The Ritz London
200px
Location	150 Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′26″N 0°08′30″W / 51.50722°N 0.14167°W / 51.50722; -0.14167Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°08′30″W / 51.50722°N 0.14167°W / 51.50722; -0.14167
Opening date	1906
Developer	César Ritz
Architect	Charles Mewès & Arthur Davis
Owner	David and Frederick Barclay
Rooms	133
Restaurants	3
Website	Official website

Sign above the western entrance to the arcade

The Ritz London is a luxury 5-star hotel located in Piccadilly and overlooking Green Park in London.

History[link]

Swiss hotelier César Ritz, the dismissed former manager of the Savoy Hotel, opened the hotel on 24 May 1906. The building is neoclassical in the Louis XVI manner, built during the Belle Époque to resemble a stylish Parisian block of flats, over arcades that consciously evoked the Rue de Rivoli. Its architects were Charles Mewès, who had previously designed Ritz's Hôtel Ritz Paris, and Arthur Davis, with engineering collaboration by the Swedish engineer Sven Bylander. It was the first substantial steel-frame structure in London.

The arcade on Piccadilly

Ritz personally managed much of the hotel's operation for many years. He hired world-famous chef Auguste Escoffier to provide cuisine to match the opulence of the hotel's decorations; he placed a special bell in the entryway by which the doorman could notify the staff of the impending arrival of royalty. The high standards to which he held his staff and the ultimate luxury which he provided his guests had been entirely foreign to Victorian Londoners, and the sensation he caused in the hotel industry precipitated a dramatic shift in that industry's focus.

The Ritz is also renowned for its supreme catering service, as well as using its fine rooms for conferencing between executives and directors of multi-national firms.

The hotel was owned for some time by the Bracewell-Smith family who also had significant stakes in the nearby Park Lane Hotel. However the oil crisis in the early 1970s affected business and prompted the family to sell their stake to Trafalgar House in 1976 for £2.75m. [1]

David and Frederick Barclay purchased the ailing hotel for £80 Million from Trafalgar House, in October 1995, through their company Ellerman Investments. They spent eight years and £40 Million restoring it to its former grandeur.

Facilities[link]

The Ritz's most famous facility is the Palm Court, an opulently decorated cream-colored Louis XVI setting for the world-famous institution that is "Tea at the Ritz", (though, strictly speaking, Tea at the Savoy is the original version) once frequented by King Edward VII, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Noël Coward, Judy Garland, Evelyn Waugh and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The Rivoli Bar, built in the Art Deco style, was designed in 2001 by interior designer Tessa Kennedy, to look like a bar on the Orient Express. A table at the restaurant still needs to be booked weeks in advance.

Palm Court

A room in the Ritz

The hotel has six private dining rooms, the Marie Antoinette Suite and the rooms within William Kent House.

In 2006 the William Kent House was opened as an extension of The Ritz. The William Kent House has been converted into a complete function area with the Music Room, the Burlington Room, the Queen Elizabeth Room and the William Kent room. The William Kent House also accommodates three of The Ritz' top suites: The Arlington Suite, the Royal Suite as well as the Prince of Wales Suite.

The Ritz Club is a casino in the basement of the hotel.^[1] However, unlike most casinos, it requires a fee to enter.^[2] The games are considered "high stakes" in that the minimum bet is usually very high. They offer roulette, black jack, baccarat, and poker, as well as some slot machines.^[3]

Fire[link]

On 27 January 2007, around 300 people were evacuated to the nearby May Fair Hotel following a fire alarm in the hotel. No one was hurt in the blaze, which started in the basement casino kitchen's extraction vents. The Ritz casino only suffered "minor damage".^[4]

See also[link]

• Hotels in London
• Ritz-Carlton hotel chain
• Hôtel Ritz Paris

References[link]

1. ^ London Hotel And Casino Review, January 2006, Volume 7, pge 34
2. ^ Gambler's World Guide, Volume 3, page 7
3. ^ Las Vegas News & Review, Volume17, Issue 7, page 39
4. ^ "Ritz guests ordered out in fire". BBC News. 2007-01-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6305987.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 

Further reading[link]

• Binney, Marcus (1999). The Ritz Hotel, London. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01934-7. 

