This summer, Selfridges is launching a one-of-a-kind wedding experience for couples looking for a non-traditional ceremony in an iconic location.

Selfridges is a social space, a place for friends, where everyone is welcome. ​In 2021 more than ever, Selfridges is committed to making the world brighter.​With this sense of optimism, Selfridges teams have been thinking about how to bring friends together again, offering new ways to celebrate the special experiences everyone has been missing. This summer, Selfridges will offer a wedding experience for couples looking for a non-traditional ceremony in a venue like no other.

Over the last year, restrictions around ceremonies and receptions have halted or postponed over 150,000 couples’ plans – that's over 60% of the number of weddings scheduled to happen in 2020. Newly engaged couples are struggling to find wedding venues, booked up far in advance. ​Emerging from this is a trend for alternative, more intimate celebrations. Not only will Selfridges offer a solution that responds to an unprecedented demand for wedding venues, it will also consider alternatives for couples seeking non-traditional ways to celebrate their love.​

A newly acquired wedding licence will allow ceremonies to be hosted in the grade II listed building on Oxford Street for a limited time this year, with three curated micro-wedding packages available: Just-The-Two-Of-Us, Earth Lovers and All-Out Extraordinary. All packages will be centred around extraordinary Selfridges experiences that are special and inspiring, such as a wedding breakfast in Brasserie of Light, a private screening of a favourite film in The Selfridges Cinema or DJ set with Sink The Pink, and can be tailored to meet individual couples’ needs. The ceremonies will take place in a dedicated Wedding Suite on the fourth floor of Selfridges London, which will be made over for each wedding depending on the chosen package.

As part of resale initiative Resellfridges and Selfridges’ Project Earth commitment to explore circular retail models, ‘The Corner Shop’ will see a wedding takeover this August, with a specially curated collection of vintage and pre-loved womenswear, menswear and accessories for the wedding party and guests as well as those getting married. ‘The Wedding Shop’ will offer bespoke gift lists and through dedicated services, customers will be able to make appointments for everything from wedding day makeovers and styling appointments to custom-made floral arrangements and canapé consultations.

Rebecca Warburton, Selfridges Director of Events & Customer Experiences, says: “We’re driven by making our customers’ worlds brighter through unforgettable experiences. For those looking for a truly unique way to get married this summer, we’re excited to launch weddings at Selfridges. Bringing together some of our amazing experiences, we can’t wait to create custom packages in celebration of people's love for each other.”

Enquiries and bookings for Weddings at Selfridges can now be made.

US cable network NBC is the latest media giant to boycott the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) over a lack of diversity.

NBC, which has aired the Golden Globes awards ceremony since 1996, said it would not broadcast the show in 2022 and wants to see meaningful reform. WarnerMedia, Netflix and Amazon Studios have already refused to participate in HFPA-related events.

The Golden Globes are second only to the Oscars in terms of profile. The HFPA, whose members vote on the awards presented at the Golden Globes, has faced months of criticism stemming from a Los Angeles Times report back in February that revealed it had not had a single Black member for 20 years.

The non-profit put forward a plan for inclusion and reform. Time's Up, a leading advocate for industry reform, slammed the proposal as window-dressing platitudes with its president, Tina Tchen, saying: "Any organization or sponsors that set themselves up to pass judgment on our vibrant community of creators and talent must do better." Joining the chorus of outrage was actor Tom Cruise, who returned to the HFPA three Golden Globes he has won over the years, including two Best Actor statuettes for Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July.

Actor Scarlett Johansson has also joined criticism of the body behind the Golden Globe Awards over how it plans to tackle discrimination. "Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organisation,” she says, “I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole."

A nominee of five Golden Globes, she has also urged others in the film industry to boycott the organisation unless it makes significant internal changes.

Wolverhampton Grand has today announced that the world premiere tour of Michael Harrison and Disney’s Bedknobs ad Broomsticks musical will fly into the theatre from Tuesday 5 – Saturday 9 April 2022 with tickets on sale this week!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be sale to Friends of the Grand and members from 8am on Wednesday 12 May with public booking opening at 8am on Friday 14 May online only at grandtheatre.co.uk.

Producer Michael Harrison said: “As theatres across the UK & Ireland prepare to reopen, I’m thrilled that so many want to host our exciting new production of Bedknobs and Broomsticks; so we are extending this world premiere tour. Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be one of the biggest shows on the road this year with a cast and crew of over 70 people to bring this classic story to magical life on stage.”

