- published: 16 Nov 2012
- views: 51300
- author: muse
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- 1999 Rugby World Cup
- 2007 Rugby World Cup
- 2009–10 Heineken Cup
- AC DC
- Alpha Blondy
- André Rieu
- Arsenal F.C.
- Ashton Gate Stadium
- Association football
- Athens
- Athletics track
- Aubervilliers
- Auckland
- Australia
- Aviva Stadium
- Baaba Maal
- Barcelona
- Belfast
- Ben-Hur (play)
- Biarritz Olympique
- Bordeaux
- Bouygues
- Bristol
- Bruce Springsteen
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- Camp Nou
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- Canal Plus
- Canal Saint-Denis
- Cardiff
- Challenge de France
- Coldplay
- Commerzbank-Arena
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- Céline Dion
- Daegu Stadium
- David Guetta
- Depeche Mode
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- Eden Park
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- En Avant de Guingamp
- England
- Estadio Azteca
- Estadio Centenario
- F.C. Barcelona
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- FIFA
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- FIFA World Cup Final
- Finland
- FNB Stadium
- France
- Frankfurt
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- Galashiels
- Galpharm Stadium
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- Hampden Park
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- Huddersfield
- Indochine (band)
- Infrared
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- Jean-Marie Bigard
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- Sport in France
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-
Ashton Gate Stadium
Ashton Gate Stadium is a stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of 21,497, with an effective capacity for football matches (depending on how many away tickets are allocated, and how they are segregated) of around 19,500, with an average league game's attendance of 16,446 (2007/08 season).
Ashton Gate was the home of Bedminster F.C. until their 1900 merger with Bristol South End who played at St Johns Lane, and the merged team alternated between the two grounds until Ashton Gate become the permanent home of Bristol City in 1904.
The ground has also played a part in the history of rugby in the city. Bristol Rugby have played there on a number of occasions since the 1920s, the most recent being on 27 December 2006 when they defeated local rivals Bath Rugby 16–6 whilst selling out the stadium for an all time record Premiership crowd outside of Twickenham. Several rugby internationals have been held, starting with England versus Wales in 1899. One hundred years later, the All Blacks took on Tonga in a 1999 Rugby World Cup pool match.
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Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area (
/ˈɔːklənd/, AWK-lənd), in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with 1,377,200 residents, 31 percent of the country's population. Auckland has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. In Māori Auckland's names are Tāmaki Makaurau, and the transliterated version of Auckland, Ākarana.
The 2011 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Auckland 3rd equal place in the world on its list, while the Economist's World's Most Livable Cities index of 2011 ranked Auckland in 9th place. In 2010, Auckland was classified as a Beta World City in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University.
Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate major bodies of water.
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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Barcelona
Barcelona (English /bɑrsɨˈloʊnə/, Catalan: [bərsəˈɫonə], Spanish: [barθeˈlona]) is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km2 (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 within an area of 803 km2 (310 sq mi), being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions, including the 1888 Exposición Universal de Barcelona, the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (Expo 1929), the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, and the 2004 World Urban Forum.
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Belfast
Coordinates: 54°35′49″N 5°55′48″W / 54.597°N 5.930°W / 54.597; -5.930
Belfast (from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "mouth of the shoal") is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom and second largest on the island of Ireland. It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500 and lies at the heart of the Belfast urban area, which has a population of 579,276. The Larger Urban Zone, as defined by the European Union, has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.
Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the well-known RMS Titanic, propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the biggest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by Ulster unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.
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Bristol
Bristol
i/ˈbrɪstəl/ is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007. It is England's sixth and the United Kingdom's eighth most populous city, one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England.
Historically within Gloucestershire, the city received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, on the basis of tax receipts, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.
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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Canal Saint-Denis
The Canal Saint-Denis is a canal in Paris that is 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi) in length. The canal connects the Canal de l'Ourcq, at a point north-northwest of the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement, with the suburban municipalities of Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis. There are seven locks along the canal's route, and, near Saint-Denis, the canal discharges into the Seine.
In 1802 Napoléon Bonaparte issued a decree for the construction of the canal to both expedite shipping and reduce the number of ships and barges sailing up and down the Seine through the center of Paris. Contracts to build and operate the canals in the Île-de-France were granted to private banking firms. These contracts required the city of Paris to purchase land, and the merchant-bankers who won the contracts, Roman Vassal, Lafitte, André, and Cottier, were expected to construct the waterways. As compensation for their large outlays, the bankers were permitted to collect tolls on the canal for a term of ninety-nine years. The canal was completed in 1821.
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Cardiff
Cardiff (i/ˈkɑrdɪf/; Welsh: Caerdydd (info) Welsh pronunciation: [kairˈdiːð, kaˑɨrˈdɨːð]) is the capital and largest city in Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. The unitary authority area's mid 2010 population was estimated to be 341,054, while the population of the Larger Urban Zone was estimated at 861,400 in 2009. Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked 6th in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.
The city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan (and later South Glamorgan). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. The Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside of the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.
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Dublin
Dublin ( /ˈdʌblɨn/; locally /ˈdʊbᵊlən/; Irish: Baile Átha Cliath, meaning "town of the hurdled ford", pronounced [blʲaˈklʲiə] or Áth Cliath, [aː klʲiə], occasionally Duibhlinn) is the capital and most populous city of Ireland. The English name for the city is derived from the Irish name Dubhlinn, meaning "black pool". Dublin is situated near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and the centre of the Dublin Region.
Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of Dublin and became the island's principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century; it was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire and the fifth largest in Europe. Dublin entered a period of stagnation following the Act of Union of 1800, but it remained the economic centre for most of the island. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, the new parliament, the Oireachtas, was located in Leinster House. Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland.
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Edinburgh
Edinburgh (i/ˈɛdɪnbʌrə/ ED-in-burr-ə; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square miles (78 km2) rural area. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.
The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. It covers both the Old and New Towns together with the Dean Village and the Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In May 2010, it had a total of 40 conservation areas covering 23% of the building stock and 23% of the population, the highest such ratios of any major city in the UK. In the 2011 mid-year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 495,360.
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Edmonton
Edmonton /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, Canada. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.
The city and its census metropolitan area had populations of 812,201 and 1,159,869 as of the 2011 Census respectively, making it Alberta's second-largest city, Canada's fifth-largest municipality and Canada's sixth-largest metropolitan area by population. Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.
The majority of Edmonton's metropolitan population lives within the City of Edmonton rather than in the surrounding suburban municipalities. Historically, Edmonton was surrounded by few other urban municipalities (Strathcona, Beverly and Jasper Place being the largest) but these were absorbed through amalgamation or annexation. Edmonton annexed a significant amount of land up until the early 1980s, and as a result it has sustained much of the region's suburban growth within its own boundaries.
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England
Englandi/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.
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Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in Parque Batlle, Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay's first constitution. It is listed by FIFA as one of the football world's classic stadiums, along with the likes of Maracanã, Wembley Stadium, San Siro, Estadio Azteca, and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On July 18, 1983 was declared by FIFA as The only historical monument of World Football, the only building of its kind (worldwide).
The Uruguayan national team has always been a threat when playing in their home stadium, consistently beating top teams. Even the top ranked Brazil national football team has only managed 3 wins in 20 opportunities, although only one was an official match.
The Centenario is one of the most important stages in the development of sports in South America and international football. It was built especially for the organization of the Football World Cup 1930, by immigrant workers in a record time of 9 months. Its name originates from the celebration of 100 years of the swearing in of the first Constitution of Uruguay.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] (
listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Gabon
Gabon (
/ɡəˈbɒn/; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃]), officially the Gabonese Republic (French: République Gabonaise) is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.
Since its independence from France on August 17, 1960, Gabon has been ruled by three presidents. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.
Low population density together with abundant natural resources and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
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Galashiels
Coordinates: 55°37′10″N 2°48′12″W / 55.61945°N 2.80339°W / 55.61945; -2.80339
Galashiels ( /ˌɡæləˈʃiːəlz/ GAL-ə-SHEE-əlz; Scots: Gallae,Scottish Gaelic: An Geal Àth) is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often shortened to "Gala" ( /ˈɡælə/ GAL-ə).
Galashiels is a major commercial centre for the Scottish Borders. The town is known for textile making, and is the location of Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design, Galashiels Academy and one campus of the Borders College, which as of 2009 has moved and now joins with the University.
To the west of the town there is an ancient earthwork known as the Picts' Work Ditch or Catrail. It extends many miles south and its height and width varies. There is no agreement about the purpose of the earthwork. There is another ancient site on the north west edge of the town, at Torwoodlee, an Iron Age hill fort, with a later Broch built in the Western quarter of the hill fort, and overlapping some of the defensive ditches of the original fort. The Romans destroyed the broch in AD 140, soon after it was completed.
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Glasgow
Coordinates: 55°51′29″N 4°15′32″W / 55.858°N 4.259°W / 55.858; -4.259
Glasgow (i/ˈɡlɑːzɡəʊ/, locally /ˈɡlazɡo/, GLAZ-goh; Scots: Glesga listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu ([ˈkɫ̪as̪əxu] listen (help·info))) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands.
Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become one of the largest seaports in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with British North America and the British West Indies. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of heavy engineering, most notably in shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period. Today it is one of Europe's top ten financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses. Glasgow is also ranked as the 57th most liveable city in the world.
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Guinea
Guinea
i/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (Guinée française), it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has almost 246,000 square kilometres (94,981 sq mi) and a population of 10,057,975. It forms a crescent by curving from its western border on the Atlantic Ocean toward the east and the south. Its northern border is shared with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The Niger River's source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea.
Guinea is geographically divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. Conakry is the capital, largest city and economic centre. The other major cities in the country include Kankan, Nzérékoré, Kindia, Labe, Guéckédou, Mamou and Boke.
Guinea's 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The largest and most prominent groups are the Fula 40%, Mandingo 30%, and Susu 20%.
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Hampden Park
Hampden Park (often referred to simply as Hampden) is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the home venue of the Scotland national football team and amateur Scottish Football League club Queen's Park and hosts the latter stages of the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup competitions. It is also used for music concerts and other sporting events.
There were two 19th century stadiums called Hampden Park, built on different sites. A stadium on the present site was first opened on 31 October 1903. Hampden was the biggest stadium in the world when it was opened, with a capacity in excess of 100,000. This was increased further between 1927 and 1937, reaching a peak of 150,000. The record attendance of 149,415, for a Scotland v England match in 1937, is the European record for an international football match. Tighter safety regulations meant that the capacity was reduced to 81,000 in 1977. The stadium has been fully renovated since then, with the most recent work being completed in 1999.
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Helsinki
Helsinki ( listen (help·info); Swedish: Helsingfors, listen (help·info)) is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 596,233 (31 January 2012), making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is located some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of St. Petersburg, Russia and 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area includes the city of Helsinki and three other cities: Espoo and Vantaa, which immediately border Helsinki to the west and north, respectively; and Kauniainen, which is an enclave within the city of Espoo. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the world's northernmost urban area among those with a population of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of a EU member state. Altogether 1.1 million people, approximately one in five Finns, live in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
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Huddersfield
Coordinates: 53°38′42″N 1°46′47″W / 53.6450°N 1.7798°W / 53.6450; -1.7798
Huddersfield (i/ˈhʌdərzˌfiːld/) is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies 190 miles (310 km) north of London, and 10.3 miles (16.6 km) south of Bradford, the nearest city.
Huddersfield is near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. Located within the historic county boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire, according to the 2001 Census it was the 10th largest town in the UK and with a total resident population of 146,234. It is the largest urban area in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees and the administrative centre of the borough. The town is well known for its important role in the Industrial Revolution, for being the birthplace of rugby league and for being the birthplace of the late British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Huddersfield today is a town of higher education, the media and sports, being home to the rugby league team, Huddersfield Giants, founded in 1895, who currently play in the European Super League and Football League One football team Huddersfield Town F.C., founded in 1908. The town is home to the University of Huddersfield and the sixth form colleges Greenhead College, Kirklees College and Huddersfield New College
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Ireland
Coordinates: 53°20′N 08°00′W / 53.333°N 8°W / 53.333; -8
Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɪrlənd] ( listen); Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann or Airlan) is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.
Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
Relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain epitomise Ireland's geography with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until the 17th century. Today, it is one of the most deforested areas in Europe. There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland.
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Istanbul
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, forming the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of 13.4 million, the city is at the center of the second-largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, and among the world's largest cities by population within city limits. Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with Istanbul Province, of which the city is considered capital. Straddling the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, Istanbul is a transcontinental city, with one third of its population living in Asia but its commercial and historical center in Europe.
Founded around 660 BC as Byzantium on the Seraglio Point, the city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as the capital of four empires — the late classical Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold from which the last caliphate ruled. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital elsewhere, in Ankara, remnants of Istanbul's previous central role still remain highly visible across the city, with palaces and imperial mosques lining its hills.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Ivory Coast
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoirei/ˌkoʊt dɨˈvwɑr/ (French: [kot d‿ivwaʁ]) or Ivory Coast i/ˌaɪvəri ˈkoʊst/ is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometres (124,503 sq mi), and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Côte d'Ivoire's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants.
Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after Côte d'Ivoire's independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the European scramble for Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road (Irish: Bóthar Lansdúin, IPA: [ˈbˠoːhəɾˠ ˈl̪ˠan̪ˠsˠd̪ˠuːn̪ˠ]) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the construction of the Aviva Stadium, which opened in 2010.
Lansdowne Road took its name from the adjacent street.
The stadium was situated in the neighbourhood of Ballsbridge in the city's Dublin 4 area. The stadium had convenient public transport links as the Lansdowne Road station of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail system is adjacent to the site and passed directly underneath the West Stand.
The stadium was named after the nearby road, which in turn was named after William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. The Marquis was also the Earl of Shelburne, and nearby Shelbourne Road is also named after him.
The stadium had a total capacity of 49,250, with 25,000 seats. However, competitive international football matches could not use the entire capacity because the stands at both ends of the ground (North and South) were standing-only terraces. FIFA and UEFA both mandate that international matches be played in all-seated venues. A temporary capacity of 36,000 was the result for competitive soccer. The International Rugby Board does not impose this restriction on international rugby venues. For non-competitive international football matches (friendly matches), the FIFA/UEFA all-seated mandate does not apply.
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Leicester
Coordinates: 52°38′03″N 1°08′19″W / 52.63422°N 1.13852°W / 52.63422; -1.13852
Leicester (/lɛstər/ LESS-tər pronunciation (help·info)) is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest. In 2010, the population of the Leicester unitary authority was estimated at 306,600, the second highest in the region, whilst 441,213 people lived in the wider Leicester Urban Area in 2006, making Leicester the tenth most populous settlement in the United Kingdom and the UK's fourteenth largest urban area. It is the largest city in the East Midlands yet has the second largest urban area in the region behind Nottingham Urban Area. Eurostat's Larger Urban Zone listed the population of the area at 772,400 people as of 2004.
Ancient Roman pavements and baths remain in Leicester from its early settlement as Ratae Corieltauvorum, a Roman military outpost in a region inhabited by the Celtic Corieltauvi tribe. Following the demise of Roman society the early medieval Ratae Corieltauvorum is shrouded in obscurity, but when the settlement was captured by the Danes it became one of five fortified towns important to the Danelaw. The name "Leicester" is thought to derive from the words castra of the "Ligore", meaning camp of the dwellers on the (river) Legro. Leicester appears in the Domesday Book as "Ledecestre". Leicester continued to grow throughout the Early Modern period as a market town, although it was the Industrial Revolution that facilitated a process of rapid unplanned urbanisation in the area.
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Limerick
Limerick ( /ˈlɪmrɪk/; Irish: Luimneach [ˈl̪imʲɨnʲəx]) is a city in the Mid-West or Shannon Region of Ireland. It is the fifth most populous city on the island of Ireland and when taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest urban area in the Republic of Ireland, with a population of 91,454. Limerick is also the second-largest city in the province of Munster, an area that constitutes the midwest and southwest of Ireland. The city is built on several curves and islands of the River Shannon, which spreads into an estuary shortly downriver from Limerick. Road infrastructure features four main crossing points near the city centre (an additional river tunnel to the west of the three bridges opened in July 2010). Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork-Limerick-Galway corridor, which has a population of 1 million.
Luimneach originally referred to the general area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary known as Loch Luimnigh. The earliest settlement in the city, Inis Sibhtonn, was the original name for King's Island during the pre-Viking and Viking eras. This island was also called Inis an Ghaill Duibh, The Dark(haired) Foreigner's Island. The name is recorded in Viking sources as Hlymrekr.
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Llanelli
Coordinates: 51°41′00″N 4°09′41″W / 51.683471°N 4.161369°W / 51.683471; -4.161369
Llanelli (English: Church of St. Elli; Welsh pronunciation: [ɬaˈnɛɬi], see below), the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately 10 miles (16 km) west-north-west of Swansea and 12 miles (19 km) south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby tradition and is a centre of tinplate production. In the mid 20th century, Llanelli was the largest town in the world where more than half the population spoke a Celtic language. It is ranked the 7th largest urban area in Wales. According to the 2001 UK Census returns 29.69% of Llanelli town residents could speak the Welsh language. Llanelli is also surrounded by a number of villages and communities in the Llanelli Rural district. Some of these communities, more notably those that immediately surround the town, are often unofficially referred to as Llanelli.
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London
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritiusi/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Milan
Milan (Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] ( listen); Lombard: [miˈlan]; Latin: Mediolanum) is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy as well as of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in EU and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of approximately 5 million. The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper, following the Italian economic miracle of 1950s–60s and massive commuting flows, suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limits and its agglomeration, creating a region of approximately 9,3 million people. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. Its health care and education system is considered one of the best of Europe.
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Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm) is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital city, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, boxing and many music concerts, including Tina Turner, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, U2, Stereophonics, Paul McCartney, and the Tsunami Relief concert. It was built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
The Millennium Stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc which is a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The stadium was designed by a team led by architects Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture, who merged to become HOK Sport Venue Event, which would be renamed Populous in early 2009. WS Atkins were the structural engineers, and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million.
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New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of both animal and plant life. Most notable are the large number of unique bird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.
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Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( /ˌpæsəˈdiːnə/) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is also the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena City College (PCC), Fuller Theological Seminary, Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Norton Simon Museum of Art and the Pacific Asia Museum.
As of 2010 United States Census, the population of Pasadena was 137,122, making it the 180th-largest city in the United States, down from 168th place in 2009. Pasadena is the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County, and on June 19, 1886, became the fourth to be incorporated in Los Angeles County, after Anaheim (March 18, 1876) and Santa Ana (June 1, 1886), which were part of Los Angeles County until Orange County was formed in 1889. It is one of the primary cultural centers of the San Gabriel Valley.
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Rome
Rome (/ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma pronounced [ˈroːma] ( listen); Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune ("Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and the capital of Lazio (Latin: Latium). With 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.7 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.
Rome's history spans two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD and the city is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
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Råsunda Stadium
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, also Råsundastadion, Råsunda Stadium or just Råsunda, is a Swedish national football stadium. It is located in Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm and named after Råsunda, a zone of Solna.
It was opened in 1937 although there had already existed stadiums at the site; the earliest opened in 1910. The inaugural match took place on 18 April 1937 when AIK played against Malmö FF, AIK won the match 4–0. Råsunda has a capacity of 35,000–36,608 depending on usage. The 1910 stadium hosted some of the football and some of the shooting events at the 1912 Summer Olympics. The stadium is the home stadium for AIK, and is used for many derbies between Stockholm clubs. It also hosts the headquarters of the Swedish Football Association, and stages 75% of the home matches of the national football team each year, with most other matches being played at Ullevi in Gothenburg. These two stadiums are UEFA 4-star rated football stadiums.[citation needed]
The record attendance is 52,943 and was set 26 September 1965, when Sweden played West Germany.
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Scotland
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə] listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.
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Senegal
Senegali/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
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Stade de France
The Stade de France (French pronunciation: [stad də fʁɑ̃s]) is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 81,338, making it the eighth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for international competition. On 12 July 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the FIFA World Cup Final contested at the stadium. The Stade de France is listed as a category four stadium by UEFA and has hosted matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, some matches for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, 2003 World Championships in Athletics, and the 2007 Rugby World Cup making it the only stadium in the world to have hosted both a Football World Cup final and a Rugby World Cup final. The facility also hosted the annual Motorsport event Race of Champions in 2004, 2005, and 2006 before the event moved to Wembley Stadium in London. The stadium hosted the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and since 1999 it has hosted the annual Meeting Areva athletics meet.
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Stade de la Mosson
Stade de la Mosson is a football stadium in Montpellier, France. It is the home of Montpellier HSC (Ligue 1) and has a capacity of 32,900. Formerly a 16,000-seater stadium, it was entirely rebuilt in 1998 to host 6 games of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was also used as a venue for group stage matches in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
On Saturday 9 June 2012, the stadium will host rugby league for the first time. The Catalan Dragons will continue their policy of playing home games away from the Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan by playing their Stobart Super League fixture against Wigan Warriors at the stadium. This will be the second time the fixture has been played in Montpellier with the previous year's game being held in the Stade Yves-du-Manoir.
The stadium was one of the venues for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The following games were played at the stadium during the World Cup of 1998:
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Stade Félix-Bollaert
Stade Félix Bollaert is the main football stadium in Lens, France, that was built in 1933. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 41,229 – about 4,000 more than the city's population. This is similar to that of SC Heerenveen ground the Abe Lenstra Stadion which has a bigger capacity than Heerenveen itself. It owes its name to Commercial Director of the Compagnie des Mines de Lens who was anxious to promote the development of sports clubs in the city and decided the construction in 1931, though he died shortly before the stadium's inauguration.
The stadium has hosted matches in the following major international tournaments:
Bollaert is constructed in the English style with four separate stands dedicated respectively to:
All parts of the stadium contain seating. However, most supporters in the Marek stand as it is considered the kop. As in many other stadiums, the most fervent fans tend to sit behind the nets.
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Stadio Nazionale PNF
The Stadio Nazionale del PNF (National Stadium of the PNF) was a multi-purpose stadium in Rome, Italy. It was built in 1927 and held 50,000 people. It hosted three of the 17 matches of the 1934 FIFA World Cup, including the final between hosts Italy and Czechoslovakia on 10 June 1934.
Clubs S.S. Lazio and A.S. Roma played their home matches there before both teams started using the Stadio Olimpico in 1953.
The stadium was demolished in 1953 and replaced by the Stadio Flaminio
Coordinates: 41°55′38″N 12°28′20″E / 41.92722°N 12.47222°E / 41.92722; 12.47222
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Stadium Municipal
Stadium Municipal de Toulouse is the largest multi-purpose stadium in Toulouse, France. It is the seventh-largest stadium in France. It is currently used mostly for football matches, mainly those of the Toulouse Football Club and the big games of rugby in the Stade Toulousain in the Heineken Cup or Top 14. It also hosts the test matches of France's national rugby union team. It is located on the island of Ramier near the centre of Toulouse. It is a pure football and rugby ground, and therefore has no athletics track surrounding the field. The stadium is able to hold 35,472 people.