External links[link]

• Official site

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Barney Harwood (born 7 November 1979) is an English television presenter and actor, known for his work with CBBC.

Career[link]

Television[link]

For CBBC, he presented Prank Patrol and was a voice-over commentator for The Smokehouse, while on BBC Two, he co-presented Basil's Swap Shop (a re-make of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop), alongside Basil Brush.^[1]

Previous work for CBBC included gameshow Crush in 2004, Sport Relief Gets Sub'd!, a Sport Relief 2006 show and as co-presenter of Smile, which aired each Sunday on BBC Two until 26 August 2007 and saw him win a Children's BAFTA for best presenter.^[2] He also co-hosted the Doctor Who tie-in programme Totally Doctor Who until it was scrapped after series 3 in 2007. Harwood was also the Control Voice in an episode of the Doctor Who spin off animated series The Infinite Quest. As an extra, he appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters", which was first transmitted on 17 June 2006.

In July 2007, Harwood fronted The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a daily reality series following a group of children learning magic at a Harry Potter-style boarding school.^[3] Bear Behaving Badly, a 26-part sitcom starring Harwood and Nev the bear from Smile, was broadcast on BBC One between September and October 2007.^[4] In February 2008, Harwood starred as the 'hidden' celebrity in an episode of Hider in the House.

Harwood's worked on the series Inside Life which is the children's companion series to the BBC Natural History Unit's Life. Harwood narrates all ten programmes.

On 13 December 2010 it was revealed on the BBC's Blue Peter that Harwood would be the new presenter on the show, taking over from Joel Defries.^[5]

Filmography[link]

Radio[link]

In addition to his television work, he presented BBC Radio 4 children's magazine programme Go 4 It and co-presents Big Toe Books (previously The Big Toe Radio Show), for BBC 7.

Music[link]

Harwood can play the guitar and piano and is also the keyboardist in The MüVs. As a singer/songwriter he composed the theme music to Bear Behaving Badly and Prank Patrol.^[6]

Other appearances[link]

In pantomime, he played Idle Jack in Dick Whittington at The Anvil Theatre, Basingstoke, between November 2005 and January 2006.

From December 2007 to January 2008, Harwood appeared at The Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells as Buttons in Cinderella.^[7]

In April 2008, he appeared in a musical version of Beauty and the Beast as Jangles the court jester at the Central Theatre in Chatham, Kent.^[8]

In December 2008 to January 2009, Harwood starred in 'Peter Pan' at the Pavilion theatre in Bournemouth.

In December 2009 to January 2010, he starred in 'Peter Pan' at the Grande Theatre in Blackpool.

On 1 and 2 August 2009, he and Gemma Hunt presented a BBC Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London entitled "EVOLUTION! A Darwin-inspired extravaganze for kids" (Prom21 and Prom23), during which they interviewed special guest Sir David Attenborough.^[9]

Guest appearance on CBBC show TMi, 14 November 2009, alongside Little Boots.

In 2010 he appeared at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre for their Christmas production of Peter Pan playing the lead role and co-starring with his father, comedian Barnaby.

From December 2nd 2011 - January 8th 2012, Barney will play Muddles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley

References[link]

External links[link]

• Barney Harwood at the Internet Movie Database
• Urban Talent: Barney Harwood
• Barney answers questions
• The MüVs

Jake Humphrey
Humphrey at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix for the BBC's coverage of Formula One
Born	Jacob John "Jake" Humphrey (1978-10-07) 7 October 1978 (age 33) Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Residence	Norwich (formerly), London (currently)
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	White British
Occupation	Television Presenter
Employer	BBC
Home town	Norwich, Norfolk
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) [1]
Weight	95 kg (15.0 st; 210 lb)
Spouse	Harriet Humphrey (2007–present)

Jacob John "Jake" Humphrey (born (1978-10-07)7 October 1978 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom) is an English television presenter, currently best known for his work with BBC Sport, being the youngest ever presenter to host Football Focus, Match of the Day and Final Score. He currently presents the BBC's Formula One coverage and BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He also hosted Super Bowls XLII, XLIII, XLIV, and XLV, the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2008, the Beijing Olympics in August 2008 and the Commonwealth Games in October 2010. He will present the BBC coverage of the 2012 London Olympics. He is due to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from the University of East Anglia in July 2012^[1].