Enter a world of magic and fantasy with Disney’s classic movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks. With the original songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), including Portobello Road, The Age Of Not Believing, The Beautiful Briny and new music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill, Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be brought to life by award-winning theatre-makers Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison.

When the three orphaned Rawlins children are reluctantly evacuated from wartime London to live with the mysterious Eglantine Price, they have no idea what adventures lie ahead. Upon discovering Eglantine to be a trainee witch, they join forces to search for a secret spell that will defeat the enemy once and for all. Armed with an enchanted bedknob, a bewitched broomstick and a magical flying bed, they encounter surprising new friendships on their journey from Portobello Road to the depths of the beautiful briny sea.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is produced by Michael Harrison by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions.

Also going on sale is:

Rush – A Joyous Jamaican Journey on Tuesday 16 November tells the story of Reggae music and the Windrush Generation and how their music took the world by storm. Narrated by comedian John Simmit and featuring ska, rock steady, calypso, gospel, lovers rock, dancehall and Reggae played live by the JA Reggae Band. Get ready to dance to the music of Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Lord Kitchener, Millie Small and many more.

Bring It On the hit Broadway musical starring Amber Davies and Louis Smith back-flips into the UK, landing in Wolverhampton from Wednesday 26 January – Saturday 29 January 2022.

Cheer-royalty and newly crowned Squad Captain, Campbell, should be embarking on her most cheertastic senior year at Truman High School. But when she’s forced to move to the neighbouring hard-knock Jackson High, Campbell fears her life is over. But an unlikely friendship catapults Campbell back into contention with a powerhouse squad and the fire to achieve the impossible.

Footloose is back and better than ever from Monday 4 – Saturday 9 July 2022 following two critically acclaimed tours and a West End run.

City boy Ren thinks life is bad enough when he’s forced to move to a rural backwater in America. But his world comes to a standstill when he arrives at Bomont to find dancing and rock music are banned. Taking matters into his own hands, soon Ren has all hell breaking loose and the whole town on its feet. Based on the 1980s screen sensation which took the world by storm, Footloose sizzles with spirit, fun and the best in UK musical talent. With cutting edge modern choreography, you’ll enjoy classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear It For The Boy and of course the unforgettable title track Footloose.

All new shows will be sale to Friends of the Grand and members from 8am on Wednesday 12 May with public booking opening at 8am on Friday 14 May online only at grandtheatre.co.uk.

This year, BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusic.com/Black Music Congress) offers fewer, but targeted events to mark British Black Music Month (BBMM), the annual June-July window it has been using to highlight domestic Black music, create networking spaces and provide music industry education since 2006. It also revives the original Black Music Congress, which is a discussion forum started with monthly sessions at City, University of London in 2003.

BBM/BMC, which is the UK co-ordinator of International Reggae Day (IRD), has expanded on what was offered at last year's Zoom meeting. His Excellency Mr. Seth George Ramocan, Jamaica’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, who participated in last year's event, is expected to open this year's International Reggae Day London UK event on July 1 with a video address.

The event will explore how Britain and Jamaica have influenced each other's music industry and musical style. The conference's UK theme: 'New Cross Fire/Black People's Day of Action @ 40'/'BRAFA (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal) @ 36' sub-theme will highlight reggae's engagement with historical moments both in the UK and abroad.

"BritishBlackMusic.com/Black Music Congress and its partners, including Reggae Fraternity UK, Shining Stars and Chaaawaaa Radio, are focused on delivering the London hub event, which once again, will be delivered via Zoom. This year's IRD 'One Love' theme will run through our programme, especially within the extended DJ and live sets," says IRD UK co-ordinator Kwaku.

“In addition, our conferences will highlight the influence of Britain on reggae music, and Jamaica's bass culture influence on British popular music. We'll also highlight the role reggae music played in social movements, such as the New Cross Fire and the resultant British African-led mobilisation of Black People's Day of Action in 1981, and the BRAFA (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal) efforts in the Ethiopian famine relief campaign of 1985.”

IRD London UK aims to become the networking forum for Britain's reggae community. It is expected to return in a non-pandemic 2022 to Goldsmiths, University of London in south London, where it was last held in 2019 in association with Sound System Outernational. Additional information and updates will be posted at IRDUK.co.uk.