The stadium was built in 1937 for the 1938 FIFA World Cup and has undergone two extensive renovations, in 1949 and 1997.
The stadium staged six matches during the 1998 Football World Cup, including an upset of England by Romania. It was also used as a host venue during the 2007 Rugby World Cup for games such as Japan-Fiji, won by the latter 35–31. On 13 November 2009 the stadium hosted international rugby again when France hosted South Africa. At the time, South Africa were leading the series by 20 wins to 10 (6 drawn).
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Thomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in 2008.
The stadium holds a special place in rugby due to its own unique history and atmosphere. The stadium is famed for its noise during play and the complete silence while home and away players are kicking for goal. Munster also retained an intimidating 12 year unbeaten run at Thomond in the Heineken Cup – running from the competition's start in 1995 until 2007 when the Leicester Tigers broke the streak with a 13–6 win. It is at Thomond park that Munster celebrated their 12–0 victory over the All Blacks in 1978.
Thomond Park originally consisted of two pitches, the main pitch and a training pitch. The main pitch was bounded on all sides by terracing with a stand located above the west terrace. The training pitch was located behind the west stand with the Shannon R.F.C. pavilion located in the southwest corner of the ground. The UL Bohemian R.F.C. pavilion was located within the west stand.
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Ullevi
Ullevi is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The stadium was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then Ullevi has also hosted the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 2006 European Championships in Athletics, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1983 and 1990, the UEFA Euro 1992 final, the UEFA Cup final in 2004, and annually hosted the opening ceremony of the Gothia Cup—the world's largest football tournament.
The stadium is the biggest in Scandinavia, with a seating capacity of 43,000 and a total capacity of 75,000 for concerts.
The record attendance, for football, is 52,194 and was set on 3 June 1959, when Örgryte IS played against IFK Göteborg.
A Bruce Springsteen concert on 8 June 1985, became notable because Springsteen – with the help of a very enthusiastic audience – almost rocked the stadium to pieces, literally. As the city rests on a layer of clay, the rhythmic movement of tens of thousands of people was close to causing a structural collapse. Even though Bruce Springsteen has made several more visits since, it is unlikely he will manage to repeat his feat, as the concrete pillars supporting the stadium have since been extended down to solid bedrock.
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Wales
Walesi/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.
During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.
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Wrexham
Coordinates: 53°02′47″N 2°59′36″W / 53.0463°N 2.9932°W / 53.0463; -2.9932
Wrexham ( /ˈrɛksəm/ REKS-əm; Welsh: Wrecsam; Welsh pronunciation: [ˈwrɛksam]) is the largest town in North Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England. As the largest town in the north of Wales, it is a major centre of the region's commercial, retail and educational infrastructure.
At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, Wrexham had a population of 42,576, and the wider Wrexham Urban Area, as defined by the Office for National Statistics, had a population of 63,084. The county borough of Wrexham, which covers 50,500 hectares, has a population of over 130,000.
Wrexham's former police station on Regent Street, originally the barracks for the Royal Denbighshire Militia, is now home to Wrexham County Borough Museum. The museum has two galleries devoted to the history of the town and its surrounding communities.
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Yokohama
Yokohama (横浜市, Yokohama-shi?, "Side Shore") ( listen (help·info)) is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.
Yokohama's population of 3.7 million makes it Japan's largest incorporated city.
Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tokyo, and Chiba.
Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the Tokugawa shogunate agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity.
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Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy (born January 1, 1953) is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and in English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew. His lyrics convey serious political attitudes and a sense of humor.
First son of a family of 9 children, Seydou Kone was raised by his grandmother, growing up in what he described as "among elders", which later was to have a big impact on his career. In 1962, Alpha Blondy went to join his father in Odienné, where he spent ten years, attending the Sainte Elisabeth high school, and getting involved in the Ivory Coast students movement. Here he formed a band. But, this hobby affected his schooling and Alpha Blondy was expelled due to poor attendance. His parents then sent him to study English in Monrovia in the neighboring country of Liberia in 1973. He spent thirteen months there and then moved to the United States of America to improve his English.
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André Rieu
André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.
The name Rieu is of French Huguenot origin. He began studying violin at the age of five. His father, of the same name, was conductor of the Maastricht Symphony Orchestra. From a very young age he developed a fascination with orchestra. He studied violin at the Conservatoire Royal in Liège and at the Conservatorium Maastricht, (1968–1973). His teachers included Jo Juda and Herman Krebbers. From 1974 to 1977, he attended the Music Academy in Brussels, studying with André Gertler, getting his degree "Premier Prix" from the Brussels Royal Conservatory.
At University he performed the Gold And Silver Waltz by Franz Lehár. Encouraged by the audience reaction he decided to pursue the waltz form. Rieu formed the Maastricht Salon Orchestra and performed as a violinist with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, he created the Johann Strauss Orchestra and his own production company. Since then, his melodramatic stage performances and rock-star demeanor have for some been associated with a revival of the waltz music category. André Rieu plays a 1667 Stradivarius violin.
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Baaba Maal
Baaba Maal (born 12 November 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July 2003, he was made a UNDP Youth Emissary.
Baaba Maal was expected to follow his father and become a fisherman. However, under the influence of his lifelong friend Mansour Seck, Baaba devoted himself to learning music from his mother and his school's headmaster. He went on to study music at the university in Dakar before leaving for postgraduate studies on a scholarship at Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is well known in Africa and internationally is probably Senegal's most famous musician after Youssou N'Dour.
Baaba sings primarily in Pulaar and is the foremost promoter of the traditions of the Pulaar-speaking peoples who live on either side of the Senegal River in the ancient Senegalese kingdom of Futa Tooro.
In 1998, Baaba recorded "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" for the Red Hot Organization’s compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody a tribute to George Gershwin which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In 2002, Baaba again worked with the Red Hot Organization and appeared on a track titled "No Agreement" alongside Res, Tony Allen, Ray Lema, Positive Black Soul and Archie Shepp for the tribute album to Fela Kuti, Red Hot + Riot.
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Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.
Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver, although he was frequently unemployed; his surname is Dutch for jump stone. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.
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Coumba Gawlo
Coumba Gawlo Seck is a Senegalese singer-songwriter and composer who was born in February 1972 in Tivaouane. She is the second best selling Senegalese singer in Senegal after Youssou N'Dour.[citation needed] Her greatest success was a version of Pata Pata, a platinum single which was number one for two weeks in Belgium and sold 50,000 copies one day in France in 1998.[citation needed]
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Céline Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC OQ, (French pronunciation: [selin djɔ̃] ( listen); born March 30, 1968), is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the English-language album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada.
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David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta (7 November 1967), known professionally as David Guetta (French pronunciation: [daˌvid ɡɛˈta]), is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster (2004) and Pop Life (2007). His 2009 album One Love included the hit singles "When Love Takes Over" (featuring Kelly Rowland), "Gettin' Over You" (featuring Chris Willis, Fergie & LMFAO) and "Sexy Bitch" (featuring Akon), the last becoming a top five hit in the United States and all three reaching #1 in the United Kingdom, as well as another internationally known single called "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi which became a top five hit in many countries. Guetta has sold over three million albums and 15 million singles worldwide. He is currently one of the most sought-after music producers. As at 2012 David Guetta is the world's most popular DJ, claiming the #1 poll position of the DJ Mag 100 popularity poll.
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George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (Greek: Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου); 25 June 1963) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Michael rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper", was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide.
As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Michael has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as of 2010. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and made several records and achievements in the United States. Michael has garnered seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Michael the 40th most successful artist on the Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists list.
Michael has won numerous music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.
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Indochine (band)
Indochine is a French new wave/rock band, formed in 1981. The band was very successful in France in the 1980s, as well as other parts of continental Europe and Latin America, with songs like "L'Aventurier" and "Canary Bay". Following the release of several critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful, albums in the 1990s, the group returned to stardom with the release of Paradize in 2002. The band has sold over 10 million albums and singles, making them the best selling French band.[citation needed]
Indochine (French for Indochina) was formed in 1981 by two Frenchmen in their early twenties, Nicola Sirkis and Dominique Nicolas, in Paris. They soon added Dimitri Bodianski, the cousin of one of Nicola’s friends.
They gave their first concert at Le Rose Bonbon, a café in Paris on 29 September 1981. This brief performance on stage earned them their first contract with a record company.
They recorded their first single in November 1981. It included two songs, "Dizzidence Politik" and "Françoise", but drew more attention from critics than from the mainstream media and only reached a limited audience.
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Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac ( /ʒɑːk ʃɨˈræk/; French pronunciation: [ʒɑk ʃiʁak]; born 29 November 1932) is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 (making him the only person to hold the position of Prime Minister twice under the Fifth Republic), and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.
After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, a term at Harvard University and the École nationale d'administration (ENA), Chirac began his career as a high-level civil servant, and soon entered politics. He subsequently occupied various senior positions, including Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Interior, Prime Minister, Mayor of Paris, and finally President of the French Republic.
Chirac's internal policies included lower tax rates, the removal of price controls, strong punishment for crime and terrorism, and business privatisation. He also argued for more socially responsible economic policies, and was elected in 1995 after campaigning on a platform of healing the "social rift" (fracture sociale). After less statist policy when he was Prime Minister (1986–1988), he changed his method. Then, his economic policies, based on dirigisme, state-directed ideals, stood in opposition to the laissez-faire policies of the United Kingdom, which Chirac famously described as "Anglo-Saxon ultraliberalism". Chirac is the second-longest serving President of France (two full terms, the first of seven years and the second of five years), after François Mitterrand. As President, he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur.
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Jean-Marie Bigard
Jean-Marie Bigard (born May 17, 1954, Troyes, France) is a French comedian and actor. Known for his often rogue humour, he has given presentations at the largest entertainment facilities in France, including the Palais omnisports at Paris-Bercy and the Stade de France. Bigard is a close friend of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whom he accompanied on an official visit to Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.
Fourth child of a family from humble origins, it passes through "a happiness unblemished "his summer holiday on a farm in the Aube exploited his maternal grandparents, and lives with" sadness "of the school mid-September.
From the early allergic to "constraints" and "confinement" inherent in the school attached to his mother and "too wayward at work, it knows itself and sometimes is very sensitive to incentives. Can succeed and be aware of "no more stupid than others," puberty and discovered girls "giving life to something intoxicating" divert yet his point drop after doubling its class Fourth, it is set in the pension private college of Mesnil-Saint-Loup.Ses parents this financial sacrifice to enable him to succeed but as his elder brother, it will not its orientation, and 16 years for a SEN in general mechanics, to prepare 3-year technical school.
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Jessy Matador
Jessy Kimbangi better known by his stage name Jessy Matador (born 27 October 1982) is a singer from France.
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 27 October 1982, Matador began his career as a dancer in 2001. He later joined the group "Les cœurs brisés" (The Broken Hearts) with whom he toured the United States, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada.
In 2005, he decided to create his own group called "La Sélésao" composed of members Dr.Love, Linho and Benkoff. The same members also formed the first edition of the group Magic System. In late 2007, they signed with Oyas Records before signing with Wagram Records in spring 2008.
They released their début single "Décalé Gwada" in June 2008, becoming one of the hits of that summer. On 24 November 2008 the group released the album Afrikan New Style, a musical hybrid of African and Caribbean influences with more urban sounds. The style includes influences of zouk, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, Coupé-Décalé, ndombolo and kuduro.
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Johnny Hallyday
Jean-Philippe Smet better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday (born 15 June 1943, Cité Malesherbes, Paris, France) is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to popular Bulgarian-French singer Sylvie Vartan. They formed the golden couple of the sixties and seventies in Europe. Johnny has completed 100 tours, had 18 platinum albums, and sold more than 110 million records. Hallyday announced his retirement from performing on 3 December 2007, saying that he will retire in 2009, after a farewell tour. Hallyday, though, announced in March 2012 that he would perform in Los Angeles on April 24 and in New York City on October 7.
Hallyday's father, Léon Smet (1908–1989), was Belgian, his mother Huguette Clerc (1920–2007) was French. Hallyday took his stage name from his aunt Desta's husband and dance partner Lee Hallyday, a pseudonym for Lee Ketcham, an expatriate Oklahoman, performer and MC at the Cafe de Paris when Johnny began his singing career. Johnny was raised by Desta and Lee from a very young age, with Lee being his first manager.
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Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/ STE-fə-nee jurr-mə-NAH-tə; born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.
Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.
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Manu Dibango
Emmanuel 'Manu' N'Djoké Dibango (born 12 December 1933) is a Cameroonian saxophonist and vibraphone player. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk and traditional Cameroonian music. He is a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, though his mother was a Duala. He is best known for his 1972 afrobeat single "Soul Makossa".
Dibango was born in Douala, Cameroon. His father, Michel Manfred N'Djoké Dibango was a civil servant. The son of a farmer, he met his wife travelling by pirogue to her residence, Douala. A literate woman, she was a fashion designer, running her own small business. Both her ethnicity, the Duala, and his, the Yabassi, viewed this union of different ethnic groups with some disdain. Emmanuel had no siblings, although he had a stepbrother from his father's previous marriage who was four years older than he was. In Cameroon, one's ethnicity is dictated by their fathers, though he wrote in his autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee, that he has "never been able to identify completely with either of [his] parents."
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Max Guazzini
Max Guazzini (born 1947) is a French entrepreneur and until June 2011 president of the Stade Français rugby union club of Paris, who compete in the top division of rugby union in France, the Top 14. Since arriving at Stade Français in the early 1990s, the club rose from the lower divisions of competition to become one of the most successful French rugby teams of the modern era.
Guazzini was born at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, into a family of Italian origin (he also has an Italian passport). In 1982, he was the founder of a successful private music radio station called NRJ, until he abandoned his seat as board member in 2004.
Guazzini aspired to bring back top-class rugby to the city of Paris, and in 1992 he took over Stade Français, who had been playing in the lower divisions of competition. The club was in the third division when he took over in 1992. He would later say “I want to build a club for Paris, for the people, of which it can be proud”. Together with his backing, the club merged with another Parsian team, the Comitie Athletic St Germain (CASG) in 1995, and with then head-coach Bernard Laporte (later becoming the head coach of France) they rose rapidly up into the elite division of French rugby. By 1998 they had won the French championship, and completed a dramatic rise to glory in such a short period of time.
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Michel Platini
Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a former French football player and manager, and the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2007.
During his professional footballing career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, and Juventus, and was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He also participated in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in the latter two. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the "carré magique" (French for "magic square"), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French national team throughout the 1980s.
Considered one of the best passers in football history as well as one the best free kick specialists and finishers, he holds the record for most goals (9) scored in European Championship final tournaments despite only appearing in the 1984 edition. Despite being a midfielder, he held the national team top scorer record until striker Thierry Henry surpassed the 41 goals mark in 2007.
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Mory Kanté
Mory Kanté (born 29 March 1950, Kissidougou, Guinea) is a vocalist and player of the kora harp. He was born into one of Guinea's best known families of griot (hereditary) musicians. After being brought up in the Mandinka griot tradition in Guinea, he was sent to Mali at the age of seven years – where he learned to play the kora, as well as important voice traditions, some of which are necessary to become a griot.
In 1971 Kanté became a member of the Rail Band, in which Salif Keïta was a singer. Keïta left the band in 1973, leaving Kanté as the singer.
Kanté is best known internationally for his 1987 hit song "Yé ké yé ké", which was one of Africa's best-ever selling hits as well as being a European Number One in 1988, making it the first ever African single to sell over one million copies.[citation needed]
Three songs from Akwaba Beach were the source of inspiration behind three Blockbuster songs in Indian Films. Yeke Yeke is played in the background of 1990 epic Agneepath, when Amitabh Bachchan is being shown in Mauritius. Tama, another song from this album inspired Tama Tama from a 1990 hit Thanedar, starring Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit as well as Jumma Chumma De De from 1991 Magnum Opus HUM. Another song from this album Inch Allah inspired the opening lines of the title track of HUM.
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Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer (pronounced: [milɛn faʁmœʁ]), born Mylène Jeanne Gautier[milɛn ɡotje]; born 12 September 1961), is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author.
She has sold more than 30 million records and is among the most successful recording artists of all time in France. She holds the record for the most number one hits in the French charts, with twelve to date, eight of which were consecutive.
Mylène Farmer was born in Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada. Her parents moved from France in the late 1950s as Farmer's father, Max, pursued an engineering contract on a dam. Her family returned to France when she was eight, settling in the Parisian suburb of Ville d'Avray. In her teenage years, Farmer was passionate about horse-riding, qualifying as a riding instructor at the equestrian centre in Saumur. At the age of 17, however, Farmer discovered acting and she abandoned the stables to take a three-year course at the Cours Florent, a drama school in Paris. Changing her name to Mylène Farmer as a tribute to her idol, 1930s Hollywood actress Frances Farmer, she began to earn a living as a model acting in several TV ads such as Fiskars, Caisse d'Epargne etc.
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Oumou Sangaré
Oumou Sangare (born February 25, 1968, in Bamako, Mali) is a Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou." Wassoulou is a historic region south of the Niger River, and the music there is descended from traditional hunting songs, and is accompanied by a calabash. Her mother was the singer Aminata Diakité.
She is an advocate for women's rights, opposing child marriage and polygamy.
Oumou Sangaré is also involved in the world of business, hotels, agriculture and the sale of cars: Oumou Sangaré has given her name to a Chinese automobile. She is the owner of the 30-room Hotel Wassoulou in Mali's capital, Bamako, a haven for musicians and her own regular performing space. "I helped build the hotel myself. I did it to show women that you can make your life better by working. And many more are working these days, forming co-operatives to make soap or clothes."
Although she also has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization she still says she does not want to be a politician: "While you're an artist, you're free to say what you think; when you're a politician, you follow instructions from higher up."
wn.com/Oumou_Sangaré -
Passi
Passi is a French hip hop artist who became famous in the mid-1990s with the group Ministère AMER, which included himself and Stomy Bugsy. He is most widely known, however, as a solo artist, as well as a participant in many other groups, such as Bisso Na Bisso and Dis l'heure 2 zouk.
Passi was born on 21 December 1972, in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. In 1979, his family moved to Sarcelles, a suburb of Paris. He graduated from lycée and created the band Ministère AMER with Stomy Bugsy, who he had gone to school with. The group's first album, Pourquoi tant de haine?, was released in 1992, and Passi was forced to end his agronomy studies at the University of Paris (Nanterre) to be able to focus on music. Ministère AMER followed up with "95200" which was released in 1994.
Passi's first solo album, Les tentations, was released in 1997, and it sold 450,000 copies. The project Bisso na Bisso (meaning 'Just between ourselves' in Lingala, Congo's most widely spoken language), which was a collective of French hip hop artists with African origins, including names such as Ärsenik, released their album Racines in 1999. The same year, Passi released his second solo album, Genèse.
wn.com/Passi -
Patience Dabany
Patience Marie Josephine Kama Dabany (born 22 January 1944), also known by the names Marie Joséphine Kama and Josephine Bongo, is a Gabonese singer and musician. For nearly 30 years she was married to Omar Bongo Ondimba, who was President of Gabon from 1967 to 2009. After their divorce, she successfully pursued a career in music. She is the mother of the current President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba.
Born as Marie Joséphine Kama in Brazzaville, Congo, Dabany's parents originated from the Bateke people in Haut-Ogooué region in what is now southeastern Gabon. Dabany grew up in a musical family and began to sing at an early age to her father's accordion accompaniment, while her brother played guitar. From there her path led to the church choir in Brazzaville and on to traditional song performances. Her mother was a traditional singer.
In 1958, she met Albert-Bernard Bongo, a young Gabonese student. At just 15 years of age, she married Albert on 31 October 1959. They had two children: a son Alain Bernard Bongo (9 February 1959) and a daughter, the late Albertine Amissa Bongo (1964–1993).
wn.com/Patience_Dabany -
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of the Beatles (1960–1970) and Wings (1971–1981), he has been described by Guinness World Records as "The Most Successful Composer and Recording Artist of All Time", with 60 gold discs and sales of over 100 million albums and 100 million singles. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, and with Lennon formed one of the most celebrated songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. After leaving the Beatles, he began a solo career and later formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda Eastman, and singer-songwriter Denny Laine.
According to the BBC, his Beatles song "Yesterday" has been covered by over 2,200 artists—more than any other song. Wings' 1977 release, "Mull of Kintyre", became one of the best-selling singles ever in the UK, and he is "the most successful songwriter" in UK chart history, according to Guinness. As a songwriter or co-writer, he is included on thirty-one number one titles on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2012 he has sold over 15.5 million RIAA certified units in the United States.
wn.com/Paul_McCartney -
Sekouba Bambino
Sekouba "Bambino" Diabaté is the stage name of Sekouba Diabaté, a singer and musician born in Guinea, West Africa in 1964.
Bambino was born and raised in the village of Kintinya, some 25 kilometers from the town of Siguiri, close to the border with Mali. He was born into a musical family, and is descended from a long line of griot people, known in some Mande languages as jeli. His mother died when he was three years old, but left behind a legacy in the songs she had recorded which her son later heard on the radio. Her music became one of his main influences. Her death left Bambino with his father, who did not encourage his musical aspirations, hoping he would follow him working in his transport company, but from age eight, Bambino Diabaté sang with local bands and began to achieve musical renown. When he was 16, then-President Sékou Touré, (a music lover) who had heard him sing with local bands, insisted that he join Bembeya Jazz, Guinea's best-known musical group.
Thus, in 1983, at the age of 19, Diabaté was asked to join Bembeya Jazz, Guinea's best-known musical group. He was given the nickname "Bambino" to distinguish him from one of the group's guitarists also named Sekou Diabaté (a.k.a. Sekou "Bembeya" a.k.a. "Diamond Fingers"). With Bembeya Jazz, the young vocalist undertook his first tour of Africa in 1985 and toured Europe the following year.
wn.com/Sekouba_Bambino -
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards. Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Success followed with a string of hits including "River Deep, Mountain High" and the 1971 hit "Proud Mary". With the publication of her autobiography I, Tina (1986), Turner revealed severe instances of spousal abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. After virtually disappearing from the music scene for several years following her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career, launching a string of hits beginning in 1983 with the single "Let's Stay Together" and the 1984 release of her fifth solo album Private Dancer.