Early life[link]

Born in Peterborough, in the English county of Cambridgeshire, England, he moved to Norwich, Norfolk at the age of nine^[2] with the rest of his family, and attended Framingham Earl High School and the Sixth Form at The Hewett School, Norwich. During his time at school he also worked as a paperboy and became interested in the media.

TV Career[link]

Early career[link]

After failing his A Levels, while studying for his resits the following year he took a work experience job at ITV subsidiary Anglia Television.^[3] After passing his A Levels the following summer, he joined Anglia on a full-time basis as a runner, followed by transferring to Rapture TV where he presented the original incarnation of G@mers. Humphrey began presenting on CBBC as assistant host in Against All Odds and then main host of Rule the School in 2001. Success in these roles led to him becoming main presenter of Against All Odds and then a studio presenter for CBBC the following year.

Children's TV[link]

In late 2002, he hosted CBBC's coverage of Fame Academy, along with Holly Willoughby. Such was the duo's success, they became an integral part of the show, also presenting the 2003 series, and the 2003 celebrity edition for Comic Relief. He also presented the 2005 and 2007 Comic Relief editions of Fame Academy, with Sophie McDonnell and Caroline Flack respectively.

Beginning in 2004, Humphrey started hosting The Saturday Show and BAMZOOKi, but these roles ended in 2005 and 2006 respectively. He was named anchorman of children's sports show Sportsround in September 2005, beginning a series of roles related to sports. Also he was the presenter on Gimme a Break in the first series.

Sports presenting[link]

He started presenting as a match reporter with BBC Radio 5 Live in 2005 and then presented coverage of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

He first hosted Football Focus in November 2006, covering for regular host Manish Bhasin who was presenting coverage of the 2006 Ashes. His first show was praised by Martin Kelner in The Guardian as being '...very assured and credible...'. He later covered for Bhasin again during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Humphrey has since hosted Final Score when regular presenter Ray Stubbs was unable to do so. He first hosted Match of the Day for the FA Women's Cup final in May 2007, and then presented coverage of the 2007 Women's World Cup.

In October 2007, he became the BBC's first ever American Football host, subsequently presenting Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLIII live. Humphrey has also presented the BBC's highlights shows for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and he presented the FA Women's Cup final in 2008, the final Women's Cup Final on the BBC due to the end of the FA contract. Humphrey also hosted the afternoon show at the Olympics for the BBC in Beijing in 2008, and co-hosted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 with Gary Lineker and Sue Barker.

In 2009 he became the anchor for the BBC's Formula One coverage. It was widely considered a highly successful switch for Humphrey, with his hero Des Lynam naming him 2009's best sports broadcaster in his annual 'Desmonds' awards in December 2009. ^[4]

Other presenting[link]

Humphrey presented the 2011 & 2012 New Year Live countdown programme. He also appeared in BBC One HD's 'BBC One Never Looked So Good' Ad, kicking a disco ball then smiling to the camera. Humphrey also briefly hosted coverage of the 2011 Royal Wedding from a 66-year-old Lancaster bomber however was cut off due to technical difficulties with his audio. ^[5]

He presents Free Speech, which began on BBC Three on 7 March 2012.

Personal life[link]

He lives in south-west London, and married his childhood sweetheart, Harriet, in a ceremony in his home village just outside Norwich in August 2007.^[6]

He is a supporter of his local football team Norwich City.