BBMM2021 ends on July 31 with 'British History, Black Music, Racism & The Music Industry 1507-2020', a video screening and discussion on Black music history and racism. The forum aims to have an update on the music industry's race-focused activity one year on from the Afriphobic murder of George Floyd last May. As a response to the various #BlackLivesMatter/#AfricanLivesMatter activities, several music industry organisations supported the #BlackOutTuesday campaign. The outcomes included pledging to diversity senior management representation, better engagement with minority communities, anti-racism and unconscious bias training, African history and culture programmes, and funding for African musicians and black music.

BBM/BMC through its RE:IMI (Race Equality: In Music Industry) race/ethnicity-focused advocacy strand interrogated key music industry organisations on their race-specific diversity plans. This resulted in the publication of the 'RE:IMI Black Out Tuesday UK Music Industry Race Diversity Report', the RE:IMI Music, Racism And The UK Music Industry Forum, and the launch of the BARRERegister online repository.

Before then, on June 10, Black music stakeholders, from fans, musicians to industry practitioners, get to have their say about what the issues are within the domestic black music sector and the ways forward, at Black Music Congress 2021: 'Sounding Off: What's The Way Forward For British Black Music?'. A week later, on June 17, Dr Enrico Bonadio, Reader in Intellectual Property Law at The City Law School, joins us again for another Talking Copyright session entitled 'Copyright And Producers In/Of Black Music'. It's an opportunity for Dr Bonadio, Kwaku and special guests to lead a seminar on intellectual property rights of record producers and musicians, and how reggae and other Black music genres engage with copyright.

The opportunity to learn more about the music industry continues on July 6 with 'Musicians: Understanding Your Rights, Income Streams And Music Industry Alphabet Soup'. "We're grateful to the Musicians' Union for reaching out to co-organise this free event with us," says Kwaku. "It's open to anyone with an interest in developing a career in the music industry. It's aimed particularly at the unsigned or do-it-yourself artist, musicpreneur, or those who provide artists, songwriters and producers with specialist support."

There are two more opportunities to engage with the subject of reggae. On July 22, there's an exclusive and rare screening of Sandra Krampelhuber's feature length documentary 'Queens Of Sound', which is followed by a forum that allows female voices to express themselves across various topics within reggae and dancehall music. It will be led by special guests drawn from Jamaica and Britain.

BBM/BMC is also supporting the Summerstown182's Tooting Magical Musical History Tour! walk around south London on June 13. It also highlights a crowd-funding campaign in order to erect a plaque to the memory of the reggae music recorded at the old Mitcham Road, Tooting site of the defunct TMC Studio.

Mr Jukes & Barney Artist are excited to share details of their collaborative album, ‘The Locket’ to be released on July 2. The album is preceded by the single “Vibrate” which is out now.

‘Vibrate’ is a playful introduction to the world Jukes (Jack Steadman) and Barney have created, built on a mutual love of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, alongside contemporary heavyweights like Kendrick Lamar, Kano and Ghostpoet. Its breezy, laid back energy is purpose-built for summer listening and soundtracking moments as the world reopens. Its accompanying video sees Mr Jukes and Barney take a trip to an empty Alton Towers, breathing life back into a space that’s been deserted for too long.

The pair initially asked permission to film on a rollercoaster as part of a different idea for the video but when Alton Towers instead offered them private access to the whole theme park, they knew they had to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Speaking about the track, Barney explains: “Vibrate was the very last song we made for the album. It really summarises mine and Jack’s relationship which is great vibes with a meaningful message.”

The Locket features ten tracks cut from sessions that span over eighteen months. It’s sunshine-dappled, psych-tinged, hip-hop flavoured, leftfield pop. Beats, bars and a unique sort of retro futurism that zips from sepia-tinged to full technicolour almost as fast as Barney’s flow. Its title track refers to memories of happier times: “we fill a locket with memories we protect, and don’t forget to keep it round your neck.” It’s a reminder to focus on positivity in the face of adversity. A collaborative project designed to be enjoyed together. A celebration of music, unity and looking ahead. “The aim is to bring hope to people after the maddest year,” Barney says. It couldn’t have come at a better time.

During a period of prolonged inactivity, Jack Steadman scratched an itch to do something new. He went by the moniker of Mr Jukes and released an album, ‘God First,’ in 2017. Although it was done ‘by himself’, it was very much an open-door policy, resulting in a collaborative record that brought contributions by legends such as Charles Bradley, De La Soul, Horace Andy, Lianne La Havas, BJ The Chicago Kid and Lalah Hathaway. The project also features a contribution from Barney Artist, who Jack had quite simply stumbled upon on a Spotify playlist and never forgotten.