Her musical career led to film roles, beginning with a prominent role as The Acid Queen in the 1975 film Tommy, and an appearance in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. She starred opposite Mel Gibson as Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, and her version of the film's theme, "We Don't Need Another Hero", was a hit single. She appeared in the 1993 film Last Action Hero.
wn.com/Tina_Turner -
Werrason
Werrason, real name Noël Ngiama Makanda born December 25, 1965 in Moliombo, a small village in Northern Democratic Republic of Congo in Kikwit, Kwilu District is a musician from the Democratic Republic of Congo and also leader of the band Wenge Maison Mère (WMM). By age 8, Werrason was singing at his local church, the Protestant Church of Cebezo, Kinshasa. He loved martial arts and was a martial arts champion by age of 12. In 1981 in between his studies (for a degree in Accountancy) Werrason, and his college friends Didier Masela, Adolphe Dominguez, J.B Mpiana, Blaise Bula among others created an innovative musical band “Wenge Musica 4X4 Tout Terrain Bon Chic Bon Genre”.
wn.com/Werrason -
Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah (born 18 May 1960 in Sedan, Ardennes) is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for being the last French and first black man to win the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. Since his retirement from the game, Noah has remained in the public eye as a very popular music performer and as the co-founder, with his mother, of a charity organization for underprivileged children. Noah is also the father of Joakim Noah of the NBA Chicago Bulls.
Noah turned professional in 1977, and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila.
Noah became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open. He dropped only one set during the two-week long tournament, and defeated the defending-champion Mats Wilander in straight sets in the final, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. Noah also became only the second black male to win a Grand Slam singles event (after Arthur Ashe). He remains the last Frenchman to have won the French Open men's singles title.
wn.com/Yannick_Noah -
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane (French pronunciation: [zinedin zidan]) (born 23 June 1972) is a retired French footballer. Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.
In club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. He is one of only four players to have been FIFA World Player of the Year three or more times (Brazilian forward Marta is a five time winner (female award), while Brazilian striker Ronaldo (male award) and German striker Birgit Prinz (female award) have won three each). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.
wn.com/Zinedine_Zidane
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Muse - Stockholm Syndrome (Live from Stade de France, Paris 2010)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:19
- Updated: 22 Nov 2012
SUMMER STADIUMS ANNOUNCED FOR 2013 Muse will be playing stadiums throughout Europe during Summer 2013. Plus... Muse members can download this video and others for free on muse.mu. For full listings and ticket information visit muse.mu
http://wn.com/Muse_Stockholm_Syndrome_Live_from_Stade_de_France,_Paris_2010
MUSE - Stade De France(2010, FanCammix) 1/2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 65:47
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
* Playlist URL : www.youtube.com * DVDISO Source : racebeertje (From Demonoid) * Ripping Release : 2011.02.20 * Ripper : SakuraStorm * Original file name : 100611 MUSE Stade De France FanCammix DVDrip x264 AC3 CD1 SakuraStorm.mkv Set List 00:09 Introduction : MGMT - Time To pretend...
http://wn.com/MUSE_Stade_De_France2010,_FanCammix_1_2
Martin Solveig "Ready 2 Go" - Smash Episode #3 (Official Video) HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:26
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Out Now! Buy here: goo.gl Taken from the forthcoming album "SMASH" - Out on June 17th 2011! Follow Kontor Records at facebook: www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/Martin_Solveig_Ready_2_Go_Smash_Episode_3_Official_Video_HD
Metallica @ Stade de France, Paris - 12-05-12
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 120:57
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Here is the full concert of Metallica @ Stade de France, Paris - 12-05-2012 DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these tracks, all rights are reserved for people who produces these tracks. Anyone with a copyright issue please tell me and I will remove the gig. You can buy this live in HQ here : www.livemetallica.com I was a bit far away from the stage, sorry if you can't see much... but you can say it's a small preview before the official release in MP3/FLAC :) However, great concert even if the sound was somehow shitty (Stadium's sound for the win...) As always, a great energy and performance by the band. The entire Black Album was played. Here is the tracklist : 00:05 The Ecstasy of Gold (Ennio Morricone song) 02:31 Hit the Lights 05:44 Master of Puppets 13:39 No Remorse 18:57 For Whom the Bell Tolls 23:21 Hell and Back 29:47 Short movie about the Black Album The Struggle Within 36:27 My Friend of Misery 43:22 The God That Failed 48:53 Of Wolf and Man 53:17 Nothing Else Matters 59:18 Through the Never 01:03:20 Don't Tread on Me 01:07:09 Wherever I May Roam 01:14:00 The Unforgiven 01:20:25 Holier Than Thou 01:24:41 Sad But True 01:30:50 Enter Sandman 01:29:04 Battery 01:44:05 One 01:53:52 Seek & Destroy Enjoy! Made with an iPhone 4S & WMM. Metallica, Metallica Paris Live, Metallica Paris Show, Metallica Paris Stade de France, Metallica Paris 2012, Metallica France 2012, Metallica 2012, Metallica Live Stade de France, Metallica Black Album
http://wn.com/Metallica_@_Stade_de_France,_Paris_12-05-12
MUSE - Stade De France(2010, FanCammix) 2/2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 67:33
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
* Playlist URL : www.youtube.com * DVDISO Source : racebeertje (From Demonoid) * Ripping Release : 2011.02.20 * Ripper : SakuraStorm * Original file name : 100611 MUSE Stade De France FanCammix DVDrip x264 AC3 CD2 SakuraStorm.mkv Set List 00:08 Resistance 08:05 Starlight 12:21 Time Is Running Out 18:15 Unnatural Selection 27:17 Unintended 31:35 Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture) 36:44 Stockholm Syndrome 45:05 Take a Bow 50:30 Plug In Baby 55:28 Man with a Harmonica / Knights of Cydonia
http://wn.com/MUSE_Stade_De_France2010,_FanCammix_2_2
Lady Gaga - "Telephone" Live Stade de France, Paris - France 22/09/2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:23
- Updated: 13 Nov 2012
Lady Gaga - "Telephone" Live Stade de France, Paris - France 22/09/2012 Born This Way Ball Tour 2012 Highway Unicorn (Road to Love) Government Hooker Born This Way Bloody Mary Bad Romance Fashion of His Love/The Queen Just Dance Love Game Telephone Judas Heavy Metal Lover Bad Kids Hair (Acoustic) Princess Die Yoü and I Black Jesus † Amen Fashion Electric Chapel Americano Poker Face Alejandro Paparazzi Scheiße The Edge of Glory Marry the Night
http://wn.com/Lady_Gaga_Telephone_Live_Stade_de_France,_Paris_France_22_09_2012
Muse, Take a Bow, Stade de France 12th June 2010
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:30
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
http://wn.com/Muse,_Take_a_Bow,_Stade_de_France_12th_June_2010
White Lies - Bigger Than Us - Stade de France - 12 Jun 2010
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:50
- Updated: 08 Jul 2012
White Lies as supporting act to Muse at the Stade de France in Paris.
http://wn.com/White_Lies_Bigger_Than_Us_Stade_de_France_12_Jun_2010
(HD) Coldplay - Paradise Live from the Stade de France 2012 (Stand Up To Cancer)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:59
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Coldplay plays paradise live at the Stade the france in Paris for a crowd of 80000 people Edit: September 2nd (live) September 7th (TV) Twitter: twitter.com
http://wn.com/HD_Coldplay_Paradise_Live_from_the_Stade_de_France_2012_Stand_Up_To_Cancer
(HD) Lady Gaga - Bad Romance @ Stade De France, Paris 22/09/2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:06
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
(HD) Lady Gaga - Bad Romance @ Born this Way Ball Tour (Stade De France, Paris), 22/09/2012. Compte-rendu, photos et vidéos HD sur FB : on.fb.me
http://wn.com/HD_Lady_Gaga_Bad_Romance_@_Stade_De_France,_Paris_22_09_2012
AC/DC Hard As a Rock (Stade De France)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:55
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
plug me in
http://wn.com/AC_DC_Hard_As_a_Rock_Stade_De_France
Usain Bolt defeats Asfa Powell in Stade de France (Paris) 100m 16.07.10. (including interview)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:18
- Updated: 26 Sep 2012
Usain Bolt defeats Asafa Powell in Paris (with post race Interview)
http://wn.com/Usain_Bolt_defeats_Asfa_Powell_in_Stade_de_France_Paris_100m_160710_including_interview
Kassav - Live Stade de France - Nuit Créole 1/2 (Official)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:26
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Produced by : Zycopolis Productions - Canal Overseas - Trace TV - Stadefrance Live Events - Los Productions Directed by : Patrick Savey www.myspace.com/zycopolisproductions www.twitter.com/zycopolis www.zycopolis.com www.zycopolis.com www.myspace.com/zycopolisproductions www.twitter.com/zycopolis www.zycopolis.com www.myspace.com/zycopolisproductions
http://wn.com/Kassav_Live_Stade_de_France_Nuit_Créole_1_2_Official
40.000 personnes dans le stade de France : une soirée signée Cathy Guetta !
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:07
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Cathy Guetta : invitée sur le plateau de Morandini!
http://wn.com/40000_personnes_dans_le_stade_de_France_une_soirée_signée_Cathy_Guetta_!
Metallica Stade De France concert entier
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 127:50
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
Dédicace a touts ceux qui sont aller passé comme moi un moment inoubliable avec Metallica le 12 mai 2012 au Stade De France , j'ai prix des video du net pour refaire le live en entier en revanche sans le vouloir jais mis 2 fois sab but true mais pas dans le même angle désoler pour la petite erreur mais bon bonne re-mémorisation a tous ;) Que le métal vive et perdure le plus longtemps possible !!!! HOO YYEEAAHHH ???!!!!
http://wn.com/Metallica_Stade_De_France_concert_entier
Celine Dion - French Hits Acoustic Medley (Live In Paris at the Stade de France 1999) HDTV 720p
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:07
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
From the Au Cœur Du Stade DVD.
http://wn.com/Celine_Dion_French_Hits_Acoustic_Medley_Live_In_Paris_at_the_Stade_de_France_1999_HDTV_720p
Lady Gaga - Scheiße - Paris Stade de France (Born This Way Ball)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:30
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Concert de Lady Gaga au Stade de France le 22 septembre 2012
http://wn.com/Lady_Gaga_Scheiße_Paris_Stade_de_France_Born_This_Way_Ball
Match Postponed Due to Frozen Pitch - France v Ireland - Six Nations 2012, Stade de France
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:53
- Updated: 01 Nov 2012
The Six Nations Fixture between France and Ireland postponed due to a frozen pitch just minutes before kick-off at the Stade de France in Paris.80000 were left dissappointed and speechless after the home of French Rugby failed a last minute pitch inspection as several areas of the sidelines were deemed to be too hard. After frantic late efforts to ensure the fixture went ahead Referee Dave Pearson of England informed both teams of the decision to postpone the fixture to a later date. This is the first time in the last 25 years that a match of the Six Nations Championship has been postponed; which was not well recieved by the sell out crowd who met the decision with boo's. The 1986 Five Nations clash between France and Ireland was also called off at the old Parc des Princes. A provisional date has been set for Friday 2nd March with a defnitive decision to be made in the coming days.
http://wn.com/Match_Postponed_Due_to_Frozen_Pitch_France_v_Ireland_Six_Nations_2012,_Stade_de_France
Lady Gaga - Born This Way Ball tour (full concert HD) in Paris, Stade de France - Sept. 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 147:06
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
If you have 2,30 hours to spare, check out this HD recording in its entirety in front of 75000 people in Paris (camera Sony DSC-HX20V) - www.ladygaga.com • Highway Unicorn (Road to Love) 1:51 • Operation: Kill the Bitch (interlude) 4:10 • Government Hooker 5:05 • Birth (interlude) 8:30 • Born This Way 10:45 • Black Jesus † Amen Fashion 15:27 • Bloody Mary 20:10 • Mother GOAT Manifesto I (interlude) 25:05 • Bad Romance 27:05 • Lady Gaga talks to audience (GOAT speech) 33:10 • Judas 37:25 • Fashion of His Love 41:42 • Just Dance 46:00 • LoveGame 47:10 • Lady Gaga talks to audience 49:15 • Telephone 53:05 • Mother GOAT Manifesto II (interlude) 56:25 • Heavy Metal Lover 57:30 • Lady Gaga talks to audience 1:02:00 • Bad Kids 1:05:38 • Lady Gaga talks to audience 1:08:38 • Hair 1:17:00 • Lady Gaga talks to audience & chooses her princess 1:22:50 • Princess Die 1:27:49 • Yoü & I 1:34:20 • Electric Chapel 1:40:25 • Americano 1:43:31 • Poker Face 1:48:04 • Alejandro 1:50:45 • Paparazzi 1:55:00 • Lady Gaga talks to audience (Leaving GOAT) 1:58:15 • Scheiße 2:00:25 • The Edge of Glory 2:07:30 • Lady Gaga talks to audience 2:15:10 • Marry The Night 2:23:25
http://wn.com/Lady_Gaga_Born_This_Way_Ball_tour_full_concert_HD_in_Paris,_Stade_de_France_Sept_2012
Lady Gaga au Stade de France, ovation avant son entrée en scène...
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:27
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Lady_Gaga_au_Stade_de_France,_ovation_avant_son_entrée_en_scène
Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On (Live In Paris at the Stade de France 1999) HDTV 720p
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:10
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
From the Au Cœur Du Stade DVD.
http://wn.com/Celine_Dion_My_Heart_Will_Go_On_Live_In_Paris_at_the_Stade_de_France_1999_HDTV_720p
Celine Dion - Treat Her Like A Lady (Live In Paris at the Stade de France 1999) HDTV 720p
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:19
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
From the Au Cœur Du Stade DVD.
http://wn.com/Celine_Dion_Treat_Her_Like_A_Lady_Live_In_Paris_at_the_Stade_de_France_1999_HDTV_720p
Africa: Werrason - Vinci Paris Presents Nuit Africaine 150 Musicians at Stade de France 11/6/11
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:33
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
ToAfrican YouTube Partners: PLEASE DO NOT RE-UPLOAD THESE CLIPS FOR REVENUE SHARING WITH YOUTUBE Copyright © Music Clips are for Non-Profit Event Promo Only. Source: NUIT AFRICAINE (AFRICAN NIGHT) accueil.stadefrance.com For the first time in the history of mankind, the best of African music relocates from YouTube to invests in the Parisian 90000-Seat Stade de France on June 11, 2011. The event will mobilize and more than 150 artists, musicians and dancers on stage for a single concert. All rhythms and colors of the African musical creativity will be honored and Africa will come together in Paris to celebrate African culture. Source: NUIT AFRICAINE (AFRICAN NIGHT) accueil.stadefrance.com For the first time in the history of mankind, the best of African music relocates from YouTube to invests in the Parisian 90000-Seat Stade de France on June 11, 2011. The event will mobilize and more than 150 artists, musicians and dancers on stage for a single concert. All rhythms and colors of the African musical creativity will be honored and Africa will come together in Paris to celebrate African culture.
http://wn.com/Africa_Werrason_Vinci_Paris_Presents_Nuit_Africaine_150_Musicians_at_Stade_de_France_11_6_11
Photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
20 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling President Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of southeast Asia and meetings with dignitaries will have to walk a tightrope between either appearing to endorse...
Photo: AP / Hatem Moussa
19 Nov 2012
Gaza/Jerusalem - Israel bombed dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that...
Photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
19 Nov 2012
Yangon, November 19: Newly re-elected US President Barack Obama arrived here Monday to kick off his visit to Myanmar, becoming the first sitting US president to visit the Southeast Asian nation. As...
Photo: AP / Sebastian D'souza
21 Nov 2012
MUMBAI, India - India executed the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 terror attack on Mumbai early Wednesday, India's home ministry said. Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who...
Photo: UN / Logan Abassi
21 Nov 2012
A report by the UN says global attempts to curb emissions of CO2 are falling well short of what is needed to stem dangerous climate change. The UN's Environment Programme says greenhouse gases are 14%...
Hopes Rise of EU Budget Accord With UK
22 Nov 2012
CNBC
Hopes were rising in Brussels that an unlikely deal with the U.K. over the EUâs long-term budget was taking shape, although the chief negotiator was trying to resolve a deluge of last-minute complaints from other countries on the eve of what could be a gruelling summit. The cautious optimism about...(size: 18.2Kb)
Deere: Long-Term Debt Position Remains A Concern
22 Nov 2012
Seeking Alpha
Shares of Deere (DE) were a laggard in Wednesday's trading session. The manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry equipment reported its fourth quarter earnings before the market open. Fourth Quarter Results Deere reported fourth quarter revenues of $9.79 billion, up 14% on the year....(size: 5.4Kb)
Huffington Post
NEW YORK -- Imagine having William Shatner supply your outgoing voicemail message. Or maybe you'd prefer Morgan Freeman coolly telling callers to wait for the beep. Or perhaps having Betty White joke around is more your speed....(size: 14.9Kb)
Princeton loses 73-53 at No. 6 Syracuse
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 16.0Kb)
Seventh Heaven for some Vikings' draft picks
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 16.2Kb)
Martin playing a key role with Texans
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 15.4Kb)
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 16.3Kb)
76ers done in by Pargo and Cavaliers
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 14.5Kb)
Recap: Houston vs. Chicago
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 13.0Kb)
Harden scores 28 in Rockets' win over Bulls
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 14.7Kb)
Bad third quarter dooms Pistons
22 Nov 2012
The Tribune San Luis Obispo
Crash on Hwy. 101 near SLO backs up traffic to Pismo Beach Friends remember hit-and-run victim as 'a beautiful young man' SLO City Council OKs new SLO Brew location Phillies in search of power surge for 2013 Los Osos business rebuilds camper van for Navy veteran Man armed with Mace steals $181 from...(size: 13.0Kb)
Living like royalty in militaryland
22 Nov 2012
Chicago Tribune
The unfolding tale of a spy chief, bickering socialites, flirtatious emails and possessive paramours seems to be more soap opera than Sophocles. This is especially true if, as appears to be the case at the moment, the actors in the tragicomedy have not compromised national security. But there is an...(size: 5.9Kb)
The news keeps giving
22 Nov 2012
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON— — Among the things for which Americans can, on this feast day, be thankful is Washington's resolve to temper severity with mercy: It will seriously — this time we really mean business, we are not going to be Greece, or worse, Illinois — restrain spending but will...(size: 5.1Kb)
For the concert DVD by Mylène Farmer, see Stade de France (DVD).
| Stade de France | |
|---|---|
| St. Denis | |
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|
| Full name | Stade de France |
| Location | ZAC du Cornillon Nord 93216 Saint Denis, France |
| Coordinates | 48°55′28″N 2°21′36″E / 48.92444°N 2.36°E / 48.92444; 2.36Coordinates: 48°55′28″N 2°21′36″E / 48.92444°N 2.36°E / 48.92444; 2.36 |
| Built | 2 May 1995 |
| Opened | 28 January 1998 |
| Owner | Consortium Stade de France |
| Operator | Consortium Stade de France |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | €290 million |
| Architect | Michel Macary Aymeric Zublena Michel Regembal Claude Constantini |
| Capacity | 81,338[1] |
| Executive Suites | 172 |
| Field dimensions | 105 x 70 m |
| Tenants | |
| France national football team France national rugby union team Stade Français (some games) Racing Métro 92 (some games) |
|
The Stade de France (French pronunciation: [stad də fʁɑ̃s]) is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 81,338, making it the eighth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for international competition. On 12 July 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the FIFA World Cup Final contested at the stadium. The Stade de France is listed as a category four stadium by UEFA and has hosted matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, some matches for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, 2003 World Championships in Athletics, and the 2007 Rugby World Cup making it the only stadium in the world to have hosted both a Football World Cup final and a Rugby World Cup final. The facility also hosted the annual Motorsport event Race of Champions in 2004, 2005, and 2006 before the event moved to Wembley Stadium in London. The stadium hosted the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and since 1999 it has hosted the annual Meeting Areva athletics meet.
Domestically, the Stade de France serves as a second home facility to Stade Français, Paris's main rugby club and also Racing Métro 92, suburb rugby club. The stadium also hosts the main French domestic cup finals, which include the Coupe de France (both football and rugby), Coupe de la Ligue, Challenge de France, and the Coupe Gambardella, as well as the Top 14 rugby union championship match. The Stade de France has hosted two UEFA Champions League finals in 2000 and 2006, respectively. The stadium is also used for music concerts and other sporting events. The facility is owned and operated by the Consortium Stade de France.
Contents |
History[link]
The discussion of a national stadium in France came about as a result of the country's selection to host the 1998 FIFA World Cup by FIFA on 2 July 1992. As a result of the selection, the country and the France Football Federation made a commitment to construct an 80,000+ capacity all-seater stadium with every seat in the facility being covered. It was the first time in over 70 years since the construction of the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir that a stadium in France was being constructed for a specific event. Due to the magnitude and importance of the facility, the Council of State was allowed first hand approach to how the stadium would be constructed and paid for. The Council sought for the stadium to be built as close as possible to the capital of France, Paris, and that the constructor and operator of the facility would receive significant financial contribution for a period of 30 months following the completion of the stadium. The stadium's design was handled by the team of architects composed of Michel Macary, Aymeric Zublena, Regembal Michel, and Claude Costantini who were associated with CR SCAU Architecture.
The stadium was officially ready for construction following the government's selection of manufacturers, Bouygues, Dumez, and SGE, and the signing of building permits on 30 April 1995.[2][3] With only 31 months to complete the stadium, construction commenced on 2 May 1995. The laying of the first cornerstone took place five months later on 6 September. After over a year of construction, over 800,000m ² of earthworks had been created and as much as 180,000 m³ of concrete had been poured. The installation of the roof, which cost €45 million, and the mobile platform also took more than a year to complete.
During the developmental phase, the stadium was referred to as the "Grand Stade" (Great Stadium). On 4 December 1995, the Ministry of Sport launched a design competition to decide on a name for the stadium. The stadium was officially named the Stade de France after the Ministry heard a proposal from French football legend Michel Platini, who recommended the name.
The stadium was officially inaugurated on 28 January 1998 as it hosted a football match between France and Spain. The total cost of the stadium was approximately €290 million. The match was played in front of 78,368 spectators, which included President Jacques Chirac, with France winning the match 1–0 with Zinedine Zidane scoring the lone goal, and the first-ever in the Stade de France, in the 20th minute.[4] Six months later, France returned to the stadium and defeated Brazil in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final to earn their first World Cup title. The national rugby team's first match in the facility was contested five days after its opening, on 2 February, with France earning a 24–17 win over England in front of 77,567 spectators.[5] Philippe Bernat-Salles converted the first ever try at the stadium scoring it in the 11th minute of play.[6]
On 24 May 2000, the Stade de France hosted the final of the 1999–2000 edition of the UEFA Champions League. In the match, which saw 78,759 spectators attend, Spanish club Real Madrid defeated fellow Spaniards Valencia 3–0. In 2003, the Stade de France was the primary site of the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Three years later in 2006, the facility hosted another UEFA Champions League final with another Spanish club Barcelona defeating England's Arsenal 2–1. On 9 May 2009, the Stade de France set the national attendance record for a sporting match played in France with 80,832 showing up to watch Guingamp upset Brittany rivals Rennes 2–1 in the 2009 Coupe de France final. On 22 May 2010, the Stade de France hosted the final of the 2009–10 Heineken Cup.[7] On 11 February 2012, a Six Nations international rugby game between France and Ireland had to be cancelled just before kick-off due to the pitch freezing as the stadium lacks under-soil heating.[8]
Architecture[link]
The Stade de France has a movable stand which can be retracted to uncover part of the athletics track.[9] The stadium was notably designed with the assistance of a software simulation of crowd in order to get an accurate observation of how it would look fully developed. The facility was also intended to inform and develop the area of the Plaine Saint-Denis, which straddle the communes of Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers, and Saint-Ouen. The primary goal was to renovate the area by building new residential and tertiary sites.