Humphrey is colour-blind – a fact he revealed to much hilarity on BBC Radio 5 Live comedy sports show Fighting Talk, when talking about locking the automatic door on a train lavatory. He can't tell when the light that shows when the door is locked has gone from green to red.^[7]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jake Humphrey at the Internet Movie Database
• Jake Humphrey blog at bbc.co.uk
• All Out for India Sport Relief photos

Selena Gomez
Gomez attending "The 6th Annual Hollywood Style Awards", Beverly Hills, CA on Oct. 10, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Selena Marie Gomez
Born	(1992-07-22) July 22, 1992 (age 19) Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Pop, dance, pop rock[1]
Occupations	Actress, singer, Fashion Designer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, drums
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Hollywood
Associated acts	Selena Gomez & the Scene, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift
Website	SelenaGomez.com

Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992)^[2] is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place. She subsequently ventured into feature films and has starred in the television movies Another Cinderella Story, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, and Princess Protection Program. She made her starring theatrical film debut in Ramona and Beezus.

Her career has expanded into the music industry; Gomez is the lead singer and founder of the pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which has released three RIAA Gold certified studio albums, Kiss & Tell, A Year Without Rain, and When the Sun Goes Down, spawned three RIAA Platinum certified singles, "Naturally", "Who Says" and "Love You Like a Love Song" and charted four No. 1 Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs.^[3] Gomez has also contributed to the soundtracks of Tinker Bell, Another Cinderella Story, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Shake It Up after signing a record deal with Hollywood Records.

In 2008, Gomez was designated a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.^[4]

Early life[link]

Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas.^[2] She is the daughter of former stage actress Amanda Dawn "Mandy" Teefey (née Cornett) and Ricardo Joel Gomez.^[5][6][7] Her father is of Mexican ancestry, and her mother is of part Italian descent.^[8][9] Regarding her Hispanic heritage, Gomez said: "My family does have Quinceañeras, and we go to the communion church. We do everything that's Catholic, but we don't really have anything traditional except [that we] go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church."^[10] Her birth parents divorced when she was five years old, and she was raised as an only child by her working mother.^[5][11] In 2006, Mandy remarried Brian Teefey.^[12] She was named after Tejano singer Selena, who died almost three years after Gomez was born.^[13] In a 2009 interview with People, Gomez mentioned that she developed an early interest in acting from watching her mother prepare for and act in theater productions.^[11] She earned a high school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.^[14]

Career[link]

[edit] 2002–06: Barney & Friends and early work

Gomez began her acting career at age seven, playing Gianna on Barney & Friends.^[15] She later had minor roles in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and the TV film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire. Gomez also starred in the television movie Brain Zapped. (Selena Gomez also found out that she wanted to be an actress because in E Special she states that "I would also watch my mom on stage do her lines".)

In 2004, Gomez was discovered by the Disney Channel in a USA-wide scouting.^[16] Gomez appeared as a guest star on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and had a guest appearance – that later turned into a recurring role – on Hannah Montana from seasons two to three. Gomez previously taped two different pilots that were spin-offs to two previous Disney series.^[17] The first one, What's Stevie Thinking?, was the spin-off to Lizzie McGuire. Gomez played Stevie Sanchez, Miranda Sanchez's little sister. The other show was titled Arwin!, the spin-off to The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, in which she played Alexa. Neither series was picked up.

[edit] 2007–09: Wizards of Waverly Place and Selena Gomez & The Scene

Gomez on the studio set of Wizards of Waverly Place before filming an episode for the show's first season in April 2007

In early 2007 Gomez was cast in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place as one of the three main characters, Alex Russo. The show premiered to an audience of 5.9 million, becoming a hit. Many news outlets began dubbing Gomez the next 'Miley Cyrus' causing some controversy and a reported 'feud'. Gomez clarified that there was no feud and that she was flattered by the comparison, saying: "It's a little overwhelming, but I think really, it's a compliment. She's obviously extremely successful, and I think she's a wonderful performer ... So being compared to her, I was very, very flattered."^[18] Gomez recorded four songs, one of which was a cover, for theWizards of Waverly Place soundtrack, only one single (Magic) from the album was released.

