International

Helsinki will host the 10th World Cities Culture Summit, scheduled for October 5 to 7.

The Finnish capital is expected to welcome representatives from more than 40 cities for the first in-person summit since 2019.

The event's full programme is yet to be revealed, but a focus on reimagining cities to create sustainable and creative environments in the wake of the pandemic is likely.

World Cities Culture Forum Chair Justine Simons says the summit will embrace a new spirit of optimism and urgency.

“I am delighted that the wonderful city of Helsinki will be our host at this critical juncture.”

Young musicians will benefit from a new international exchange scheme at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) when it launches in September.

The Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme, named for its benefactor, offers exchanges ranging from one week to a year in length at internationally renowned conservatoires.

Twelve schools including Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Renia Sofia School of Music in Madrid, Berlin's Hanns Eisler Academy, Sydney Conservatorium of Music and The Julliard School have confirmed exchanges thus far.

RAM Principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood said the participating institutions have "long been friends" of the academy.

"What drives this latest programme is the need for music - indeed all the arts - to break down the kinds of boundaries and barriers which actively work against the open spirit of creative enquiry and collaboration between different countries."

People attending the theatre or cinemas in the Republic of Ireland must show proof of vaccination from Thursday (November 18).

Pubs, nightclubs and restaurants must close by midnight in a bid to curb rising Covid-19 case numbers.

Echoing his contemporaries in Scotland, Wales and more recently, Northern Ireland, Taioseach Michael Martin said vaccine passports are a "proportionate and effective" approach.

Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann has proposed introducing the passports in cultural venues and other spaces with more than 500 attendees by mid-December.

England is still holding out, with no word on whether ministers will activate the country's Plan B for winter.

Belfast has become the third UK city to recieve UNESCO City of Music status.

The accolade, announced on Monday (November 8), recognises the Northern Irish capital's unique musical heritage and local efforts to strengthen engagement with music.

A 2018 survey undertaken during the European Capital of Culture bidding process identified music as the city's strongest cultural output, prompting the bid for UNESCO status.

"Being deisgnated as a UNESCO City of Music honours the gargantuan effort that the entire music scene has made to help raise Belfast up and out of the darkest of times," Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody commmented.

Belfast will join the UN body's Creative Cities Network of 59 places, with Lightbody and Emmy-nominated composer Hannah Peel acting as official Belfast Music patrons.

Belfast City Council will consult residents on a City of Music action plan, having worked with a City of Music steering group on the bid submission.

Glasgow was the first UK city awarded the title in 2008, followed by Liverpool in 2016.

A report into worldwide royalties estimates collections in music, visual arts, drama and literature could decline by up to 35% this year.

The annual Global Collections Report, published by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), cites Covid-19 as the reason for the decline.

The report also shows the US to have the highest market share of royalty collections, followed by France, Japan and Germany.

The UK ranks fifth, with a market share of 8.4%. Its year-on-year growth in collections is 12.3%, meaning the UK is currently outperforming the global market.

CISAC Director General Gadi Oron attributed the UK's growth in royalty collections to copyright collective PRS for Music’s investment in systems and networks.

"It’s the UK talent, it’s the fact that collections around the world are improving and more royalties are repatriated."

British robot artist Ai-Da has opened an exhibition and sculpture trail at Egypt’s pyramids after being held up at the country's border for 10 days.

The world’s first artificially intelligent humanoid robot was detained by Egyptian authorities on suspicion of espionage, with officials concerned about the robot’s modem and eye cameras.

“The whole situation is ironic, because the goal of Ai-Da was to highlight and warn of the abuse of technological development, and she’s being held because she is technology,” creator Aidan Meller commented.
 
The Forever Is Now exhibition features Ai-Da’s Immortal Riddle, a two-metre-tall self portrait sculpture of a mummified robot in a sarcophagus.

Running until November 7, the exhibition is the first art show to take place at the Pyramids of Egypt.