The Stadium was built without any underground heating as noted when Ireland were due to play France in the Six Nations Tournament rugby union match of 2012, in which the game had to be canceled.
In 2002, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABC) awarded a prize recognizing the unique structure of the Stade de France commenting that the Stade de France exhibited "a construction of an attractive open architecture of the city, with an elegance and natural lightness".
Roof[link]
The construction of the Stade de France's roof cost over €45 million to complete. Its elliptical shape symbolizes the universality of sport in France. Its area of six hectares and weight, 13,000 tons, is considered a technical marvel by many. It was designed to easily protect the 80,000 spectators without covering the playing field. All lighting and sound, which include 550 lights and 36 blocks of 5 speakers, are housed inside to avoid obstructing visibility. The tinted glass in the center reduces the contrast and distributes natural light. It filters out red and infrared radiation, however, it allows blue and green lights, due to their necessity involving the health of the turf.
Inside the Stadium[link]
Changing rooms at the Stade de France[link]
The Stade de France offers athletes the best welcome ever assembled in France. All facilities reserved for them are located in the lawn, west, and are directly accessible by bus players. They include local host and control, two cloakrooms of 1 200 sqm each (football and rugby), an athletic locker room of 400 m², two referees changing rooms, two rooms of Appeal, two rooms heated, offices for the delegates, the local board, an infirmary, the doping control room. Spaces are also specially designed for artists: the boxes and lounges, a rehearsal room for musicians, choirs, extras, a storage room for costumes, a relaxation area, space for sets and instruments. The changing rooms have been designed by Michel Platini[citation needed].
The stands[link]
The Stade de France is the biggest modular stadium in the world with three galleries.
The forum is a low mobile platform of 25 000 seats. It is reached by the level 1. It may fall 15 feet to reveal all of the running track and jumping pits. It then retains 22 000 seats. The movement lasts 80 hours, 40 people 20h/24h mobilized, and carried by ten distinct elements of 700 tons each.
Access to the gallery is through with 22 bridges and can be found at level 3 with a concentration of restaurants, entertainment areas, shops and central station security.
18 staircases lead viewers to the upper gallery located at Level 6.
The evacuation of 80 000 spectators on the porch out in less than 15 minutes.
The grass area[link]
Located at 11 meters below the court, the playing area measures 9 000 square meters (120 meters long and 75 meters wide) to a grassed area of 11 000 square meters. Nearly one billion seeds were sown to produce the first pitch in 1997. Today, the grass comes in rolls of 1.20 mx 8 m. Changing the pitch calls for three days of preparation and five days of installation. The change takes place several times a year, depending on the programming stage. Unlike many other stadiums, the Stade de France was built without under pitch heating, as the stadium was constructed on the site of an old gasworks [10], and there were concerns it could cause an explosion.
The giant screens[link]
As part of its policy of renewing its infrastructure, the Stade de France added two new big screens in September 2006. Covering an area of 196 sqm each, these screens are the largest located in a stadium in Europe. The new displays have a surface greater than 58% in the former giant screens installed at the Stade de France in 1998. Feat of engineering, the new giant screens are each composed of 4 423 680 LED (Light Emitting Diode) for a self-made images more fluid, faster, and more particularly bright.
Concerts[link]
| Date | Performer(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 25 July 1998 | The Rolling Stones | First live performance in the history of the Stade de France.[citation needed] |
| 5–6–11 September 1998 | Johnny Hallyday | Attendance: 215,215[11] |
| 19–20 June 1999 | Céline Dion | Attendance: 180,000[12] |
| 5 July 2000 | Tina Turner | |
| 22 June 2001 | AC/DC | |
| 21 September 2002 | Urban Peace | |
| 24 May 2003 | Bruce Springsteen | |
| 9 July 2003 | The Rolling Stones | |
| 18 June 2004 | Jean-Marie Bigard | |
| 24 June 2004 | Paul McCartney | |
| 9–10 July 2005 | U2 | Attendance: 160,349[13] |
| 28 July 2006 | The Rolling Stones | Attendance: 62,761[citation needed] |
| 20–24 September 2006 | Ben-Hur | Drew 300,000 spectators for five shows.[14] |
| 16 June 2007 | The Rolling Stones | |
| 22 June 2007 | George Michael | |
| 29–30 September 2007 | The Police | Attendance: 157,906[15] |
| 17 May 2008 | RFM Party 80 | |
| 5 July 2008 | Unighted 2008 | |
| 29 August 2008 | André Rieu | |
| 20–21 September 2008 | Madonna | Two consecutive nights on her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour. Attendance: 138,163[16] |
| 27 September 2008 | Nabucco | |
| 4 October 2008 | Urban Peace 2 | |
| 16 May 2009 | Kassav | Drew 65,000 spectators[citation needed] |
| 29–31 May 2009 | Johnny Hallyday | |
| 12 June 2009 | AC/DC | |
| 27 June 2009 | Depeche Mode | Attendance: 65,005[citation needed] |
| 4 July 2009 | Unighted Energized | |
| 11–12 July 2009 | U2 | Attendance: 186,544[17] |
| 11–12 September 2009 | Mylène Farmer | Attendance: 163,457 |
| 11–12 June 2010 | Muse | |
| 18 June 2010 | AC/DC | |
| 26 June 2010 | Indochine | 80000 Spectators 1st French group to sell out the Stade de France |
| 18 September 2010 | U2 | 96 540 spectators[18] |
| 25 September 2010 | Yannick Noah | |
| 11 June 2011 | Nuit Africaine
(Various Artists) |
Cameroon: Manu Dibango, Petit Pays
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Fally Ipupa, Jessy Matador, Werrason Guinea: Sekouba Bambino, Mory Kanté |
| 22, 24, 25 June 2011 | The Black Eyed Peas | |
| 30 June 2011 | Prince | Welcome 2 America Euro 2011 Tour[19] |
| 12 May 2012 | Metallica | |
| 15,16,17 June 2012 | Johnny Hallyday | |
| 30 June 2012 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | |
| 14 July 2012 | Madonna | MDNA Tour |
| 2 September 2012 | Coldplay | |
| 22 September 2012 | Lady Gaga | The Born This Way Ball Tour |
Tenants[link]
The Stade de France has no regular tenant other than the French national football and rugby teams. Repeated attempts to convince a professional football or rugby team to move there have failed so far. Paris Saint-Germain has remained at Parc des Princes under pressure from its parent company (pay-TV network Canal Plus) and the Paris city government.
However, the Paris rugby club Stade Français have now established themselves as a semi-regular tenant. They started by gambling on scheduling their Top 14 home fixture on 15 October 2005 against Toulouse at Stade de France. Stade Français's president, Max Guazzini, publicly said that the club would have to sell 25,000 to 30,000 tickets to break even. Three weeks before the match, 61,000 tickets had been sold, setting a French record for tickets sold to a league match for any sport, including football. The final attendance was 79,454, smashing the national attendance record for a league match in any sport by more than 20,000. Five minutes before the end of the Toulouse match, Guazzini announced to the crowd that Stade Français's scheduled home fixture against Biarritz in March 2006 would also be held at Stade de France.[20] The Stade-Biarritz match broke the attendance record from earlier in the season, with 79,604 present.
Guazzini then booked the Stade de France for the same two league fixtures in 2006–07. The Biarritz match on 16 October 2006 drew 79,619, making this the third consecutive Stade Français fixture at the Stade de France to set an all-time French attendance record. The record was broken yet again at a match against Toulouse match on 27 January 2007, with 79,741 filling the stands. Stade Français went on to schedule three home matches at Stade de France in the 2007–08 season. For the 2008–09 season, they booked Stade de France for three home league matches and a Heineken Cup pool match. The number of Stade Français home matches at Stade de France increased again for 2009–10, with five Top 14 fixtures already announced for the stadium.
Even with the lack of a regular league tenant, the stadium's revenue increased greatly in 2007, as it was used extensively during the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, where it hosted numerous pool matches, a quarterfinal match, both of the semi finals and the final.
The Lille OSC football team played all its "home" games in European competition during the 2005–06 season, both in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, at the Stade de France because its own stadium was then under renovation, and the only nearer alternative on French soil, Stade Félix-Bollaert, was not available as that ground's occupant, Lille's local rival Lens, was also participating in the UEFA Cup. Stade de France has hosted the Champions League final on two occasions: 2000 (Real Madrid 3 Valencia 0), and 2006 (Barcelona 2 Arsenal 1).
Access[link]
Although located at the crossroads of auto-routes A1 and A86, it is not advisable to go there by car unless you have reserved parking. The Stadium was built with a very limited number of parking spaces, which is why public transportation is considered the primary means of getting to the stadium. River shuttles are provided by the Canal Saint-Denis.
Public transport[link]
| Station | Line |
|---|---|
| La Plaine – Stade de France | RER B |
| Stade de France – Saint-Denis | RER D |
| Saint-Denis – Porte de Paris | Paris Métro Line 13 |
| La Plaine – Stade de France | RATP 139, 153, 173, 239, 253 |
| Saint-Denis – Porte de Paris | RATP 153, 154, 168, 170, 239, 253, 254, 255, 256, 268 |
| Delaunay-Rimet | RATP 239, 253 |
References[link]
- ^ [1]
- ^ Bouygues website: Stade de France
- ^ Vinci website: Stade de France
- ^ France 1 – 0 Spain
- ^ France 24 – 17 England
- ^ Luke Edwards (February 2008). "6 Nation stadiums records". EMP-Sport. http://www.thebeautifulgame.co.uk/ss_viewarticlecall12.php?id=509. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
- ^ Heineken Cup final 2010 heads to France
- ^ France v Ireland called off
- ^ "Stade de France – Key figures". http://www.stadefrance.fr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122&Itemid=257.
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/french-humiliated-by-frozen-pitch-1142578.html
- ^ http://www.la-croix.com/article/index.jsp?docId=2281901&rubId=5548
- ^ http://www.celinedion.com/music/au-coeur-du-stade
- ^ http://www.billboarddirectories.com/billboard/images/pdf/2005_top25_boxscores.pdf
- ^ "Ben-Hur – Bigger Than The Legend". Stade de France: Live Events. http://www.stadefrance-live-events.com/eng/index.php/news. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ http://www.pollstarpro.com/SpecialFeatures2007/2007YearEndTop100IntlBoxoffice.pdf
- ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/images/pdf/Top_25_Concert_Boxscores.pdf
- ^ U2 Tops This Week's Hot Tours List | Billboard.com
- ^ http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/Charts2010/2010YearEndTop100InternationalBoxoffice.pdf
- ^ http://accueil.stadefrance.com/groups/event/prince
- ^ Plant Rugby news story
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stade de France |
- Stade de France Website
- Stats for all rugby matches played at the Stade de France
- Rugby World Cup 2007
- Le Stade de France 3D model (GoogleSketchup)
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rose Bowl Los Angeles (Pasadena) |
FIFA World Cup Final Venue 1998 |
Succeeded by Yokohama Stadium  Yokohama |
| Preceded by Camp Nou Barcelona |
UEFA Champions League Final Venue 2000 |
Succeeded by San Siro Milan |
| Preceded by Yokohama Stadium Yokohama |
FIFA Confederations Cup Final Venue 2003 |
Succeeded by Waldstadion Frankfurt |
| Preceded by Commonwealth Stadium  Edmonton |
IAAF World Championships in Athletics Venue 2003 |
Succeeded by Helsinki Olympic Stadium  Helsinki |
| Preceded by Atatürk Istanbul |
UEFA Champions League Final Venue 2006 |
Succeeded by Olympic Stadium Athens |
| Preceded by Telstra Stadium  Sydney |
Rugby World Cup Final Venue 2007 |
Succeeded by Eden Park  Auckland |
| Preceded by Olimpiysky NSC Kiev |
UEFA European Football Championship Final Venue 2016 |
Succeeded by 2020 Final Venue |
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http://ru.wn.com/Стад де Франс
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_de_France
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is about the country. For other uses, see France (disambiguation).
| French Republic
République française
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Motto: Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) |
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Anthem: "La Marseillaise" |
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![Location of Metropolitan France (dark green)– in Europe (green & dark grey)– in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121122044030/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EU-France.svg) Location of Metropolitan France (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey) |
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 Territory of the French Republic in the world1 |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Paris 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E / 48.8567°N 2.35083°E / 48.8567; 2.35083 |
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| Official language(s) | French[a] | |||||
| Demonym | French | |||||
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic | |||||
| - | President | François Hollande | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Jean-Marc Ayrault | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||
| - | Upper house | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower house | National Assembly | ||||
| Formation | ||||||
| - | Francia | 486 (Unification by Clovis) | ||||
| - | West Francia | 843 (Treaty of Verdun) | ||||
| - | Current constitution | 4 October 1958 (5th Republic) | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total[b] | 674,843 km2 (41st) 260,558 sq mi |
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| - | Metropolitan France | |||||
| - IGN[c] | 551,695 km2 (47th) 213,010 sq mi |
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| - Cadastre[d] | 543,965 km2 (47th) 210,026 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| (2012 estimate) | ||||||
| - | Total[b] | 65,350,000[2] (20th) | ||||
| - | Metropolitan France | 63,460,000[1] (22nd) | ||||
| - | Density[e] | 116/km2 (89th) 301/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.218 trillion[3] (9th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $35,156[3] (24th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.776 trillion[3] (5th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $44,008[3] (20th) | ||||
| Gini (2008) | 28.9[4] | |||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.884[5] (very high) (20th) |
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| Currency | Euro,[f] CFP franc[g] ( EUR, XPF) |
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| Time zone | CET[h] (UTC+1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | CEST[i] (UTC+2) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | FR | |||||
| Internet TLD | .fr[j] | |||||
| Calling code | 33[k] | |||||
| 1 | Excluding Adélie Land in Antarctica, where sovereignty is suspended. | |||||
France (English i/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years,[6] France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
France has its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The French Republic is defined as indivisible, secular, democratic and social by its constitution.[7] France is one of the world's most developed countries,[8] it possesses the world's fifth largest economy measured by GDP, the ninth-largest economy measured by purchasing power parity and is Europe's second largest economy by nominal GDP.[9] France is the wealthiest nation in Europe – and the fourth wealthiest in the world – in aggregate household wealth.[10] France enjoys a high standard of living as well as a high public education level, and has also one of the world's longest life expectancies.[11] France has been listed as the world's "best overall health care" provider by the World Health Organization.[12] It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually.[13]
France has the world's fourth largest nominal military budget,[14] the third largest military in NATO and EU's largest army. France also possesses the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world[15] – with around 300 active warheads as of 25 May 2010 (2010 -05-25)[update] – and the world's second largest diplomatic corps (second only to that of the United States).[16]
France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is also a founding and leading member state of the European Union and the largest EU state by area.[17] In 2011, France was listed 20th on the Human Development Index and 24th on the Corruption Perceptions Index (2010).
Contents |
Etymology[link]
Main article: Name of France
The name "France" comes from the Latin Francia, which means "country of the Franks".[18] There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca.[19] Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed to slave.
History[link]
Main article: History of France
See also: Military history of France, Economic history of France, and Territorial evolution of France
Prehistory and antiquity[link]
The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1,800,000 years ago.[20] Men were then confronted by a hard and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras which modified their framework of life and led them to a nomadic life of hunters-gatherers.[20] France counts a large number of decorated caves from the upper Paleolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved: Lascaux[20] (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).
At the end of the Last glacial period (10,000 BC), the climate softened[20] and from approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era and its inhabitants became sedentary. After a strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium, initially with the work of gold, copper and bronze, and later with iron.[21] France counts numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the exceptionally dense Carnac stones site (Morbihan, approximately 3,300 BC).
In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks, originating from Phocaea, founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille), on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, making it the oldest city of France.[22][23] At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated some parts of the current territory of France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC.[24]
The concept of Gaul emerged at that time; it corresponds to the territories of Celtic settlement ranging between the Rhine, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea. The borders of modern France are approximately the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by Celtic Gauls. Gaul was then a prosperous country, of which the southernmost part was heavily subject to Greek and Roman influences. However, around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Italy through the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Allia, and besieged and ransomed Rome.
The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened and encouraged several subdued Italian tribes to rebel. One by one, over the course of the next 50 years, these tribes were defeated and brought back under Roman dominion. The Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC, when they entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome. But the Romans and the Gauls would maintain an adversarial relationship for the next several centuries and the Gauls would remain a threat in Italia.
Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Romana ("Roman Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in French.[25] Brennus' siege of Rome was still remembered by Romans, when Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC.[26]
Gaul was divided by Augustus into Roman provinces, the principal ones being Gallia Narbonensis in the south, Gallia Aquitania in the south-west, Gallia Lugdunensis in the center and Gallia Belgica in the north.[27] Many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period, including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered to be the capital of the Gauls.[27] These cities were built in the traditional Roman style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus, an amphitheatre and thermal baths. The Gauls mixed with Roman settlers and eventually adopted Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved) and Roman culture. The Roman polytheism merged with the Gallic paganism into the same syncretism.
Around the 3rd century AD, Roman Gaul underwent a serious crisis with its "limes" (fortified borders protecting the Empire) crossed on several occasions by Barbarians.[28] The weakness of the central imperial power, at this time, led Gallo-Roman leaders to proclaim the independence of the short-lived Gallic Empire,[28] which ended with the Battle of Châlons in 274, which saw Gaul reincorporated in the Roman Empire.
Nevertheless, the situation improved in the first half of the 4th century, which was a period of revival and prosperity for Roman Gaul.[29] In 312, the emperor Constantin I converted to Christianity. Christians, persecuted until then, multiplied across the entire Roman Empire.[30] But, from the second half of the 4th century, the Barbarian Invasions started again,[31] and Germanic tribes, such as the Vandals, Suebi and Alans crossed the Rhine and settled in Gaul, Spain and other parts of the collapsing Roman Empire.[32]
At the end of the Antiquity period, ancient Gaul was divided into several Germanic kingdoms (Early Francia (North), Alamannia (North-East), Burgundia (East), Septimania (South), Visigothic Aquitania (South East)) and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory, known as the Kingdom of Syagrius (West). Simultaneously, Celtic Britons, fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britannia, settled the western part of Armorica (far West of Gaul). As a result, the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany, Celtic culture was revived and independent petty kingdoms arose in this region.
Middle Ages to revolution[link]
Main articles: Francia, France in the Middle Ages, Absolute monarchy in France, Ancien Régime in France, Early modern France, and List of French monarchs
The pagan Franks, from whom the ancient name of “Francie” was derived, originally settled the northern part of Gaul, but under Clovis I conquered most of the other kingdoms in northern and central Gaul. In 498, Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity, rather than Arianism; thus France was given the title “Eldest daughter of the Church” (French: La fille aînée de l’Église) by the papacy,[33] and the French kings would be called “the Most Christian Kings of France” (Rex Christianissimus).
The Franks embraced the Christian Gallo-Roman heritage and ancient Gaul was eventually renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic Franks adopted Romanic languages, except in northern Gaul where Roman settlements were less dense and where Germanic languages emerged. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty, but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from Clovis's: Paris, Orléans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings, sometimes referred as Rois fainéants ("lazy kings"), effectively lost power to their mayors of the palace. One mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated a Muslim invasion force from Hispania at the Battle of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish kingdoms. His son, Pepin the Short, eventually seized the crown of Francia from the weakened Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pippin's son, Charlemagne, reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built a vast empire across Western and Central Europe.
Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing in earnest the French government's longtime historical association with the Roman Catholic Church,[34] Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur, from his Palace of Aachen. The efficient administration of this immense empire was ensured by high-level civil servants, carrying the, then non-hereditary, titles of counts (in charge of a County), marquis (in charge of a March), dukes (military commanders), etc.
Charlemagne's son, Louis I (emperor 814–840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive his death. In 843, under the Treaty of Verdun, the empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with East Francia going to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I, and West Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia approximated the area occupied by, and was the precursor, to modern France.[35]
During the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, continually threatened by Viking invasions, France became a very decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, and the authority of the king became more religious than secular and thus was less effective and constantly challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Over time, some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they often posed a threat to the king. For example, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Duke of Normandy added "King of England" to his titles, becoming both the vassal to (as Duke of Normandy) and the equal of (as king of England) to the king of France.
The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France.[36] His descendants, the Direct Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, progressively unified the country through a series of wars, such as the Saintonge War, and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France. French knights took an active part in many of the Crusades that were fought between 1095 and 1291 to restore Christian control over the Holy Land. Crusaders were so predominately French that the word "crusader" in the Arabic language is simply known as Al-Franj or "The Franks"[37] and Old French became the lingua franca of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[38]
The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed into the kingdom of France.[39] Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.
Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.[40] Under the rules of the Salic law adopted in 1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line.[40] Accordingly, the crown passed to Philip of Valois, a cousin of Charles, rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. During the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power.[40]
However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,[41] England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.[42] The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for decades.
With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais, which was captured in 1558 by the French. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death. Around 1340, France had a population of approximately 17 million,[43] which by the end of the pandemic had declined by about one-half.[44]
The French Renaissance saw a long set of wars, known as the Great Italian Wars, between the Kingdom of France and the powerful Holy Roman Empire. It also saw the first standardization of the French language, which would become the official language of France and the language of Europe's aristocracy. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial empire.
The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war known as the French Wars of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.[45] The Wars of Religion were ended by Henry IV's Edict of Nantes, which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Henry IV was later murdered by a Catholic fanatic and Huguenot rebellions persisted until the 18th century.
Under Louis XIII, the energetic actions of Cardinal Richelieu reinforced the centralization of the state, the royal power and French dominance in Europe, foreshadowing the reign of Louis XIV. During Louis XIV's minority and the regency of Queen Anne and Cardinal Mazarin, a period of trouble known as the Fronde occurred in France, which was at that time at war with Spain. This rebellion was driven by the great feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the rise of royal power in France.
The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV's personal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power of the time. At this time, France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, and remained so until the 20th century.[46] In addition, France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Louis XIV also revoked the Edict of Nantes, forcing thousands of Huguenots to exile.
Under Louis XV, France lost New France and most of its Indian possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763. Its continental territory kept growing, however, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770). An unpopular king, Louis XV's weak rule, his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions, and his debauchery discredited the monarchy and arguably led to the French Revolution 15 years after his death.[47][48]
Louis XVI, Louis XV's grandson, actively supported the Americans, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain (realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris). The example of the American Revolution and the financial crisis which followed France's involvement in the war were two of the many contributing factors to the French Revolution.
Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the discovery of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists in the 18th century. Famous French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and helped pave the way for the French Revolution.
Monarchy to republic[link]
Main articles: France in the long nineteenth century and France in the twentieth century
After the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the absolute monarchy was abolished and France became a constitutional monarchy. Through the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, France established fundamental rights for French citizens and all men without exception. The Declaration affirms "the natural and imprescriptible rights of man" to "liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression". It called for the destruction of aristocratic privileges by proclaiming an end to exemptions from taxation, freedom and equal rights for all men, and access to public office based on talent rather than birth. The monarchy was restricted, and all citizens were to have the right to take part in the legislative process. Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests outlawed. The Declaration also asserted the principles of popular sovereignty, in contrast to the divine right of kings that characterized the French monarchy, and social equality among citizens, eliminating the privileges of the nobility and clergy.
While Louis XVI, as a constitutional king, enjoyed broad popularity among the population, his disastrous flight to Varennes seemed to justify the rumors that the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the dubious prospects of foreign invasion. The credibility of the king was deeply undermined and the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an ever increasing possibility.
As European monarchies gathered against the new régime, to restore the French absolute monarchy, the Duke of Brunswick, commanding general of the Austro–Prussian Army, issued a Manifesto, in which he threatened the destruction of Paris if any harm should come to the king or his family. The foreign threat exacerbated France's political turmoil and deepened the passion and sense of urgency among the various factions and war was declared against Austria the 20 April 1792. Mob violences occurred during the insurrection of the 10 August 1792[49] and the following month.[50] As a result of the spike in public violence and the political instability of the constitutional monarchy, the Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792.
Louis XVI (and later his wife Marie Antoinette) was convicted of treason and guillotined in 1793. Facing increasing pressures from European monarchies, internal guerrilla wars and counterrevolutions (like the War in the Vendée or the Chouannerie), the young Republic fell into the Reign of Terror. Between 1793 and 1794, 16,000 to 40,000 persons were executed. In Western France, the civil war between the Bleus (the "Blues", supporters of the Revolution) and the Blancs (the "Whites", supporters of the Monarchy) last from 1793 to 1796 and cost around 450,000 lives (200,000 Patriotes and 250,000 Vendéens).[51] Both foreign armies and French counterrevolutionnaries were crushed and the French Republic survived. Furthermore, the French Republic extended greatly its boundaries and established "Sister Republics" in the surrounding countries. As the threat of a foreign invasion receded and that France became mostly pacified, the Thermidorian Reaction put an end to the Terror and to Robespierre's dictature. The abolition of slavery and the male universal suffrage, enacted during this radical phase of the revolution, were cancelled by subsequent governments.
After a short-lived governmental scheme, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799 and was appointed First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814/1815). As a continuation of the wars sparked by the European monarchies against the French Republic, changing sets of European Coalitions declared wars to Napoleon's French Empire. His armies conquered most of continental Europe, while members of the Bonaparte family were appointed as monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the Metric system, the Napoleonic Code or the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. After the catastrophic Russian campaign, Napoleon was finally defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars.[52]
After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the monarchy was re-established (1815–1830), with new constitutional limitations. The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the civil uprising of 1830, which established the constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848, when the French Second Republic was proclaimed, in the wake of the 1848 European revolutions. The abolition of slavery and the male universal suffrage, both briefly enacted during the French Revolution were finally re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, the president of the French Republic Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleon I’s nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the second Empire, as Napoleon III. He multiplied French interventions abroad, especially in Crimea, in Mexico and Italy, which resulted in the annexation of Savoy and Nice. Napoleon III was eventually unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and his regime was replaced by the Third Republic.
France had colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century to the 18th century. But in the 19th and 20th centuries, its global overseas colonial empire extended greatly and culminated as the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. At its peak, between 1919 and 1939, the second French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 square kilometres (4,767,000 sq mi) of land. Including metropolitan France, the total area of land under French sovereignty reached 12,898,000 square kilometres (4,980,000 sq mi) in the 1920s and 1930s, which is 8.6% of the world's land area.
France was a member of the Triple Entente when World War I broke out. A small part of Northern France was occupied, but France and its allies eventually emerged victorious against the Central Powers, at a tremendous human and material cost: the First World War left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4.29% of its population[53] The interbellum phase was marked by intense international tensions an a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government (Annual leave, working time reduction, women in Government...). Following the German Blitzkrieg campaign in World War II, metropolitan France was divided in an occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south.[54] The Allies and the French Resistance eventually emerged victorious from the Axis powers and French sovereignty was restored.
The Fourth Republic was established after World War II and saw spectacular economic growth (les Trente Glorieuses). The universal suffrage was extended to women in 1944. France was one of the founding members of the NATO (1949), which was the Western counterpart of the Warsaw Pact system of collective defence. France attempted to regain control of French Indochina but was defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Only months later, France faced a new conflict in Algeria. The debate over whether or not to keep control of Algeria, then home to over one million European settlers,[55] wracked the country and nearly led to civil war. In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which contained a strengthened Presidency.[56] In the latter role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War was concluded with peace negotiations in 1962 that led to Algerian independence. France granted independence progressively to its colonies, the last one being Vanuatu in 1980. A vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories.
In the wake of a worldwide series of protests, the May 1968 revolt, although a political failure for the protesters, had an enormous social impact. In France, it is considered to be the watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted towards a more liberal moral ideal.
France has been at the forefront of the European Union member states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to create a more unified and capable European Union political, defence, and security apparatus.[57]
Geography[link]
Main article: Geography of France
Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N (Dunkirk is just north of 51°), and longitudes 6° W and 10° E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone
While Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe, the French Republic also has a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica.[58] These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas department to overseas collectivity. France's overseas departments and collectivities share land borders with Brazil, and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and Sint Maarten (bordering Saint-Martin).
The European territory of France covers 547,030 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi),[59] having the largest area among European Union members.[17] France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west.
At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft)[60] above sea level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated in the Alps on the border between France and Italy. France also has extensive river systems such as the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.
France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 674,843 km2 (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. However, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world,[62] covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,637 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the United States (11,351,000 km2/4,382,646 sq mi) and ahead of Australia (8,232,000 km2/3,178,393 sq mi).{{According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be 10,084,201 km2 (3,893,532 sq mi), still behind the United States (12,174,629 km2/4,700,651 sq mi), and still ahead of Australia (8,980,568 km2/3,467,417 sq mi) and Russia (7,566,673 km2/2,921,509 sq mi). The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.[63]
In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.
| Landscapes and climates of France | ||||||||||||||
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Environment[link]
See also: Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, National parks of France, and Regional natural parks of France
France was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1971.[64] Although France is one of the most industrialised and developed countries, it is ranked only seventeenth by carbon dioxide emissions, behind such less populous nations as Canada, Saudi Arabia or Australia. This situation results from the French government's decision to invest in nuclear power in 1974 (after the 1973 oil crisis[65]), which now accounts for 78% of France's electricity production[66] and explains why France pollutes less than comparable countries.[67][68]
Like all European Union members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020,[69] in comparison the USA agreed to a cut of 4% of its emissions[70] whereas China stated it wanted to "reduce its carbon intensity by 40–45% by the year 2020" (compared with 2005 levels),[71] which means with a GDP growth of 8% yearly an augmentation of 80%[70] to 250%[72] of the Chinese carbon emissions by 2020.
In 2009, the French carbon dioxide emissions per capita level is lower than the Chinese one.[73]
France was even set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted.[74] The carbon tax would have brought in 4.3 billion Euros of revenue per year.[75] However, 6 months later, the plan for a carbon tax was abandoned for various reasons, one being that French companies would have a more difficult time competing with companies in neighboring countries who would not have to pay such steep taxes on carbon dioxide emissions. Instituting a carbon tax was also an unpopular political move for President Sarkozy.[76]
In 2010, a study at Yale and Columbia universities ranked France the most environmentally conscious nation of the G20.[77][78]
Forests account for 28,27% of the land area of France.[79][80] France is the second most wooded country of the EU.[81] French forests are also some of the most diversified of Europe, with more than 140 differents varieties of trees.[82] There are 9 national parks[83] and 46 natural parks in France.[84] France wants to convert 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone in a Marine Protected Area by 2020.[85]
Administrative divisions[link]
See also: Metropolitan Area (France) and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants (2006 census)
France is divided into 27 administrative regions.[59] 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and five are overseas regions. The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments[86] which are numbered (mainly alphabetically). This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates amongst others.
The 101 departments are subdivided into 341 arrondissements which are, in turn, subdivided into 4,051 cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,697 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. There also exist 2,588 intercommunal entities grouping 33,414 of the 36,697 communes (i.e. 91.1% of all the communes). Three communes, Paris, Lyon and Marseille are also subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements.
The regions, departments and communes are all known as territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were also territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946. Historically,[when?] the cantons were also territorial collectivities with their elected assemblies.
| Region | Departments | Capital |
|---|---|---|
 Alsace |
Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin | Strasbourg |
 Aquitaine |
Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques | Bordeaux |
 Auvergne |
Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme | Clermont-Ferrand |
.svg){kind=small} Basse-Normandie |
Calvados, Manche, Orne | Caen |
 Bourgogne |
Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne | Dijon |
 Brittany |
Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan | Rennes |
 Centre |
Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher | Orléans |
 Champagne-Ardenne |
Ardennes, Aube, Haute-Marne, Marne | Châlons-en-Champagne |
 Corsica (Corse) |
Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse | Ajaccio |
 Franche-Comté |
Doubs, Haute-Saône, Jura, Territoire de Belfort | Besançon |
 Haute-Normandie |
Eure, Seine-Maritime | Rouen |
 Île-de-France |
Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Val-d'Oise, Yvelines | Paris |
 Languedoc-Roussillon |
Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales | Montpellier |
 Limousin |
Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne | Limoges |
 Lorraine |
Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges | Metz |
 Midi-Pyrénées |
Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Lot, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne | Toulouse |
 Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
Nord, Pas-de-Calais | Lille |
 Pays de la Loire |
Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée | Nantes |
 Picardie |
Aisne, Oise, Somme | Amiens |
 Poitou-Charentes |
Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne | Poitiers |
 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, Var, Vaucluse | Marseille |
 Rhône-Alpes |
Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie | Lyon |
Overseas regions and territories[link]
Main article: Overseas departments and territories of France
Among the 101 departments of France, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs) and are an integral part of France (and the European Union) and thus enjoy a status similar to metropolitan departments.
In addition to the 27 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic also has five overseas collectivities (French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna), one sui generis collectivity (New Caledonia), one overseas territory (French Southern and Antarctic Lands), and one island possession in the Pacific Ocean (Clipperton Island).
| Name | Constitutional status | Capital |
|---|---|---|
 Clipperton Island |
State private property under the direct authority of the French government | Uninhabited |
 French Guiana |
Overseas region (régions d'outre-mer) and simultaneously overseas department (département d'outre-mer or DOM) | Cayenne |
 French Polynesia |
Designated as an overseas land (pays d'outre-mer or POM), the status is the same as an overseas collectivity. | Papeete |
 French Southern and Antarctic Lands |
overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer or TOM) | Port-aux-Français |
 Guadeloupe |
Overseas region and department (DOM) | Basse-Terre |
 Martinique |
Overseas region and department (DOM) | Fort-de-France |
 Mayotte |
Overseas region and department (DOM) | Mamoudzou |
 New Caledonia |
Sui generis collectivity | Nouméa |
| Réunion |
Overseas region and department (DOM) | Saint-Denis |
 Saint Barthélemy |
Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM) | Gustavia |
| Saint Martin |
Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM) | Marigot |
 Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as a collectivité territoriale. | Saint-Pierre |
 Wallis and Futuna |
Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as a territoire. | Mata-Utu |
Overseas collectivities and territories form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the European Union or its fiscal area (with the exception of St. Bartelemy, which seceded from Guadeloupe in 2007). The Pacific Collectivities (COMs) of French Polynesia, Wallis and Fortuna, and New Caledonia continue to use the CFP franc[87] whose value is linked to that of the euro. In contrast, the five overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.[88]
Politics[link]
Main article: Politics of France
Government[link]
Main articles: Government of France and Constitution of France
The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions.[89] The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958.[90] It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, currently François Hollande, who is head of state and is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7 years),[91] and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister, currently Jean-Marc Ayrault.
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The French parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and a Senate.[92] The National Assembly deputies represent local constituencies and are directly elected for 5-year terms.[93] The Assembly has the power to dismiss the cabinet, and thus the majority in the Assembly determines the choice of government. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 6-year terms (originally 9-year terms), and one half of the seats are submitted to election every 3 years starting in September 2008.[94]
The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly has the final say.[95] The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament.
French politics are characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centred around the French Socialist Party, and the other right-wing, centred previously around the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) and now its successor the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).[96] The executive branch is currently composed mostly of the UMP. However the 2012 election changed this with position of president won by PS.
Law[link]
Main article: Law of France
France uses a civil legal system;[59] that is, law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judicial interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to case law). Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the Napoleonic Code (which was, in turn, largely based on the royal law codified under Louis XIV). In agreement with the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. As Guy Canivet, first president of the Court of Cassation, wrote about the management of prisons: :Freedom is the rule, and its restriction is the exception; any restriction of Freedom must be provided for by Law and must follow the principles of necessity and proportionality. That is, Law should lay out prohibitions only if they are needed, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition is supposed to remedy.
French law is divided into two principal areas: private law and public law. Private law includes, in particular, civil law and criminal law. Public law includes, in particular, administrative law and constitutional law. However, in practical terms, French law comprises three principal areas of law: civil law, criminal law and administrative law.
France does not recognize religious law, nor does it recognize religious beliefs or morality as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions. As a consequence, France has long had neither blasphemy laws nor sodomy laws (the latter being abolished in 1791). However, "offenses against public decency" (contraires aux bonnes mœurs) or disturbing public order (trouble à l'ordre public) have been used to repress public expressions of homosexuality or street prostitution.
Criminal laws can only address the future and not the past (criminal ex post facto laws are prohibited) ; and to be applicable, laws must be officially published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française.
France is tolerant of the LGBT community. Since 1999, civil unions for homosexual couples are permitted, although same-sex marriage is illegal in France. Laws sentencing racism, sexism or antisemitism are old and important, for instance, laws prohibiting discriminatory speech in the press are as old as 1881.[97]
In 2010, France passed a law banning face veils in public, including those worn by Muslim women. Amnesty International has condemned the law as a violation of freedom of expression.[98] In September two Muslim women were fined for wearing the niqab (an Islamic face-covering veil), though they appealed the fines.[99]
Foreign relations[link]
Main article: Foreign relations of France
See also: European Union, Latin Union, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, United Nations Security Council, and NATO
France is a member of the United Nations and serves as one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto rights.[100] It is also a member of the G8, World Trade Organization (WTO),[101] the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)[102] and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI).[103] It is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)[104] and a leading member of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries.[105] It hosts the headquarters of the OECD,[106] UNESCO,[107] Interpol,[108] Alliance Base[109] and the International Bureau for Weights and Measures.[110] In 1953, France received a request from the United Nations to pick a coat of arms that would represent it internationally. Thus the French emblem was adopted and is currently used on passports.[111]
Postwar French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the European Union, of which it was a founding member. In the 1960s, France sought to exclude the British from the organisation,[112] seeking to build its own standing in continental Europe. Since the 1960s, France has developed close ties with reunified Germany to become the most influential driving force of the EU.[113]
Since 1904, France has maintained an "Entente cordiale" with the United Kingdom, and there has been a strengthening of links between the countries, especially on a military level.
France is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but under President de Gaulle, it excluded itself from the joint military command to avoid American domination of its foreign and security policies.[114] However, as a result of Nicolas Sarkozy's (much criticised in France by the leftists and by a part of the right)[115][116] pro-American politics, France rejoined the NATO joint military command on 4 April 2009. In the early 1990s, the country drew considerable criticism from other nations for its underground nuclear tests in French Polynesia.[117] France vigorously opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[118][119] straining bilateral relations with the US[120][121] and the UK.[122] France retains strong political and economic influence in its former African colonies (Françafrique)[123] and has supplied economic aid and troops for peace-keeping missions in the Ivory Coast and Chad.[124]
France has the second largest network of diplomatic missions in the world, second only to the USA.[125]
Development aid[link]
In 2009, France is the second largest (in absolute numbers) donor of development aid in the world, behind the US, and ahead of Germany, Japan and the UK.[126] This represents 0.5 % of its GDP, in this regard rating as more generous than most other developed countries ; however, it does not meet the International Aid Target of 0.7 %.[127] The organism managing the French help is the French Development Agency, which finances primarily humanitarian projects in sub-Saharan Africa.[128] The main goals of this help are "developing infrastructure, access to health care and education, the implementation of appropriate economic policies and the consolidation of the rule of law and democracy."[128]
Military[link]
Main article: French Armed Forces
See also: Military history of France and Deployments of the French military
File:French military images.jpg
Examples of France's military. Clockwise from top left: Nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle; A pair of Rafale fighter aircraft; French Chasseurs Alpins patrolling the valleys of Kapisa province in Afghanistan; a Leclerc tank in Paris for the 14 July Bastille Day Military Parade.
France's armed forces (Armées françaises), comprising the French Army (Armée de Terre), French Navy (Marine Nationale), and the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air), and the auxiliary paramilitary force, the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) is the thirteenth largest in the world.[129] Individually, the Navy employs 42,550 professional sailors and 15,000 part-time reservists[130] and has a displacement 307,000 tons making it the world's sixth biggest navy.[131] The Army employs 123,100 regulars and 118,350 part-time reservists[132] making it the fourth largest in NATO. The Air Force is the oldest and first professional air force in the world[133] and employs 57,400 regulars making it also the fourth largest in NATO. While administratively a part of the French armed forces, and therefore under the purview of the Ministry of Defence, the Gendarmerie is operationally attached to the Ministry of the Interior. The gendarmerie is a military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. It encompasses the counter terrorist units of the Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie (Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) and the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale). One of the French intelligence units, the Directorate-General for External Security (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure) reports to the Ministry of Defence. The other, the Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence (Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur), reports directly to the Ministry of the Interior. There has been no national conscription since 1997.[134] The president is the supreme commander of the French Armed Forces. France is a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN, and a recognised nuclear state since 1960. France has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)[135] and acceeded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. France's annual military expenditure in 2010 was US$61.3 billion, or 2.5% of its GDP,[136] making it the third biggest military spender in the world after China and the United States of America.[136]
The French deterrence, (formerly known as “Force de Frappe”), relies on complete independence. The current French nuclear force consists of four Triomphant class submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In addition to the submarine fleet, it is estimated that France has about 60 ASMP medium-range air-to-ground missiles with nuclear warheads,[137] of which ~50 are carried by the Mirage 2000N long-range multirole fighter and arm the Air Force and ~10 can be carried by the French Navy's Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) attack planes which use the only non-American nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the world, the Charles de Gaulle when at sea. The new Rafale F3 aircraft will gradually replace all Mirage 2000N and SEM in the nuclear strike role with the improved ASMP-A missile with a nuclear warhead.
France has major military industries that have produced the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile and the Leclerc tank amongst others. Some weaponry, like the E-2 Hawkeye or the E-3 Sentry was bought from the United States. Despite withdrawing from the Eurofighter project, France is actively investing in European joint projects such as the Eurocopter Tiger, multipurpose frigates, the UCAV demonstrator nEUROn and the Airbus A400M. France has the largest aerospace industry in Europe.[138][139] France is a major arms seller,[140][141] with most of its arsenal's designs available for the export market with the notable exception of nuclear-powered devices. The military parade held in Paris each 14 July for France's national day is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe.[142]
Economy[link]
Main articles: Economy of France and Energy in France
Further information: List of French companies and Economic history of France
A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it is ranked as the world's fifth largest and Europe's second largest economy by nominal GDP;[143] with 39 of the 500 biggest companies of the world in 2010, France ranks world's 4th and Europe's 1st in the Fortune Global 500 ahead of Germany and the UK. France joined 11 other EU members to launch the euro on 1 January 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc (₣) in early 2002.[144]
France has a mixed economy which combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered)[146][147] with substantial (though declining[148]) state enterprise and government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications.[148] It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s.[148]
The government is slowly corporatising the state sector and selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries.[148] France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais.
According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), in 2009 France was the world's sixth-largest exporter and the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods.[149] In 2008, France was the third-largest recipient of foreign direct investment among OECD countries at $117.9 billion, ranking behind Luxembourg (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located in that country) and the United States ($316.1 billion), but above the United Kingdom ($96.9 billion), Germany ($24.9 billion), or Japan ($24.4 billion).[150][151] In the same year, French companies invested $220 billion outside of France, ranking France as the second most important outward direct investor in the OECD, behind the United States ($311.8 billion), and ahead of the United Kingdom ($111.4 billion), Japan ($128 billion) and Germany ($156.5 billion).[150][151] With 39 of the 500 biggest companies of the world in 2010, France ranks 4th in the Fortune Global 500, behind the USA, Japan and China, but ahead of Germany and the UK.[152]
Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of France's economy.The Paris stock exchange market (French: La Bourse de Paris) is an ancient institution, as it was created by Louis XV in 1724.[153] In 2000, the stock exchanges of Paris, Amsterdam and Bruxelles merged into Euronext.[154] In 2007, Euronext merged with the New York stock exchange to form NYSE Euronext, the world's largest stock exchange.[154] Euronext Paris, the French branch of the NYSE Euronext group is Europe's second largest stock exchange market, behind the London Stock Exchange.
French companies have maintained key positions in the Insurance and Banking industries: AXA is the world's largest insurance company, and is ranked by Fortune the ninth richest corporation by revenues. The leading French banks are BNP Paribas and the Crédit Agricole, ranking as the world's 1st and 6th largest banks in 2010[155] (determined by the amount of assets), while the Société Générale group was ranked the world's eight largest in 2008–2009.
France is the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialized countries in the world, due to its heavy investment in nuclear power.[156] As a result of large investments in nuclear technology, most of the electricity produced in the country is generated by 59 nuclear power plants (78% in 2006,[157] up from only 8% in 1973, 24% in 1980, and 75% in 1990). In this context, renewable energies (see the power cooperative Enercoop) are having difficulties taking off the ground.