In 2008, Gomez recorded a cover of "Cruella de Vil"—which included a music video—for the compilation albumDisneyMania 6. Gomez also recorded "Fly to Your Heart" for the 2008 animated film Tinker Bell. In July 2008, before Gomez' sixteenth birthday, she signed a recording deal with Hollywood Records, a music label owned by Disney.^[19] In May, of the same year, Gomez was featured, with Forever the Sickest Kids, on a duet version of the non-album song "Whoa Oh!".^[20] The same year Gomez appeared in Another Cinderella Story, the direct-to-DVD sequel to the 2004 Hilary Duff film, opposite Drew Seeley. She also had a minor voiceover role as one the Mayor's ninety-six daughters in Horton Hears a Who! which released in March of that year. In April, Lacey Rose, of Forbes ranked Gomez as being fifth on their "Eight Hot Kid Stars To Watch" list; and Rose described Gomez as having been "a multitalented teen".^[21] Gomez recorded three songs for the movie's soundtrack.

In 2009, Gomez formed the teen pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene. Kiss & Tell, the band's debut studio album and was released on September 29, 2009 by Hollywood Records. On March 5, 2010, the album was certified Gold by RIAA.^[3] The album's single, "Naturally", was certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 15, 2010.^[3] In February 2009, Gomez signed on to star as one of the two female leads in Ramona and Beezus, a film adaption of the children's novel series by Beverly Cleary.^[22][23] Gomez stated that she felt no pressure in taking more adult roles: "I think I’m fully aware of my audience and I’m still just a kid myself. I wouldn’t do a role I don’t feel comfortable doing or that my audience wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing."^[24]

In June 2009, Gomez did a guest appearance as herself in one episode of best friend Demi Lovato's Disney Channel television show, Sonny with a Chance, entitled "Battle of The Network Stars". That same month Gomez appeared alongside Lovato in the made-for-television Disney Channel movie, Princess Protection Program.^[25] The telecast garnered 8.5 million viewers becoming, at the time, the third most watched Disney Channel Original Movie.^[26] One month later, Gomez, along with two cast members of Wizards of Waverly Place appeared in a television three-way cross-over episode with Hannah Montana and The Suite Life on Deck, entitled Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana.

On August 28, 2009 two months after appearing in Princess Protection Program, Gomez starred in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, a made-for-television film based on the show.^[27] The film premiered to an audience of 11.4 million viewers becoming cable's No. 1 scripted telecast of 2009 and Disney Channel's second most-viewed film premiere after High School Musical 2.^[28] In September 2009, Wizards of Waverly Place won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.^[29] In 2010, the film adaptation won the series its second consecutive Emmy for "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards.^[29]

[edit] 2010–2011:Theatrical film debut, A Year Without Rain and When The Sun Goes Down

Gomez on location in Paris, France filming Monte Carlo in June 2010

Gomez's first theatrical film Ramona & Beezus premiered on July 23, 2010 and met with generally positive reviews.^[30] In March 2010, Variety reported that Gomez was set to star as one of the three lead roles in Monte Carlo, alongside Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy.^[31] In the film Gomez plays Grace, a girl who’s “mistaken for a socialite while on a trip to Paris.”^[32] To prepare for the role Gomez learned how to play polo and also took two weeks of vocal training to learn two different British accents.^[33][34] The same year Gomez confirmed that the fourth season of her hit Disney Channel show, Wizards of Waverly Place, would be its last.

Gomez performing at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards.