Barney’s music takes the vibrance of jazz infused hip-hop but with a London feel. Growing up in Forest Gate, East London, Barney touches on conscious themes by way of lively, dynamic delivery to create something instantly likeable, like the artist. He’s a larger than life presence, fun to be around and a searing, peerless talent too. A collaborator by nature, Barney grew up around Tiana Major9 and Jay Prince and has made music with Tom Misch, Alfa Mist and Jordan Rakei.

Barney’s contribution to God First, “From Golden Stars Comes Silver Dew” (also featuring Lalah Hathaway) proved to be a standout. Bonded by a mutual love of the ever-changing landscape of modern hip-hop, the two artists instantly fell into step with one another. There was no clear plan or brief to fulfil for a full-length Jukes X Barney project, but both artists instinctively knew that it would be a waste not to explore the potential they’d uncovered. They were right, clearly.

Steam engines, interactive technology displays, spectacular Planetarium shows and the child-sized world of MiniBrum will all spring back to life as Thinktank, Birmingham’s award-winning science museum, reopens to visitors from Saturday May 29 - just in time for the half-term holiday.

With tickets now on sale, the opening marks the first chance for visitors to explore a world of wonder at the museum since closing in March 2020, and to celebrate the occasion a brand-new gallery, Our Changing Planet, will open to the public for the first time.

Our Changing Planet is a fascinating, new addition to Thinktank and at a time when climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity the exhibition will explore how humans have changed the world and how these changes are affecting the wildlife around us.

Featuring over 150 fascinating items from pre-historic tools to the first plastic invented in Birmingham, and from the first prototype vehicle to travel under its own power on Britain’s roads to part of the first computer used at the Longbridge motor factory, Our Changing Planet is perfect for older children and adults to learn and think how human invention and behaviour has impacted the world around us.

As a stark contrast to the man-made inventions, Our Changing Planet investigates how pollution, habitat destruction, species extinction and climate change are radically altering landscapes and lives all over the world. A green sea turtle, corals, platypus and other vulnerable species will illustrate how humanity’s impact on the natural world has intensified through time.

Laurence Butler, Museum Manager at Thinktank Science Museum said: “We’re over the moon to be able to welcome visitors back to Thinktank. Our steam engines will be pumping, the city of MiniBrum will be open for play and the brand new Our Changing Planet gallery will be ready to explore.

“We’ve got four floors, ten galleries, a science garden, a planetarium – there’s a lot to see and we’ve created a safe, fun and inspiring experience for as many people as we can. We’ll be limiting capacity and admission will be by pre-booking only, to ensure our visitors have a safe and fun-packed day out.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic forced Thinktank to close its doors the museum had one of its most successful years on record with more than 243,000 people and 45,500 school children visiting.

The opening of MiniBrum in 2019 proved a huge hit with visitors and this fantastic gallery that allows families to learn together will be ready to welcome younger visitors once again. The exciting child-sized world of MiniBrum features some of Birmingham’s iconic landmarks such as the canals, Selfridges and the University of Birmingham’s Old Joe Clock Tower. It also features different play zones including a home area where children can build their own dens, a burrow where children can find the hidden animals, a race-track inspired by Birmingham’s upcoming Commonwealth Games, a construction zone with a climbing tower and slide, a Post Office, and a salon.

Thinktank has over 200 hands-on displays and showcases many amazing items from the city’s science and engineering collection, including the Smethwick Engine which is the world’s oldest working steam engine. Other things to see at Thinktank include a Planetarium where visitors can journey to the stars and learn about the wonders of the night sky, and an outdoor Science Garden that invites visitors to explore the science behind energy, mechanics and mobility.

Visitors will also get a chance to take home a bit of Thinktank Science Museum with a brand-new shop. From space to science, animals to Birmingham inspired gifts, the new Thinktank shop offers a range of products chosen to reflect the museum’s collections and the fun, family-friendly museum that it is.

Safety will be the museum’s top priority and visitors are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the guidelines before arrival. There will be new measures in place, including limiting capacity through online advance booking and one-way routes around the galleries with visitors welcomed via a new entrance on Level 0. Visitors can still enjoy a variety of hot and cold lunches at Signal Box Cafe, including the signature Signal Box Burger! New for 2021 is Platform 2, an outside kiosk serving up tasty treats for those who may prefer to eat outside.