Agriculture[link]
France has historically been an important producer of agricultural products.[158] Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer and exporter in Europe[159] (representing alone 20% of the EU's agricultural production[160]) and the world's third biggest exporter of agricultural products.[161]
Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as an internationally recognized processed foods are the primary French agricultural exports. Rosé wines are primarily consumed within the country, but champagne and Bordeaux wines are major exports, being known worldwide. EU agriculture subsidies to France have decreased for the last years, but still amounted to $8 billion in 2007.[162] This same year, France sold 33.4 billion euros of transformed agricultural products.[163]
Agriculture is thus an important sector of France's economy : 3.5% of the active population is employed in agriculture,[160] whereas the total agri-food industry made up 4.2% of French GDP in 2005.[160]
Labour market[link]
The French GDP per capita is similar to the GDP per capita of other comparable European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom.[164] GDP per capita is determined by (i) productivity per hour worked, which in France is the highest of the G8 countries in 2005, according to the OECD,[165] (ii) the number of hours worked, which is one the lowest of developed countries,[166] and (iii) the employment rate. France has one of the lowest 15–64 years employment rates of the OECD countries: in 2004, only 69% of the French population aged 15–64 years were in employment, compared to 80% in Japan, 79% in the UK, 77% in the US, and 71% in Germany.[167]
This gap is due to the very low employment rates at both age extremes: the employment rate of people aged 55–64 was 38.3% in 2007, compared to 46.6% in the EU15;[169] for the 15–24 years old, the employment rate was 31.5% in 2007, compared to 37.2% in EU25.[170] These low employment rates are explained by the high minimum wages which prevent low productivity workers – such as young people – from easily entering the labour market,[171] ineffective university curricula that fail to prepare students adequately for the labour market,[172] and, concerning the older workers, restrictive legislation on work and incentives for premature retirement.[173][174]
The unemployment rate decreased from 9% in 2006 to 7% in 2008 but remains one of the highest in Europe.[175][176] In June 2009, the unemployment rate for France was 9.4%.[177] Shorter working hours and the reluctance to reform the labour market are mentioned as weak spots of the French economy in the view of the right, when the left mentions the lack of government policies fostering social justice. Liberal economists have stressed repeatedly over the years that the main issue of the French economy is an issue of structural reforms, in order to increase the size of the working population in the overall population, reduce the taxes' level and the administrative burden.
Keynesian economists have different answers to the unemployment issue, and their theories led to the 35-hour workweek law in the 2000s (decade), which turned out to be a failure in reducing unemployment. Afterwards, between 2004 and 2008, the Government made some supply-oriented reforms to combat unemployment but met with fierce resistance,[178] especially with the contrat nouvelle embauche and the contrat première embauche which both were eventually repealed.[179] The current Government is experiencing the revenu de solidarité active to redress the negative effect of the revenu minimum d'insertion on work incentive.[180]
Tourism[link]
Main article: Tourism in France
With 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007,[13] France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (58.5 million in 2006) and the United States (51.1 million in 2006). This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as Northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain or Italy during the summer.
France has 37 sites inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List and features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost, but also Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon, and others), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage (such as Collonges-la-Rouge or Locronan) are promoted through the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (litt. "The Most Beautiful Villages of France"). The "Remarkable Gardens" label is a list of the over two hundred gardens classified by the French Ministry of Culture. This label is intended to protect and promote remarkable gardens and parks. France also attracts many religious pilgrims on their way to St. James, or to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées that hosts a few million visitors a year.
France, and especially Paris, have some of the world's largest and renowned museums, including the Louvre, which is the most visited art museum in the world, but also the Musée d'Orsay, mostly devoted to impressionism, and Beaubourg, dedicated to Contemporary art.
Disneyland Paris is France's and indeed Europe's most popular theme park, with 15,405,000 combined visitors to the resort's Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park in 2009.[181] The historical theme park Puy du Fou in Vendée is the second most visited park of France.[182] Other popular theme parks are the Futuroscope of Poitiers and the Parc Astérix.
With more than 10 millions tourists a year, the French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur), in south-eastern France, is the second leading tourist destination in the country, after the Parisian region.[183] According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, it benefits from 300 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.[184] Each year the Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90% of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime.[185]
An other major destination are the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, this World Heritage Site is noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its castles (châteaux), such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, de Chambord, d'Ussé, de Villandry and Chenonceau, which illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the French Renaissance.
The most popular tourist sites include: (according to a 2003 ranking[186] visitors per year): Eiffel Tower (6.2 million), Louvre Museum (5.7 million), Palace of Versailles (2.8 million), Musée d'Orsay (2.1 million), Arc de Triomphe (1.2 million), Centre Pompidou (1.2 million), Mont Saint-Michel (1 million), Château de Chambord (711,000), Sainte-Chapelle (683,000), Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg (549,000), Puy de Dôme (500,000), Musée Picasso (441,000), Carcassonne (362,000).
Transport[link]
Main articles: Transport in France and Rail transport in France
The railway network of France, which as of 2008[update] stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi)[187] is the second most extensive in Western Europe after the German one.[188] It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph) in commercial use.[189][190] The Eurostar, along with the Eurotunnel Shuttle, connects with the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe, except Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services and tramway services complementing bus services.
There are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway in France, ranking it the most extensive network of the European continent.[191] The Paris region is enveloped with the most dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighboring Belgium, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, motorway usage is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by domestic brands such as Renault (27% of cars sold in France in 2003), Peugeot (20.1%) and Citroën (13.5%).[192] Over 70% of new cars sold in 2004 had diesel engines, far more than contained petrol or LPG engines.[193] France possesses the Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge,[194] and has built many important bridges such as the Pont de Normandie.
There are 475 airports in France.[59] Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport located in the vicinity of Paris is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic and connecting Paris with virtually all major cities across the world. Air France is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of which is in Marseille,[195] which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea.[196][197] 12,261 kilometres (7,619 mi) of waterways traverse France including the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean through the Garonne river.[59]
Demographics[link]
Main articles: Demographics of France and French people
With an estimated population of 65.8 million people (as of 1 Jan. 2011),[2] France is the 20th most populous country in the world. In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all natural population growth in the European Union. The natural growth (excess of births over deaths) rose to 302,432 in 2006,[198] its highest since the end of the baby boom in 1973. The total fertility rate rose to 2.01 in 2010,[2] from a nadir of 1.68 in 1994.[199] In the five years between Jan. 2006 and Jan. 2011, population growth was on average +0.58% per year.[198] In 2010, 27.3% of newborn in metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent and 23.9% had at least one parent born outside of Europe (parents born in overseas territories are considered as born in France).[200]
As of 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants (born in France) lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. More than 5 million are of European origin and about 4 million of Maghrebi origin. Immigrants aged 18–50 count for 2.7 millions (10% of population aged 18–50) and 5 millions for all ages (8% of population). 2nd Generation aged 18–50 make up 3.1 millions (12% of 18–50) and 6.5 millions for all ages (11% of population)[201][202][203]
In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe.[204] In 2008, France granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly to people from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.[205]
Although it is illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and race, a law with its origins in the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958, some surveys, like the TeO ("Trajectories and origins") survey conducted jointly by INED and INSEE in 2008, are allowed to do it.[206][207] Before this survey, it was estimated that between three million[208] and six million[209] people are of North African ancestry while an estimated 2.5 million people are of Black African ancestry.[210][211] It is currently estimated that 40% of the French population is descended at least partially from the different waves of immigration the country has received.[212] Between 1921 and 1935 about 1.1 million net immigrants came to France.[213] An estimated 1.6 million European pieds noirs returned to France as the country's North African possessions gained independence.[214][215]
France accepts about 200,000 legal immigrants each year.[216] France is the leading asylum destination in Western Europe with an estimated 50,000 applications in 2005 (a 15% decrease from 2004).[217] The European Union allows free movement between the member states. While UK and Ireland did not impose restrictions, France put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration.
The largest cities in France, in terms of metropolitan area population, are Paris (11,836,970), Lyon (1,757,180), Marseille (1,618,369), Lille (1,163,934), Toulouse (1,118,472), Bordeaux (1,009,313), Nice (999,678), Nantes (768,305) and Strasbourg (641,853).
A perennial political issue concerns rural depopulation. Over the period 1960–1999 fifteen rural départements experienced a decline in population. In the most extreme case, the population of Creuse fell by 24%.
Language[link]
Main article: French Language
native language
administrative language
secondary or non-official language
francophone minorities
According to Article 2 of the Constitution, the official language of France is French,[218] a Romance language derived from Latin. Since 1635, the Académie française is France's official authority on the usage, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal power.
The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications. In addition to mandating the use of French in the territory of the Republic, the French government tries to promote French in the European Union and globally through institutions such as La Francophonie. The perceived threat from anglicisation has prompted efforts to safeguard the position of the French language in France. Besides French, there exist 77 vernacular minority languages of France, 8 in the French metropolitan territory of continental Europe and 69 in the French overseas territories.
From the 17th century to the mid-20th century, French served as the pre-eminent international language of diplomacy and international affairs as well as a lingua franca among the educated classes of Europe.[219] The dominant position of French language in international affairs has only been challenged recently by English, since the emergence of the USA as a major power.[46][220][221]
As a result of France's extensive colonial ambitions between the 17th and 20th centuries, French was introduced to America, Africa, Polynesia, South-East Asia, and the Caribbean. French is the second most studied foreign language in the world after English,[222] and is a lingua franca in some regions, notably in Africa. The legacy of French as a living language outside Europe is mixed: it is nearly extinct in some former French colonies (Southeast Asia), while creoles, and pidgins based on French have emerged in the French departments in the West Indies and the South Pacific (French Polynesia). On the other hand, many former French colonies have adopted French as an official language, and the total number of French speakers is increasing, especially in Africa.
It is estimated that between 300 million[223] and 500 million[224] people worldwide can speak French, either as a mother tongue or a second language.
Religion[link]
Main article: Religion in France
France is a secular country, and freedom of religion is a constitutional right. French religious policy is based on the concept of laïcité, a strict separation of Church and State under which public life is kept completely secular. France was historically regarded as the “eldest daughter” of the Roman Catholic Church. The French Revolution saw a radical shift in the status of the Church with the launch of a brutal de-Christianization campaign. After the back and forth of Catholic royal and secular republican governments over the 19th century, laïcité was established with the Jules Ferry laws of the 1880s and the 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.[226] The French government does not keep statistics on religious adherence, nor on ethnicity or on political affiliation. However, some unofficial survey estimates exist.
Roman Catholicism has been the predominant religion in France for more than a millennium, though it is not as actively practiced today as it once was. A survey by the Catholic newspaper La Croix found that whilst in 1965, 81% of the French declared themselves to be Catholics, in 2009 this proportion was 64%. Moreover, whilst 27% of the French went to Mass once a week or more in 1952, only 4.5% did so in 2006; 15.2% attended Mass at least once a month.[227] The same survey found that Protestants accounted for 3% of the population, an increase from previous surveys, and 5% adhered to other religions, with the remaining 28% stating that they had no religion.[227]
According to a January 2007 poll by the Catholic World News,[228] only 5% of the French population attended church regularly (or 10% attend church services regularly among the respondents who did identify themselves as Catholics). The poll showed[229] 51% identified as being Catholics, 31% identified as being agnostics or atheists (another poll[230] sets the proportion of atheists equal to 27%), 10% identified as being from other religions or being without opinion, 4% identified as Muslim, 3% identified as Protestant, 1% identified as Buddhist, 1% identified as Jewish. Meanwhile, an independent estimate by the politologist Pierre Bréchon in 2009 concluded that the proportion of Catholics had fallen to 42% while the number of atheists and agnostics had risen to 50%.[231] According to the Pewforum "In France, proponents of a 2004 law banning the wearing of religious symbols in schools say it protects Muslim girls from being forced to wear a headscarf, but the law also restricts those who want to wear headscarves – or any other “conspicuous” religious symbol, including large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans – as an expression of their faith"[232]
According to the most recent but in 2010 somewhat outdated Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[233] 34% of French citizens responded that “they believe there is a god”, whereas 27% answered that “they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force” and 33% that “they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force”. One other study shows 32% of people in France declaring themselves to be atheists, and another 32% declaring themselves “sceptical about the existence of God but not an atheist”.[234]
Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely. According to the more than one decade old 1999 French census returns, there were 3.7 million people of “possible Muslim faith” in France (6.3% of the total population). In 2003, the French Ministry of the Interior estimated the total number of Muslims to be between five and six million (8–10%).[235][236] The current Jewish community in France numbers around 600,000 according to the World Jewish Congress and is the largest in Europe. However, both the North American Jewish Data bank and the Vitual Jew Library put the estimates closer to 480,000 as of 2010[update].
Since 1905 the French government has followed the principle of laïcité, in which it is prohibited from recognising any specific right to a religious community (except for legacy statutes like that of military chaplains and the local law in Alsace-Moselle). Instead, it merely recognises religious organisations, according to formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine. Conversely, religious organizations should refrain from intervening in policy-making.
Certain bodies of beliefs such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, or the Order of the Solar Temple are considered cults ("sectes" in French),[237] and therefore do not have the same status as religions in France. Secte is considered a pejorative term in France.[238]
Health[link]
Main article: Health in France
The French healthcare system was ranked first worldwide by the World Health Organization in 1997[240] and then again in 2000.[241] Care is generally free for people affected by chronic diseases (affections de longues durées) such as cancer, AIDS or Cystic Fibrosis. Average life expectancy at birth is 78 years for men and 85 years for women, one of the highest of the European Union.[242] There are 3.22 physicians for every 1000 inhabitants in France,[243] and average health care spending per capita was US$4,719 in 2008.[244] As of 2007, approximately 140,000 inhabitants (0.4%) of France are living with HIV/AIDS.[148]
Even if the French have the reputation of being one of the thinnest peoples in developed countries, [245][246][247][248][249][250] France—like other rich countries—faces an increasing and recent epidemic of obesity, due mostly to the replacement of traditional healthy French cuisine by junk food in French eating habits.[245][246][251] Nevertheless, the French obesity rate is far below that of the USA (for instance, obesity rate in France is the same that the American once was in the 1970s[246]), and is still the lowest of Europe,[248][251] but it is now regarded by the authorities as one of the main public health issues[252] and is fiercely fought; rates of childhood obesity are slowing in France, while continuing to grow in other countries.[253]
Education[link]
Main article: Education in France
See also: History of education in France and Baccalauréat
In 1802, Napoleon created the lycée.[254] Nevertheless it is Jules Ferry who is considered to be the father of the French modern school, which is free, secular, and compulsory until the age of 13 since 1882[255] (school attendance in France is now compulsory until the age of 16[256]).
Nowadays, the schooling system in France is centralized, and is composed of three stages, primary education, secondary education, and higher education. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks France's education as the 25th best in the world, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.[257] Primary and secondary education are predominantly public, run by the Ministry of National Education.
Higher education in France is divided between public universities and the prestigious and selective Grandes écoles, such as Science Po Paris for Political studies, HEC Paris for Economics, Polytechnique and the École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris that produces high-profile engineers, or the École nationale d'administration for careers in the great corps of the State. The Grandes écoles have been criticised for alleged elitism,[258] nevertheless they have produced many if not most of France's high-ranking civil servants, CEO, or politicians.
Culture[link]
Main article: Culture of France
France has been a center of cultural creation for centuries. Many French artists have been among the most renowned of their time, and France is still recognized in the world for its rich cultural tradition.
The successive political regimes have always promoted artistic creation, and the creation of the Ministry of Culture in 1959 helped preserve the cultural heritage of the country and make it available to the public. The Ministry of Culture has been very active since its creation, granting subsidies to artists, promoting French culture in the world, supporting festivals and cultural events, protecting historical monuments. The French government also succeeded in maintaining a cultural exception to defend audiovisual products made in the country.
France receives the highest number of tourists per year, largely thanks to the numerous cultural establishments and historical buildings implanted all over the territory. It counts 1,200 museums welcoming more than 50 million people annually.[259] The most important cultural sites are run by the government, for instance through the public agency Centre des monuments nationaux, which have around a hundred national historical monuments at charge.[clarification needed]
The 43,180 buildings protected as historical monuments include mainly residences (many castles, or châteaux in French) and religious buildings (cathedrals, basilicas, churches, etc.), but also statutes, memorials and gardens. The UNESCO inscribed 37 sites in France on the World Heritage List.[260]
Painting[link]
Main article: French painting
The origins of French painting were very much influenced by Flemish art and by Italian art at the time of the Renaissance. Jean Fouquet, the most famous medieval French painter, is said to have been the first to travel to Italy and experience the Early Renaissance at first hand. The Renaissance painting School of Fontainebleau was directly inspired by Italian painters such as Primaticcio and Rosso Fiorentino, who both worked in France. Two of the most famous French artists of the time of Baroque era, Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, lived in Italy. The 17th century was the period where French painting became proeminent and individualized itself through classicism. Louis XIV's prime minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded in 1648 the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture to protect these artists, and in 1666 he created the still-in-activity French Academy in Rome to have direct relations with Italian artists.
French painters developed the rococo style in the 18th century, as a more intimate imitation of old baroque style, the works of court-endorsed artists Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard being the most representative in the country. The French Revolution brought great changes, as Napoleon favoured painters of neoclassic style as Jacques-Louis David and the highly influential Académie des Beaux-Arts defined the style known as Academism. At this time France had become a center of artistic creation, the first half of the 19th century being dominated by two successive movements, at first Romanticism with Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix, and Realism with Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet, a style that eventually evolved into Naturalism.
In the second part of the 19th century, France's influence over painting became even more important, with the development of new styles of painting like Impressionism and Symbolism. The most famous impressionist painters of the period were Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir.[261] Second generation of impressionist-style painters Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat were also at the avant-guarde of artistic evolutions,[262] as well as fauvist artists Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck.[263][264] At the beginning of 20th century, Cubism was developed by Georges Braque and Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, living in Paris. Other foreign artists also settled and worked in or near Paris, like Vincent van Gogh, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani and Wassily Kandinsky.
Many museums in France are entirely or partly devoted to painting works. A huge collection of old masterpieces created before or during the 18th century are displayed in the state-owned Musée du Louvre, such as Mona Lisa, also known as La Joconde. While the Louvre Palace has been for a long time a museum, the Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated in 1986 in the old railway station Gare d'Orsay, in a major reorganization of national art collections, to gather French paintings from the second part of the 19th century (mainly Impressionism and Fauvism movements).[265][266]
Modern works are presented in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, which moved in 1976 to the Centre Georges Pompidou. These three state-owned museums welcome close to 17 million people a year.[267] Other national museums hosting paintings include the Grand Palais (1,3 million visitors in 2008), but there are also many museums owned by cities, the most visited being the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (0,8 million entries in 2008), which hosts contemporary works.[267]
Outside Paris, all the large cities have a Museum of Fine Arts with a section dedicated to European and French painting. Some of the finest collections are in Lyon, Lille, Rouen, Dijon, Rennes and Grenoble.
Architecture[link]
Main article: French architecture
Technically speaking, there is no standard type of "French" architecture, although that has not always been true. Gothic architecture's old name was French architecture (or Opus Francigenum).[268] The term “Gothic” appeared later as a stylistic insult and was widely adopted. The Gothic architecture was the first French style of architecture to be copied in all Europe.[269] Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the Saint Denis Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other important French Gothic cathedrals are Notre-Dame de Chartres and Notre-Dame d'Amiens. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: Notre-Dame de Reims.[270] Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the Palais des Papes in Avignon.
During the Middle Ages, fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers against their rivals. When King Philip II took Rouen from King John, for example, he demolished the ducal castle to build a bigger one. Fortified cities were also common; most French castles did not survive the passage of time. This is why Richard the Lionheart's Château Gaillard was demolished, as well as the Château de Lusignan. Some French castles that survived are Chinon, Château d'Angers, the massive Château de Vincennes and the so called Cathar castles.
Before the appearance of this architecture, France had been using Romanesque architecture like most of Western Europe (with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula, which now consists of Spain and Portugal, which used Mooresque architecture). Some of the greatest examples of Romanesque churches in France are the Saint Sernin Basilica in Toulouse (largest romanesque church in Europe[271]) and the remains of the Cluniac Abbey (largely destroyed during the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars).
The end of the Hundred Years' War marked an important stage in the evolution of French architecture. It was the time of the French Renaissance and several artists from Italy and Spain were invited to the French court; many residential palaces, inspired by the Italians, were built, but mainly in the Loire Valley. Such residential castles were the Château de Chambord, the Château de Chenonceau, or the Château d'Amboise. Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, Baroque Architecture replaced the traditional Gothic style. However, in France, baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in a religious one.[273]
In the secular domain, the Palace of Versailles has many baroque features. Jules Hardouin Mansart was said[by whom?] to be the most influential French architect of the baroque era, with his famous dome, Les Invalides. Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet French such as the Place Stanislas in Nancy. On the military architectural side, Vauban designed some of the most efficient fortresses in Europe and became an influential military architect; as a result, imitations of his works can be found all over Europe, the Americas, Russia and Turkey.[274][275]
After the Revolution, the Republicans favoured Neoclassicism although neoclassicism was introduced in France prior to the revolution with such building as the Parisian Pantheon or the Capitole de Toulouse. Built during the French Empire the Arc de Triomphe and Sainte Marie-Madeleine represent this trend the best.[276]
Under Napoleon III, a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth. If extravagant buildings such as the neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built, the urban planning of the time was very organised and rigorous.[citation needed] For example, Baron Haussmann rebuilt Paris. The architecture associated to this era is named Second Empire in English, the term being taken from the Second French Empire. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across Europe and in France; the associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In the late 19th century, Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges, such as Garabit viaduct, and remains one of the most influential bridge designers of his time, although he is best remembered for the iconic Eiffel Tower.
In the 20th century, Swiss Architect Le Corbusier designed several buildings in France. More recently, French architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles. The Louvre Pyramid is an example of modern architecture added to an older building. The most difficult buildings to integrate within French cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. For instance, in Paris, since 1977, new buildings had to be under 37 meters, or 121 feet.[277] France's largest financial district is La Defense, where a significant number of skyscrapers are located.[278] Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; an example of the way this has been done is the Millau Viaduct. Some famous modern French architects include Jean Nouvel or Paul Andreu.
Literature[link]
Main article: French literature
File:French literary figures.jpg
French literary figures. Clockwise from top left: Molière is the most played author in the Comédie-Française;[279] Victor Hugo is one of the most important French novelists and poets, and is sometimes seen as the greatest French writer of all time.[280] 19th century poet, writer, and translator Charles Baudelaire; 20th century philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre.
The earliest French literature dates from the Middle Ages, when what is now known as modern France did not have a single, uniform language. There were several languages and dialects and each writer used his own spelling and grammar.[citation needed] Some authors of French mediaeval texts are unknown, such as Tristan and Iseult and Lancelot and the Holy Grail. Other authors are known, for example Chrétien de Troyes and Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who wrote in Occitan.
Much mediaeval French poetry and literature were inspired by the legends of the Matter of France, such as The Song of Roland and the various chansons de geste. The Roman de Renart, written in 1175 by Perrout de Saint Cloude, tells the story of the mediaeval character Reynard ('the Fox') and is another example of early French writing.
An important 16th century writer was François Rabelais, whose novel Gargantua and Pantagruel has remained famous and appreciated until now. Michel de Montaigne was the other major figure of the French literature during that century. His most famous work, Essais, created the literary genre of the essay.[281] French poetry during that century was embodied by Pierre de Ronsard and Joachim du Bellay. Both writers founded the La Pléiade literary movement.