On September 17, 2010 , Selena Gomez and The Scene released their second studio album, A Year Without Rain The record debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 4, selling 66,000 copies. On January 19, 2011, the album was certified Gold by RIAA.^[3] As of April 2011, the band has sold 1,354,000 albums in the United States.^[35] To support the album, the band embarked on the mini-tour A Year Without Rain Tour. In February 2011, Deadline.com reported that Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment had acquired the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher with Gomez attached to the lead.^[36] That same month TV Guide reported that Gomez would make a cameo in the Muppets film.^[37] On March 23, 2011, Hollywood Records announced through a press release that Selena Gomez & The Scene would be embarking on their third concert tour in the United States, the We Own the Night Tour ran during the summer of 2011.^[38] Production for the final season of Wizards of Waverly Place came to a wrap on May 14, 2011.^[39] Gomez co-hosted the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards on June 19.^[40] She also hosted the 2011 MTV EMAs on November 6, 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she performed her band's single "Hit the Lights". Near the end of 2011, it was reported Gomez was in talks to star in two upcoming films. Deadline.com announced in October that Gomez would take part in the comedy Hot Mess.^[41]

In early November, Variety reported that Gomez was in talks to star in the upcoming film Spring Breakers alongside James Franco and Vanessa Hudgens.^[42] Gomez confirmed to MTV that she had signed on for the project and that production will begin in early 2012.^[43] On June 28, 2011, Selena Gomez & the scene released their third studio album, When the Sun Goes Down, previously titledOtherside,^[44] The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 78,000 copies its first week and the following week, the album rose to number 3 on the Billboard chart, becoming the band's highest charting album to date.^[45][46] On November 17, 2011, the album was certified platinum.^[3] The album's lead single, "Who Says" was certified Platinum by RIAA on June 23, 2011 and has become the band's highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 to date, peaking at number 21.^[3][47] The second single, "Love You Like a Love Song", was certified Platinum by RIAA on December 2, 2011, and became the act's first to sell over two-million copies.^[3][48]

2012–present: Focus on film[link]

In January 2012, Gomez announced that she would put her music career on hold.^[49] This was later reaffirmed as Gomez wrote on her Facebook page that she was taking a break from music in order to focus on her acting career, "my band and I are going our separate ways for a while. This year is all about films and acting and I want my band to play music wherever with whoever. We will be back but, it will be a good while."^[50] In February 2012, Gomez announced that the band would be taking a hiatus, so that she could focus on film for the year. She encouraged her band mates to work with other artists during the hiatus.^[51] The same month, it was announced that Gomez will replace Miley Cyrus in the animated comedy Hotel Transylvania playing Mavis, the daughter of Dracula who will be voiced by Adam Sandler.^[52] As of March 2012, Gomez has been cast in four upcoming films; in which three of them she has been cast as a lead role. She will first appear in Hotel Transylvania, an animated film, voicing the character of Mavis, who was originally supposed to be voiced by Miley Cyrus, however Cyrus dropped out of the film in early 2012 in order to focus on her music career.^[53] The film is scheduled to be released on September 21, 2012.^[54] Next, Gomez will appear in Spring Breakers, which is currently being filmed on location in Sarasota, Florida. The film is being written and directed by Harmony Korine.^[55] Gomez has also been cast as the main role of Hannah Baker in the film adaptation of young-adult fiction novel, 13 Reasons Why. The novel was written by Jay Asher.^[56] She will also play the lead role in a film called Hot Mess, a comedy film directed by Dave Meyers.^[56] On April 7, 2012, Gomez posted a video for fans in which she revealed that she will be filming a new movie called "The Getaway" in Bulgaria. ^[57]

Other projects[link]

Philanthropy[link]

Selena Gomez performs at the KISS 108 Jingle Ball in December 2010

Gomez was involved in the UR Votes Count campaign which encouraged teenagers to learn more about 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.^[58] In October 2008, Gomez participated in St. Jude's Children's Hospital "Runway For Life" benefit.^[59] Gomez is a spokesperson for Borden Milk; she is featured in the campaign's print and television ads.^[60] She is the ambassador of DoSomething.org after being involved with the charity Island Dog, which help dogs in Puerto Rico.^[61] She got involved while filming Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie in Puerto Rico.^[62] Gomez is a spokesperson for State Farm Insurance, and is featured in their TV commercials; which air on the Disney Channel, to raise awareness of being a safe driver.^[63] Gomez is also involved with the charity RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough Project, which helps raise awareness about conflict minerals and violence against Congolese women.^[64]