friends and returned to her hotel room, where she was later found unconscious.
She was rushed to the hospital, but doctors failed to revive her.
Upon receiving news of her death, her brother and ex-husband flew to Hong Kong that night, reported Shin Min.
Hong Kong authorities have yet to determine the cause of death, and will require at least one to two days before the body can flown back to Singapore, said the Chinese newspaper.
While the body could return to Singapore earliest by Thursday, Koh’s brother said in an interview with Shin Min that he hopes the process can be sped up.
According to reports, the deceased has a history of hypertension and is on medication.
She also has two children, whom she called every day while in Hong Kong, according to Shin Min.
The Singapore consulate in Hong Kong said they are aware that there is a Singaporean who died in Hong Kong over the weekend, and is in touch with the deceased’s next-of-kin.
This article was first published on Nov 14, 2016.
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The reported death toll obscures the true horror of what happened in the Gadani ship-breaking yard in Pakistan on Nov 2 when an oil tanker being disassembled caught fire.
Twenty-six dead is the count so far, based on workers’ records and the body parts recovered. But the true scale of this disaster, measured by the number of lives lost alone, will simply never be known.
And that’s because, for the most part, there is no record of how many people were working on the tanker when it went up in flames.
These are contract employees without names or documents, who are happy to get meagre wages for the dangerous work they do.
They are hired without paperwork, thanks to an exploitative contract system.
No IDs or employment letters are issued.
They ask no questions and – if they do dare to demand basic safety measures, protection and medical services – are ignored by the mafias that run the Gadani ship-breaking yard.
If they protest, they are fired and if they organise unions, the shipyard owners uses goons and sometimes state machinery to crush them.
What they get paid depends on what category of worker they fall under.
A 12-hour day working with little or no protective gear under back-breaking conditions may fetch 600 rupees (S$12.60) to 750 rupees.
There is no dedicated dispensary at the yard, and the nearest medical facility is a rundown “hospital” – reportedly run by the very same contractors that exploit these workers.
In life, they were invisible and uncounted and, in death, they have left no trace of their existence.
Such was the intensity of the blaze that firefighters saw the water they were spraying evaporate before it even touched the flames.
Many workers were incinerated in a blaze that reduced bone and flesh into ash that was then swept away into the sea.
We will never know how many were lost but one can draw estimates based on the number of people needed to break down a vessel the size of the 24,000-tonne tanker.
Ship-breaking Mazdoor Union president Bashir Mehoodani estimates at least 200 workers would have been needed while others say the number could be as high as 400.
Deaths and injuries are common at Gadani but never really make it to the news given that they – until now – occur not in large single incidents but in isolated ones.
Explosions and accidents are the main cause of deaths but, again, undocumented are the effects of long-term exposure to hazardous gases and chemicals on the workers.
Nevertheless, a look at the figures over the years points to clear neglect and criminal negligence by the Gadani ship-breaking yard authorities and government departments.
If the lack of basic health facilities and firefighting equipment is shocking, given the nature of the work done at Gadani, it will come as no surprise that even a single dedicated ambulance was not available.
In this context, it seems silly to mention the basic procedures that should be followed when disassembling an oil tanker, but mention them one must.
In ship-breaking lingo, this is referred to as “hot work”, and in the case of a tanker like this, it must be preceded by a thorough cleaning.
The remaining oil has to be manually pumped out using small air-operated pumps and even buckets – a time-consuming process.
Then, after further cleaning, huge air blowers and fans are used to dry the residual oil, which again takes several days.
After this, a certified chemist must give the all-clear and only then can the actual work begin.
These protocols were not followed at what we proudly boast of as being the world’s second largest ship-breaking yard, and all for the sake of greed and healthy profit margins.
The federal and provincial governments ask no question, and why should they when the revenues keep rolling in?
Work at Gadani has picked up again and the production line has to move along at a rapid clip to make sure that bank accounts remain healthy.
And if the wheels of unfettered capitalism have to be greased by the blood and ashes of the nameless dead, then so be it.
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A train fault that occurred at Outram Park station caused delays on the North East Line (NEL) for more than an hour yesterday morning.
Full service resumed at around 10.30am with free bus rides and bridging bus servicesavailable at designated bus stops.
SBS Transit tweeted the delay at 9.33am, warning of an additional 15 minutes of travel time along the NEL.
At 9.56am, it tweeted that free bus rides were available at designated bus stops between HarbourFront and Dhoby Ghaut stations.
SBS Transit announced that full service had resumed at 10.36am.
Commuter Christopher Goh, 44, who works in the jewellery line, was on his way to Dhoby Ghaut station from Buangkok station.
He spoke to The Straits Times at Serangoon station at about 10am.
“It took me 35 minutes just to get from Buangkok station to Serangoon station,” he said.
“The train stops at every station for about five to 10 minutes. I now have to explain why I am late for work.”
Read also: Analysing train breakdowns, line by line
The commute from Buangkok to Serangoon station usually takes about 10 minutes.
Commuters said the fault affected travel on the NEL in both directions.
At about 10.15am, announcements were made at Chinatown station to inform commuters that fares were not being deducted at the exit gantries for affected stations.
Commuters were also observed to be waiting for about 15 minutes in a stationary train that was bound for HarbourFront station.
Read also: Rise in major breakdowns but MRT gets more reliable
Train breakdown reasons: SMRT must be clearer and more transparent
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BUENOS AIRES – Lionel Messi had to reach for the sick bag on Monday as the plane carrying the Argentina team endured a bumpy ride from Buenos Aires to San Juan ahead of a World Cup qualifier.
The Barcelona superstar and several of his team-mates took ill due to the turbulence during the journey to the city near the Andes where Argentina will face Colombia on Tuesday.
The bout of illness will not stop Messi or any of his colleagues from playing in what is a crucial game for Argentina’s hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Edgardo Bauza’s side are sixth in the South American qualifying group after 11 matches following a 3-0 defeat in Brazil last week.
They are a point off fourth-place Ecuador, with the top four qualifying directly and the team in fifth going into a play-off against a team from the Oceania zone.