During the 17th century, Madame de La Fayette published anonymously La Princesse de Clèves, a novel that is considered to be one of the very first psychological novels of all times.[282] Jean de La Fontaine is one of the most famous fabulist of that time, as he wrote hundreds of fables, some being far more famous than others, such as The Ant and the Grasshopper. Generations of French pupils had to learn his fables, that were seen as helping teaching wisdom and common sense to the young people. Some of his verses have entered the popular language to become proverbs.[283]
Jean Racine, whose incredible mastery of the alexandrine and of the French language has been praised for centuries, created plays such as Phèdre or Britannicus. He is, along with Pierre Corneille (Le Cid) and Molière, considered as one of the three great dramatists of the France's golden age. Molière, who is deemed to be one of the greatest masters of comedy of the Western literature,[284] wrote dozens of plays, including Le Misanthrope, L'Avare, Le Malade imaginaire, and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. His plays have been so popular around the world that French language is sometimes dubbed as "the language of Molière" (la langue de Molière),[285] just like English is considered as "the language of Shakespeare".
French literature and poetry flourished even more in the 18th and 19th centuries. Denis Diderot's best-known works are Jacques the Fatalist and Rameau's Nephew. He is however best known for being the main redactor of the Encyclopédie, whose aim was to sum up all the knowledge of his century (in fields such as arts, sciences, languages, philosophy) and to present them to the people, in order to fight ignorance and obscurantism. During that same century, Charles Perrault was a prolific writer of famous children's fairy tales including Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Bluebeard. At the turn of the 19th century symbolist poetry was an important movement in French literature, with poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé.[286]
The 19th century saw the writings of many renowned French authors. Victor Hugo is sometimes seen as "the greatest French writer of all times"[280] for excelling in all literary genres. The preface of his play Cromwell is considered to be the manifesto of the Romantic movement. Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles are considered as "poetic masterpieces",[287] Hugo's verse having been compared to that of Shakespeare, Dante and Homer.[287] His novel Les Misérables is widely seen as one of the greatest novel ever written[288] and The Hunchback of Notre Dame has remained immensely popular.
Other major authors of that century include Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte-Cristo), Jules Verne (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), Émile Zola (Les Rougon-Macquart), Honoré de Balzac (La Comédie humaine), Guy de Maupassant, Théophile Gautier and Stendhal (The Red and the Black, The Charterhouse of Parma), whose works are amongst the most well known in France and the world.
The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize first awarded in 1903.[289] Important writers of the 20th century include Marcel Proust, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote Little Prince which has remained popular for decades with children and adults around the world.[290] As of 2010, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation.[291]
Philosophy[link]
Main article: French philosophy
Modern philosophy began in France in the 16th century with the philosophy of René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, and Nicolas Malebranche. Descartes revitalised Western philosophy that had been on the decline after the Greek and Roman eras.[292] His Meditations on First Philosophy changed the primary object of philosophical thought and raised some of the most fundamental problems for foreigners such as Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Berkeley, and Kant.
During the 18th century, French philosophers produced one of the most important works of the Age of Enlightenment. In The Spirit of the Laws, Baron de Montesquieu theorized the principle of separation of powers, that has been implemented in all liberal democracies since it was first applied in the United States. In The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau openly criticized the European divine right monarchies and strongly affirmed the principle of the sovereignty of the people. Voltaire came to embody the Enlightenment with his criticisms of Church dogma and French institutions and his defence of civil liberties such as the right to a free trial and freedom of religion.
In the early 20th century, French spiritualist thinkers such as Maine de Biran, Henri Bergson and Louis Lavelle, influenced Anglo-Saxon thought, including the Americans Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, and the Englishman Alfred North Whitehead. In the late 20th century, postmodern philosophy began in France, with notable post-structuralist thinkers including Jean-François Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. Postmodern philosophy can also be seen as a critique of traditional western thought and incredulity toward metanarratives, influenced heavily by structuralism, phenomenology and existentialism.
Music[link]
Main article: Music of France
Although the musical creation in France dates back to the Middle Ages, it knew its golden age in the 17th century thanks to Louis XIV, who employed several musicians and composers in the royal court. The most renowned composers of this period include Marc-Antoine Charpentier, François Couperin, Michel-Richard Delalande, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Marin Marais, all of them composers at the court. After the death of the "Roi Soleil", French musical creation lost dynamism, but in the next century the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau reached some prestige, and today he is still one of the most renowned French composers.
French classical music knew a revival in the 19th and 20th century, at the end of the romantic movement, at first with opera composers Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Gounod, Jacques Offenbach, Édouard Lalo, Jules Massenet and Camille Saint-Saëns. This period was a golden age for operas, being popular in the country the opéra bouffon, the opera-ballet and the opéra comique genres. Later came precursors of modern classical music Érik Satie, Francis Poulenc, and above all Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, who invented new musical forms.[293][294][295][296] More recently, at the middle of the 20th century, Maurice Ohana, Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Boulez contributed to the evolutions of contemporary classical music.[297]
French music then followed the rapid emergence of pop and rock music at the middle of the 20th century. Although English-speaking creations achieved popularity in the country, French pop music, known as chanson française, has also remained very popular. Among the most important French artists of the century are Édith Piaf, Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré, Charles Aznavour and Serge Gainsbourg. Although there are very few rock bands in France compared to English-speaking countries,[298] bands such as Noir Désir, Mano Negra, Niagara, Rita Mitsouko and more recently Superbus, Phoenix and Gojira[299] have reached worldwide popularity.
Other French artists with international careers have been popular in several countries, for example female singers Mireille Mathieu and Mylène Farmer,[299] electronic music pioneers Jean-Michel Jarre, Laurent Garnier and Bob Sinclar, and later Martin Solveig and David Guetta. In the 1990s and 2000s (decade), electronic duos Daft Punk, Justice and Air also reached worldwide popularity and contributed to the reputation of modern electronic music in the world.[299][300][301]
Among current musical events and institutions in France, many are dedicated to classical music and operas. The most prestigious institutions are the state-owned Paris National Opera (with its two sites Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille), the Opéra National de Lyon, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. As for music festivals, there are several events organized, the most popular being the Eurockéennes and Rock en Seine. The Fête de la Musique, imitated by many foreign cities, was first launched by the French government in 1982.[302][303] Major music halls and venues in France include Le Zénith sites present in many cities and other places in Paris (Paris Olympia, Théâtre Mogador, Élysée Montmartre, etc.).
Cinema[link]
Main article: Cinema of France
France has historical and strong links with cinema. It is two Frenchmen, Auguste and Louis Lumière (known as the Lumière Brothers) who created the cinema in 1895.[307] More recently, in 2006, France produced more films than any other European country.[308] Cannes Festival is one of the most important and famous film festivals in the world.[309][310]
Although the French film market is dominated by Hollywood, it is however the Western country (out of the United States) where the share of the American films in the total film revenues is the smallest, at 50.1%, to compare with 77.3% of Germany and 69.4% of Japan.[311] Thus, French films account for 34.8% of the total film revenues of France, which is the highest percentage of national films revenues in developed countries (the U.S. not included), to compare with 13.7% in Spain and 8.3% in the UK.[311]
France was for centuries, and not so long ago, the cultural center of the world.[219] But France's dominant position has been overthrown by American culture, and thus France tries to protect its culture. France has been a strong advocate of the cultural exception.[312] France therefore succeeded in convincing all the EU members to refuse to include culture and audiovisuals in the list of liberalized sectors of the WTO in 1993.[313]
Moreover, this decision was confirmed in a voting in the UNESCO in 2005, and the principle of "cultural exception" won an overwhelming victory: 198 countries voted for it, only 2 countries, the U.S and Israel, voted against it.[314]
Fashion[link]
Main article: French fashion
Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the 17th century, and modern "haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s. Today, Paris, along with London, Milan, and New York City, is considered one of the world's fashion capitals, and the city is home or headquarters to many of the premier fashion houses. The expression Haute couture is, in France, a legally protected name, guaranteeing certain quality standards.
The association of France with fashion and style (French: la mode) dates largely to the reign of Louis XIV[315] when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. But France renewed its dominance of the high fashion (French: couture or haute couture) industry in the years 1860–1960 through the establishing of the great couturier houses such as Chanel, Dior, and Givenchy.
In the 1960s, the elitist "Haute couture" came under criticism from France's youth culture. In 1966, the designer Yves Saint Laurent broke with established Haute Couture norms by launching a prêt-à-porter ("ready to wear") line and expanding French fashion into mass manufacturing. With a greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established by Sonia Rykiel, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix in the 1970s and 1980s. The 1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants and multinationals such as LVMH.
Media[link]
Main article: Telecommunications in France
Compared to other developed countries, the French do not spend much time reading newspapers, due to the popularity of broadcast media. Best-selling daily national newspapers in France are Le Monde and right-wing Le Figaro, with around 300.000 copies sold daily, but also L'Équipe, dedicated to sports coverage.[316] In the past years, free dailies made a breakthrough, with Metro, 20 Minutes and Direct Plus distributed at more than 650.000 copies respectively.[317] However, the widest circulations are reached by regional daily Ouest France with more than 750.000 copies sold, and the 50 other regional papers have also high sales.[318][319] The sector of weekly magazines is stronger and diversified with more than 400 specialized weekly magazines published in the country.[320]
The most influential news magazine are left-wing Le Nouvel Observateur, centrist L'Express and right-wing Le Point (more than 400.000 copies),[321] but the highest circulation for weeklies is reached by TV magazines and by women’s magazines, among them Marie Claire and ELLE, which have foreign versions. Influential weeklies also include investigative and satirical papers Le Canard Enchaîné and Charlie Hebdo, as well as Paris Match. Like in most industrialized nations, the print media have been affected by a severe crisis in the past decade. In 2008, the government have launched a major initiative to help the sector reform to be financially independent,[322][323] but in 2009 it had to give 600.000 euros to help the print media cope with the economic crisis, in addition to existing subsidies.[324]
In 1974, after years of centralized monopoly on radio and television, the governmental agency ORTF was split into several national institutions, but the three already-existing TV channels and four national radio stations[325][326] remained under state-control. It was only in 1981 when the government allowed free broadcasting in the territory, ending state monopoly on radio.[326] French television was partly liberalized in the next two decade with the creation of several commercial channels, mainly thanks to cable and satellite television. In 2005 the national service Télévision Numérique Terrestre introduced digital television all over the territory, allowing the creation of other channels.
The four existing national channels are now owned by state-owned consortium France Télévisions, while public broadcasting group Radio France run five national radio stations. Among these public media are Radio France Internationale, which broadcasts programs in French all over the world, and Franco-German TV channel TV5 Monde. In 2006, the government created global news channel France 24. Long-established TV channels TF1 (privatized in 1987), France 2 and France 3 have the highest shares, while radio stations RTL, Europe 1 and state-owned France Inter are the least listened to.
Society[link]
According to a 2010 BBC poll based on 29,977 responses in 28 countries, France is globally seen as a positive influence in the world's affairs: 49 % have a positive view of the country's influence, whereas 19 % have a negative view.[327][328] The Nation Brand Index of 2008 suggested that France has the second best international reputation, only behind Germany.[329]
According to two Pew Research Center polls in 2006 and 2011 based on around 14 000 responses in 15 countries, French were found to have the highest level of religious tolerance (when asked about their opinion about Muslims, Christians and Jews) and to be the country where the highest proportion of the population defines its identity primarily in term of nationality and not of religion.[330]
In January 2010, the International Living ranked France as "best country to live in", ahead of 193 other countries surveyed, for the fifth year running, according to a survey taking in account 9 criteria of quality of life: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk and Climate.[331][332]
France has historical strong ties with Human Rights.[333] Since the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, France is often nicknamed as "the country of Human Rights".[334] Furthermore, in 1948, a Frenchman, René Cassin, was one of the main redactors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the UN members in Paris.[333]
National symbols strongly reflect the heritage of the Revolution. The four official symbols of the Republic, as stated by the Constitution,[335] all commemorate events from the period. Bastille Day, the national holiday, commemorate the Fête de la Fédération, held on 14 July 1790 to celebrate the storming of the Bastille.[336] The origins of Tricolored flag also date back to the Revolution, as the cockade was the symbols adopted by the revolutionaries in 1789.[337]
As for the national anthem La Marseillaise, it was written in 1792 as a war song for the French Army.[338][339] The official motto of the French Republic, "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (Liberty, equality, brotherhood) also appeared during the French Revolution.[340] Marianne, unofficial symbol, is an allegorical figure of liberty and of the Republic and also appeared at the time of the Revolution.[341]
A common and traditional symbol of the French people is the Gallic rooster. Its origins date back to Antiquity, since the Latin word Gallus meant both "rooster" and "inhabitant of Gaul". Then this figure gradually became the most widely shared representation of the French, used by French monarchs, then by the Revolution and under the successive republican regimes as representation of the national identity, used for some stamps and coins.[342] Although it is not an official symbol of the Republic, it is the most common image to symbolize France in the collective imagination and abroad.
Gastronomy[link]
Main article: French cuisine
French cuisine is renowned for being one of the finest in the world.[344][345][346][347][348][349] French cuisine is extremely diverse and has exerted a major influence on other western cuisines.[350] According to the regions, traditional recipes are different, the North of the country prefers to use butter as the preferred fat for cooking, whereas olive oil is more commonly used in the South.[351]
Moreover, each region of France has iconic traditional specialities : Cassoulet in the Southwest, Choucroute in Alsace, Quiche in the Lorraine region, Beef bourguignon in the Bourgogne, provençal Tapenade, etc. France's most renowned products are wines,[352] including Champagne, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, and Beaujolais as well as a large variety of different cheeses, such as Camembert, Roquefort and Brie. There are more than 400 different varieties.[353][354]
French cuisine is also regarded as a key element of the quality of life and the attractiveness of France.[332] A French publication, the Michelin guide, had by 2006 awarded 620 stars to French restaurants, at that time more than any other country, although the guide also inspects more restaurants in France than in any other country (by 2010, Japan was awarded as many Michelin stars as France, despite having half the number of Michelin inspectors working there).[355][356]
Sports[link]
Main article: Sport in France
Popular sports played in France include football, judo, tennis[359] and basketball.[360] France has hosted events such as the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups,[361] and hosted the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.[362] Stade de France in Paris is the largest stadium in France and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup final, and hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in October 2007. France also hosts the annual Tour de France, the most famous road bicycle race in the world.[363][364] France is also famous for its 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race held in the Sarthe department.[365] Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the Paris Masters and the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
France has a close association with the Modern Olympic Games; it was a French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who suggested the Games' revival, at the end of the 19th century.[366][367] After Athens was awarded the first Games, in reference to the Greek origins of the ancient Olympics, Paris hosted the second Games in 1900.[368] Paris was also the first home of the International Olympic Committee, before it moved to Lausanne.[369] Since that 1900 Games, France has hosted the Olympics on four further occasions: the 1924 Summer Olympics, again in Paris[367] and three Winter Games (1924 in Chamonix, 1968 in Grenoble and 1992 in Albertville).[367]
Both the national football team and the national rugby union team are nicknamed “Les Bleus” in reference to the team’s shirt color as well as the national French tricolor flag. The football team is among the most successful in the world, particularly at the turn of the 21st century, with one FIFA World Cup victory in 1998,[370] one FIFA World Cup second place in 2006,[371] and two European Championships in 1984[372] and 2000.[373] The top national football club competition is the Ligue 1. Rugby is also very popular, particularly in Paris and the southwest of France.[374] The national rugby team has competed at every Rugby World Cup, and takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship. Following from a strong domestic tournament the French rugby team has won sixteen Six Nations Championships, including eight grand slams; and have reached the semi-finals and final of the Rugby World Cup.
Rugby league in France is a sport that is most popular in the south with cities such as Perpignan and Toulouse having a strong presence in the game. The Catalans Dragons currently play in Super League which is the top tier rugby league competition in Europe. Toulouse Olympique play in the Co-operative Championship which is the 2nd tier of European rugby league. The Elite One Championship is the top tier of French rugby league.
In the last decades, France has produced a high number of world-elite basketball players, most notably Tony Parker. The France national basketball team has won silver at the EuroBasket 2011, its best performance in over 60 years. The national team further won two Olympic Silver Medals, one in 2000 and one in 1948.
See also[link]
Footnotes[link]
- ^ French is an official language throughout the French Republic. For information about the official and unofficial regional languages also spoken see Languages of France
- ^ a b Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories, but excluding the French territory of Terre Adélie in Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
- ^ French National Geographic Institute data, which includes bodies of water.
- ^ French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.
- ^ Metropolitan France only. The population density for the whole territory of the French Republic (including overseas departments and territories) is 96.837/km2 (250.808/sq mi).
- ^ Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean.
- ^ French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only.
- ^ CET applies to Metropolitan France only. Time Zones across the French Republic span from UTC-10 (PF) to UTC+12 (WF).
- ^ CEST applies to Metropolitan France only. Not all overseas territories observe Daylight Saving Time.
- ^ In addition to .fr, several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas départements and territories: .re, .mq, .gp, .tf, .nc, .pf, .wf, .pm, .gf and .yt. France also uses .eu, shared with other members of the European Union. The .cat domain is used in Catalan-speaking territories.
- ^ The overseas regions and collectivities form part of the French telephone numbering plan, but have their own country calling codes: Guadeloupe +590; Martinique +596; French Guiana +594, Réunion and Mayotte +262; Saint Pierre and Miquelon +508. The overseas territories are not part of the French telephone numbering plan; their country calling codes are: New Caledonia +687, French Polynesia +689; Wallis and Futuna +681
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- ^ (French) OJD, "Observatoire de la Presse", Presse Quotidienne Nationale
- ^ (French) OJD, Presse Gratuite d'Information. November 2011
- ^ (French) Observatoire de la Presse, Presse Quotidienne Régionale et Départementale
- ^ (French) OJD, "Bureau Presse Payante Grand Public", Presse Quotidienne Régionale et Départementale
- ^ (French) Observatoire de la Presse, Presse Magazine – Synthèse
- ^ (French) Observatoire de la Presse, Presse News
- ^ The Telegraph, Nicolas Sarkozy: French media faces 'death' without reform 2 October 2008
- ^ French government portal, Lancement des états généraux de la presse 2 October 2008 [Launching of General State of written media]
- ^ Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, Sarkozy pledges €600m to newspapers, 23 January 2009.
- ^ Radio France, "L'entreprise", Repères. Landmarks of Radio France company
- ^ a b (French) Vie Publique, Chronologie de la politique de l’audiovisuel 20 August 2004 [Chronology of policy for audiovisual]
- ^ "World warming to US under Obama, BBC poll suggests". BBC News. 19 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8626041.stm. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- ^ "Global Views of United States Improve While Other Countries Decline" (PDF). BBC News. 18 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/160410bbcwspoll.pdf. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
- ^ "Germany on Top, U.S. Seventh in Nation Brands IndexSM". Gfk.com. http://www.gfk.com/group/press_information/press_releases/003055/index.en.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ "Muslim-Western tensions persist" (PDF). Pew Research Center. http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2011/07/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Muslim-Western-Relations-FINAL-FOR-PRINT-July-21-2011.pdf. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ^ Britain falls to 25th best place to live in the world... behind Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Mail Online. 7 January 2010
- ^ a b Why France is best place to live in world. CNN. 11 February 2010
- ^ a b France’s human rights policy – France Diplomatie
- ^ France, the country of Human Rights – 1906 : Dreyfus rehabilitated
- ^ Conseil Constitutionnel, Constitution of 4 October 1958 (page 4) "Title I – Of Sovereignty"
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", The 14th of July : The Bastille day
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", The French Flag
- ^ Assemblée Nationale, "History and heritage : La Marseillaise, Rouget de Lisle (1760–1836) and La Marseillaise
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", The national anthem : The Marseillaise
- ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
- ^ The Symbols of the Republic : Marianne on the Official Site of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of France
- ^ (French) French Presidency, "Les symboles de la République française", Le coq
- ^ French rural code L654-27-1
- ^ (French) Cuisine : sommes-nous les meilleurs du monde ?. La Dépêche. 24 February 2008
- ^ French Cuisine – Discover France
- ^ Top 10 Most Tasty Cuisines in the World – Hotel Club Travel Blog
- ^ (French) Ateliers de cuisine française – Art de vivre à Paris
- ^ (French) La Gastronomie Française – Chinese Lovers of France
- ^ About our vacations in France -Cooking Vacations to France
- ^ (French) "Recettes françaises". http://www.delices-du-monde.fr/recettes-francaise.html. – Delices du Monde
- ^ (French) La France du beurre et celle de l'huile d'olive maintiennent leurs positions – Agence France Presse
- ^ "Wines of France". Userweb.cs.utexas.edu. Archived from the original on 2010-02-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20100211145428/http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/walter/wine/france.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ "French Cheese". Goodcooking.com. http://www.goodcooking.com/frcheese.htm. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ French Cheese on Traditional French Food
- ^ "Michelin 3 Star Restaurants around the world". 3starrestaurants.com. 14 December 2006. http://www.3starrestaurants.com/michelin-restaurants-star-guide.asp. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ^ Japan overtakes France with more Michelin-starred restaurants, Gilles Campion | Agence France-Presse | Thu 25 Nov 2010
- ^ http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1
- ^ "Weekly auto agenda: Le Mans". The Independent. June 11, 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/weekly-auto-agenda-le-mans-1997970.html. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- ^ (French) Les licences sportives en France – Insee
- ^ "All you need to know about sport in France". http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "History of the World Cup Final Draw" (PDF). http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ France wins right to host the 2007 rugby world cup. Associated Press. 11 April 2003
- ^ 3 January 2010 (3 January 2010). "The Tour De France: The Most Famous Bicycle Race In The World". Weightlossdietinformation.com. http://www.weightlossdietinformation.com/the-tour-de-france-the-most-famous-bicycle-race-in-the-world.html. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ "Cycling: Tour de France". Faqs.org. http://www.faqs.org/sports-science/Ce-Do/Cycling-Tour-de-France.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ (French) Une course légendaire – Site officiel du 24 heures du Mans
- ^ Hill, Christopher R. (1996). Olympic Politics. Manchester University Press ND. p. 5. ISBN 0-7190-4451-0. http://books.google.com/?id=0o-9AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Olympic History – World Atlas of Travel
- ^ Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. Official Site of the Olympic Movement
- ^ Lausanne, olympic capital – Tourism in Lausanne
- ^ "CNN/SI – World Cup". Sports Illustrated. 1 December 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/events/1998/worldcup/. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (9 July 2006). "BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006 | Zidane off as Italy win World Cup". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- ^ 1984: Platini shines for flamboyant France. UEFA
- ^ 2000: Trezeguet strikes gold for France. UEFA
- ^ Rugby. 123 Voyage
External links[link]
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- France, from the BBC
- France entry at The World Factbook
- France at UCB Libraries GovPubs
- France at the Open Directory Project
- Wikimedia Atlas of France
Geographic data related to France at OpenStreetMap- Key Development Forecasts for France from International Futures
- Economy
- Government
- (French) Élysée.fr – Official site of the French Presidency
- (French) Official Site of the Government
- Official site of the French public service – Links to various administrations and institutions
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members on The World Factbook
- Official site of the National Assembly
- Culture
- Cocorico! French culture
- Contemporary French Civilization, journal, University of Illinois.
- Tourism
- FranceGuide – Official website of the French Government Tourist Office
- France travel guide from Wikitravel
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Martin Solveig | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Martin Laurent Picandet |
| Born | (1976-09-22) 22 September 1976 (age 35) Paris, France |
| Genres | House, Eurodance |
| Occupations | Producer, DJ |
| Instruments | Turntable, vocals |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Mixture Stereophonic, Ministry of Sound Australia |
| Website | www.martinsolveig.com |
Martin Laurent Picandet (French pronunciation: [maʁtɛ̃ pikɑ̃dɛ]) (born 22 September 1976), better known under his stage name Martin Solveig, is a French electronic music DJ and producer from Paris. He also hosts a weekly radio show called "C'est La Vie" on stations worldwide including FG DJ Radio in his homeland. His label is called Mixture Stereophonic. Martin Solveig had been ranked 29th in the 2011 DJ Mag Top 100 DJs popularity poll.[1] He has collaborated with Dragonette, Kele of Bloc Party, and Madonna.
Contents |
History[link]
As a child, Martin Solveig joined the choir of the Petits Chanteurs de Sainte-Croix de Neuilly,[2] where he had a classical music training and became soprano soloist under the direction of François Polgár. At the age of 18, he became a DJ and then started to work in famous Parisian nightclubs : L'Enfer, Le Queen, Les Bains Douches.
Solveig chose his pseudonym as an homage to the French actress Solveig Dommartin.[3]
In 2011, Solveig was officially named as one of the producers for Madonna's new studio album, MDNA.[4]
Discography[link]
Studio albums[link]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [5] |
BEL (FLA) | BEL (WAL) | SWI [6] |
||
| 2002 | Sur la Terre
|
— | — | — | — |
| 2003 | Suite
|
84 | — | — | — |
| 2005 | Hedonist
|
43 | — | 99 | — |
| 2008 | C'est la Vie
|
16 | 99 | 23 | 59 |
| 2011 | Smash
|
18 | — | 37 | 77 |
Compilations[link]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [5] |
BEL (WAL) | SWI [6] |
||
| 2006 | So Far
|
38 | 100 | 85 |
Singles[link]
"Hello" became Martin Solveig's breakthrough song in the world, used in a Trident Gum commercial in 2011. The song earned popularity and eventually became his first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 43. The song also reached number one on dance charts around the world as well as on the Dutch Top 40.
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [5] |
AUS [8] |
AUT [9] |
BEL (FL) [10] |
BEL (WA) [10] |
CAN [11] |
GER [12] |
NLD [13] |
SWI [6] |
UK [14] |
US [15] |
||||
| 2003 | "Madan" (vs. Salif Keita) | 37 | — | — | — | 64 | — | — | 87 | 66 | — | — | Sur La Terre | |
| "Rocking Music" | 47 | 39 | — | 54 | 64 | — | — | 82 | — | 35 | — | |||
| "Heartbeat" [A] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004 | "I'm a Good Man" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 57 | — | ||
| 2005 | "Everybody" | 37 | 33 | — | 28 | 27 | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | Hedonist | |
| 2006 | "Jealousy" | 36 | — | — | 30 | 40 | — | — | — | 60 | 62 | — | ||
| "Something Better" | — | — | — | — | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2007 | "Rejection" (featuring Jay Sebag) | 34 | — | — | 57 | 52 | — | — | — | 55 | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "C'est La Vie" | — | — | — | 53 | 59 | — | — | — | 63 | — | — | C'est La Vie | |
| "I Want You" (featuring Lee Fields) | 59 | — | — | 54 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2009 | "One 2.3 Four" | — | — | — | 52 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Boys & Girls" (featuring Dragonette) | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Smash | ||
| 2010 | "Hello" (with Dragonette) | 5 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 46 | ||
| 2011 | "Ready 2 Go" (featuring Kele) | 20 | — | 49 | 65 | 40 | — | 45 | 24 | 70 | 48 | — | ||
| "Big in Japan" (featuring Dragonette and Idoling!!!) | — | — | — | 37 | 22 | 36 | — | — | — | 118 | — | |||
| 2012 | "The Night Out" | 120 | — | — | 57 | 48 | — | 71 | — | — | 36 | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
Other singles[link]
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Satisfied" (Vinyl only) | Non-album single |
| 1999 | "Heart of Africa / Afro Deep" | Sur La Terre |
| 2000 | "Come with Me" (Vinyl only) | |
| "Destiny" | ||
| "Edony (Clap Your Hands)" [A] | ||
| 2001 | "Mr. President" | |
| 2002 | "Linda" | |
| "Someday" |
Notes:
- A - Solveig was credited as Africanism.
References[link]
- ^ "2011 DJ Mag ranking". Djmag.com. http://www.djmag.com/top100?page=3&year=2011. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ C à vous programme, France 5, February 22nd, 2012
- ^ "Camélia Jordana (biography in French)". web-libre.org. 2009. http://www.web-libre.org/dossiers/martin-solveig,4858.html. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- ^ "First producer announced for Madonna’s (as MTV calls it) ‘first post-Gaga’ album". 6 July 2011. http://absolutemadonna.com/. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "French Charts > Martin Solveig". lescharts.com/. http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Martin+Solveig.
- ^ a b c "Swiss Charts > Martin Solveig". hitparade.ch/. http://hitparade.ch/artist/Martin_Solveig.
- ^ "iTunes - Musique - Smash par Martin Solveig". Itunes.apple.com. http://itunes.apple.com/fr/album/smash/id439636826. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ "Australian Charts > Martin Solveig". australian-charts.com/. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Martin+Solveig.
- ^ "Austrian Charts > Martin Solveig". austriancharts.at/. http://austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Martin+Solveig.
- ^ a b "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/en/search.asp?cat=s&lang=nl&search=martin+solveig. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ "Charts.de: Martin Solveig". Media Control. Charts.de. http://www.charts.de/ersuche.asp?kategorie=chart&interpret_suche=Martin+Solveig&titel_suche=&jahr=&cat=s.
- ^ "Dutch Charts > Martin Solveig". dutchcharts.nl/. http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Martin+Solveig.
- ^ "Martin Solveig". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=92. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=2011-04-23&order=gainer
- ^ "ARIA Charts > Accreditations > 2011 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.auSINGLEaccreds2011.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ "Gold and Platinum Awards". Musiccanada.com. http://musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=&ica=False&sa=&sl=&smt=0&sat=-1&ssd=7/1/2011&sed=9/1/2011&ssb=Artist. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ "Belgian single charts". Ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/certifications.asp?year=2011. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ "German single charts". Musikindustrie.de. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Gold&strInterpret=Martin+Solveig+and+Dragonette&strTtArt=single&strAwards=checked#topSearch. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Swiss single charts". Swisscharts.com. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=hello. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ "Italian Singles Chart > Accreditations > 2011 Singles". Federation of the Italian Music Industry. http://www.fimi.it/temp/cert_Nielsen_week0611.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
- ^ "New Zealand Singles Chart > Accreditations > 2011 Singles". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=61. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ^ "Martin Solveig Says "Hello" to RIAA Gold; Parisian Electronic Superstar's International #1 Hit Proves Equally Successful in the US; Track's Ingenious Video Clip a YouTube Sensation, With 50 Million Views and Counting; Live DJ Sets Slated for Miami & New York City". Marketwire.com. 2011-06-30. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/martin-solveig-says-hello-riaa-gold-parisian-electronic-superstars-international-1-hit-1533440.htm. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
External links[link]
- TwistedHouse.com Martin Solveig Interview
- Martin Solveig Interview (Ibiza,Spain)2006
- Martin Solveig biography
- Top 40 charts record for Martin Solveig
- Martin Solveig İstanbul
|
|||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Solveig, Martin |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 22 September 1976 |
| Place of birth | Paris, France |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Martin_Solveig
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Сольвейг, Мартин
http://fr.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://nl.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://pt.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://de.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://it.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://pl.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://cs.wn.com/Martin Solveig
http://es.wn.com/Martin Solveig
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Solveig
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Lady Gaga | |
|---|---|
 Lady Gaga performing on The Monster Ball Tour in 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta |
| Born | (1986-03-28) March 28, 1986 (age 26) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, dance, electronic |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman, activist |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope |
| Website |
 Lady Gaga's signature |
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/ STE-fə-nee jurr-mə-NAH-tə; born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.
Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.
Influenced by David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Queen, Lady Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré contributions to the music industry through her fashion, performances and music videos. She has sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time and her singles are some of the best selling worldwide.[1] Her achievements include five Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard magazine's Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), ranked fourth in VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, is regularly placed on lists composed by Forbes magazine and was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine.[2][3] In 2012, Gaga was ranked at number four on Billboard's list of top moneymakers of 2011, grossing more than $25 million.[4]
Contents |
Biography[link]
1986–2004: Early life[link]
Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City to parents Cynthia (née Bissett) and Joseph Germanotta, an Internet entrepreneur.[5][6] Descending from Italian and more distant French-Canadian roots, Gaga is the elder of two children.[7][8] Her sister, Natali, a fashion student, was born in 1992.[9][10] Despite her seemingly affluent upbringing in the family home in Manhattan's Upper West Side, Gaga has stressed that she did not come from a wealthy background, stating that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything—my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."[11][12]
From the age of 11, Gaga – who was raised Roman Catholic – attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side.[13][14][15] She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure": "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak."[16][17] Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in at school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate.[18] Gaga began playing the piano at the age of 4, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13, and started to perform at open mike nights by the age of 14.[19][20] Her passion for musical theatre brought her lead roles in high school productions, including Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.[21] She also appeared in a very small role as a mischievous classmate in the television drama series The Sopranos in a 2001 episode titled "The Telltale Moozadell" in addition to unsuccessfully auditioning for parts in New York shows.[11][22]
When her time at the Convent of the Sacred Heart came to an end, her mother encouraged her to apply for the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[11] After becoming one of twenty students to gain early admission, she eventually lived in an NYU dorm on 11th Street by the age of 17.[21] CAP21 prepared her for her future career focus in "music, art, sex and celebrity" where, in addition to sharpening her songwriting skills, she composed essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics, including a thesis on pop artists Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst.[20][23][24] With CAP21, she also tried out for and won auditions, including the part of an unsuspecting diner customer for MTV's Boiling Points, a prank reality television show.[11][25] But Gaga felt more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said.
2005–07: Career beginnings[link]
Gaga withdrew from CAP21 at 19, in the second semester of her sophomore year, deciding to focus on her musical career.[26] Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll at Tisch if unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she remembers.[21] Settled in a small apartment on Rivington Street towards the summer of 2005, Gaga recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book The Portal in the Park, by Cricket Casey.[11][27] She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band (SGBand) with some friends from NYU – guitarist Calvin Pia, bassist Eli Silverman, drummer Alex Beckham and booking manager Frank Fredericks – in September of that year.[11][21] The band played a mixture of songs: some self-penned alongside classic rock numbers like Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er".[11] Playing in bars like the Greenwich Village's The Bitter End and the Lower East Side's the Mercury Lounge, the band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of music producer Joe Vulpis.[11] Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays Words and Red and Blue (both 2005) at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.[21]
SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a musician, appeared as a talent scout for music producer Rob Fusari. Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band – of Gaga's ability and contacted her. With SGBand disbanded, Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer.[11] While in collaboration, Fusari compared some of her vocal harmonies to those of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen.[28] It was Fusari who helped create the moniker Gaga after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga."[29] He explained, "Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song" and that the text message was the result of a predictive text glitch that changed "radio" to "lady". She texted back, "That's it," and declared, "Don't ever call me Stefani again."[29][30] The New York Post, however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting.[18]
Although the musical relationship between Fusari and Gaga was unsuccessful at first, the pair soon set up a company titled Team Lovechild in which they recorded and produced electropop tracks and sent them to music industry bosses.[11] Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R at Def Jam Recordings, responded positively and vied for the record company to take a chance on her "unusual and provocative" performance. After having his boss Antonio "L.A." Reid in agreement, Gaga was signed to Def Jam in September 2006 with the intention of having an album ready in nine months.[11] However, she was dropped by the label after only three months – an unfortunate period of her life that would later inspire her treatment for the music video for her 2011 single "Marry the Night".[31][32] Devastated, Gaga returned to the solace of the family home for Christmas and the nightlife culture of the Lower East Side.[11]
She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini in addition to experimenting with drugs.[11][14] Her father, however, did not understand the reason behind her drug intake and could not look at her for several months.[14][30] "I was onstage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking that had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath and singing songs about oral sex. The kids would scream and cheer and then we'd all go grab a beer. It represented freedom to me. I went to a Catholic school but it was on the New York underground that I found myself."[23] It was then when she became romantically involved with a heavy metal drummer in a relationship and break-up she likened to the musical film Grease: "I was his Sandy, and he was my Danny, and I just broke." He later became an inspiration behind some of her later songs.[33]
During this time, she met performance artist Lady Starlight, who helped mold her on-stage persona.[34] Starlight explained that, upon their first meeting, Gaga wanted to perform with her to songs she had recorded with Fusari. Like SGBand, the pair soon began performing at many of the downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall. Their live performance art piece was known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue" and, billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts.[35][36] Soon after, the two were invited to play at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival in August that year.[37] The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.[20][35] Having initially focused on avant-garde electronic dance music, Gaga had found her musical niche when she began to incorporate pop melodies and the glam rock of David Bowie and Queen into her music.[38]
While Gaga and Starlight were busy performing, producer Rob Fusari continued to work on the songs he had created with Gaga. Fusari sent these songs to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert.[39] Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007.[40] Gaga later credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going."[39] Having served as an apprentice songwriter under an internship at Famous Music Publishing, which was later acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Gaga subsequently struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV.[41] As a result, she was hired to write songs for Britney Spears and labelmates New Kids on the Block, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.[41] At Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio.[42] Akon then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live, making her his "franchise player."[31][43]
As 2007 came to a close, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed.[44] The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's "Girls, Girls, Girls" and AC/DC's "T.N.T.".[30][44] Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album and also joined the roster of Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint established by producer and songwriter Martin Kierszenbaum, after co-writing four songs with Kierszenbaum including the singles "Christmas Tree" and "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)".[41] Despite her secure record deal, she admitted that there was fear about her being too "racy", "dance-orientated" and "underground" for the mainstream market. Her response: "My name is Lady Gaga, I've been on the music scene for years, and I'm telling you, this is what's next."[15]
[edit] 2008–10: The Fame and The Fame Monster
By 2008, Gaga had relocated to Los Angeles in order to work extensively with her record label to complete her debut album and set up her own creative team Haus of Gaga, modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory.[30][45] The Fame was first released on August 19, 2008 to slow radio play. Gaga supported it by performing around Europe and in small gay clubs around the US in addition to being billed as a supporting artist on the North American leg of New Kids on the Block's reunion concert tour.[46][47] A sleeper hit, lead single "Just Dance" had preceded the album's release by four months but only hit the summit of the international charts in January 2009, provoking the instant success of the album, earning her first Grammy Award nomination (for Best Dance Recording) and becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide.[46][48] Gaga achieved a greater unexpected success when "Poker Face", another sleeper hit, reached number one in most major music markets worldwide in early 2009, selling 9.8 million singles worldwide.[49][50] The follow-up single won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
The Fame itself was nominated for Album of the Year while winning Best Dance/Electronica Album at the same ceremony.[51] Contemporary critics lauded the album, describing it as an exploration of her obsession with fame and the intricacies of a rich and famous lifestyle, noting its combination of genres "from Def Leppard drums and hand claps to metal drums on urban tracks", the inspiration drawn from 1980s synthpop and incorporation of dance music with clear hooks.[31] The Fame went to number one in Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK and appeared in the top five in Australia, the US and 15 other countries.[52][53] It also stayed atop the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 106 non-consecutive weeks and, since its release, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.[54] The album's success spawned many 2009 honors including Billboard magazine's Rising Star award and the accumulation of 3 of 9 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, winning Best New Artist with the video for her single "Paparazzi" gaining Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects.[55][56] In addition to being an opening act on the Pussycat Dolls' Doll Domination Tour during the first half of 2009 in Europe and Oceania, she also embarked on her own six-month critically appreciated worldwide concert tour The Fame Ball Tour which ran from March to September 2009.[57][58]
While she traveled the globe, she wrote The Fame Monster, an EP of eight songs released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Making Gaga the first artist in digital history to have three singles (alongside "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales, its lead single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries and reached the top two in the US, Australia and New Zealand while accruing the Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video.[59] The second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number one single; its accompanying music video, although controversial, received positive reception from contemporary critics who praised her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna."[60][61] Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its ideas and dark nature but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her alleged use of blasphemy.[62] Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they made Gaga the first artist to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube.[63] At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga won 8 of her 13 nominations, including Video of the Year for "Bad Romance" (with "Telephone" also nominated), which made her the first female artist to be nominated twice for the award.[64][65] In addition, The Fame Monster garnered a total of six nominations at the 53rd Grammy Awards – equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received – winning Best Pop Vocal Album and earning her a second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year.[66][67]
The success of the album allowed Gaga to start her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of The Fame Monster and months after having finished The Fame Ball Tour.[68] Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished tour ran for over one and a half years and grossed $227.4 million, making it one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time and the highest-grossing for a debut headlining artist.[69] Concerts performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a HBO television special titled Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden. The special accrued one of its five Emmy Award nominations and has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray.[70] Gaga also performed songs from the album at international events such as the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.[71] Other performances may have included her participation in Michael Jackson's This Is It concert series at London's O2 Arena. "I was actually asked to open for Michael on his tour," she stated. "We were going to open for him at the O2 and we were working on making it happen. I believe there was some talk about us, lots of the openers, doing duets with Michael on stage."[72]
In 2009 she collaborated with consumer electronic company Monster Cable Products to create a pair of in-ear jewel-encrusted headphones titled Heartbeats. "They are designed to be the first ever fashion accessories that double as the absolute best sonically sounding headphones in the world," she commented.[73] Gaga also partnered with Polaroid in January 2010 as their Creative Director.[74] Excited about "blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era," Gaga unveiled the first trio of new products called Grey Label: a pair of picture-taking sunglasses, a paperback-sized mobile printing unit and an updated version of the traditional Polaroid camera at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show.[75] But her collaboration with past producer Rob Fusari led to her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, being sued in March 2010 when he claimed that he was entitled to a 20% share of the company's earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, but five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed both the lawsuit and a countersuit by Gaga.[76][77] In addition to such strife, Gaga was tested borderline positive for lupus, but claimed not to be affected by the symptoms. The revelations caused considerable dismay among fans, leading to Gaga addressing the matter in an interview with Larry King, saying she hopes to avoid symptoms by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.[78][79]
[edit] 2011–present: Born This Way
Gaga released her second studio album and third major release, Born This Way, on May 23, 2011. Described as a marriage of electronic music with metal, rock 'n' roll, pop and anthemic style melodies with sledge-hammering dance beats and referred to as an album "about what what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid," Gaga characterized it as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and, upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she is taking music to the "next level."[80][81] Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its range of different styles and her vocals.[82][83] Born This Way sold 1.108 million copies in its first week in the US, debuted atop the Billboard 200, and topped the charts in more than 20 other countries.[84] In addition to exceeding 8 million copies in worldwide sales, Born This Way received 3 Grammy Award nominations, including her third consecutive for Album of the Year.[85]
In the months prior to its unveiling, Gaga released the singles "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory" alongside promotional single "Hair". The eponymous lead single, first sung live at the 53rd Grammy Awards in a performance that saw Gaga emerge from an egg-like vessel, deals with self-acceptance regardless of race or sexual orientation. The single debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the 19th number-one debut and the 1,000th number-one single in the history of the charts.[86] It sold more than 3 million digital copies in the US by October 2011, becoming her eighth consecutive single to exceed sales of 2 million and, with worldwide sales of 8.2 million copies by November 2011, one of her five best-selling singles worldwide.[87] Critics noted artistic and cultural references and praised the concept of the song's accompanying music video, in which Gaga gives birth to a new race amidst surrealistic images.[88][89] The video for "Judas", in which Gaga portrays Mary Magdalene, and Biblical figures such as Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot are also featured, was criticized for its religious references but received acclaim for its overall delivery and praise from others who claimed that there was nothing offensive about it.[90] "Judas" also peaked within the top ten in several major musical markets, while "The Edge of Glory", first a commercial success in digital outlets, was later released as a single to critical appreciation, accompanied by a video which was notably stripped down from her usually "extravagant" efforts.[91][92] She released "You and I" and "Marry the Night" as the following singles from Born This Way. Although their "crazy and ambitious" videos were praised for their audacity, both songs failed to match the similar international success that their predecessors achieved.[93]
Gaga continued her musical endeavors by pairing with veteran artists like Tony Bennett to record a jazz version of "The Lady Is a Tramp".[94] She also recorded a duet with Cher on a "massive" and "beautiful" track, which Gaga "wrote a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason."[95] Gaga also lent her vocals to an original duet with Elton John for the animated feature film Gnomeo & Juliet. The song, "Hello, Hello", was released without Gaga's vocals but the duet version features in the film.[96][97] She also continued her live appearances throughout 2011, performing a one-of-a-kind concert at the Sydney Town Hall on July 13 in promotion of Born This Way and at the celebration of former US president Bill Clinton's 65th birthday, wearing a blond wig as a nod to the famous performance of Marilyn Monroe for John F. Kennedy and changing the lyrics to "You and I" specifically for the performance.[98] Televised appearances comprised her own Thanksgiving Day television special entitled A Very Gaga Thanksgiving which was critically lauded, attained 5.749 million American viewers, and spawned the release of her fourth extended play A Very Gaga Holiday.[99] Her second performance on Saturday Night Live saw her singing a selection of Born This Way songs alongside appearing in number of sketches with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg.[100] In March 2012, Gaga was ranked at number four on Billboard's list of top moneymakers of 2011, grossing $25,353,039 dollars, which includes sales from Born This Way and her Monster Ball Tour.[4]
In early 2012, Gaga stated that songs for a new album were "beginning to flourish" as she worked with producer Fernando Garibay, while the accompanying tour for Born This Way was materializing.[101][102] Gaga's manager, Vincent Herbert, revealed that Gaga will is working on her upcoming album during the tour, stating that the material is "insane, great records."[103] The Born This Way Ball Tour began on April 27, 2012, at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.[104] The tour was met with protests from several religious groups who denounced the tour as satanic and against religious values, resulting in protests mainly from the Islamic Defenders Front, causing a cancellation in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, where Gaga was denied a license to perform. The concert however was still in question as concert promoters were optimistic that the performance will in fact go on. However, due to threats of violence from Muslim hardliners, Gaga decided to cancel the concert although 52,000 tickets have sold out in just a few days.[105][106][107] On May 20, 2012, Gaga guest-starred on the 23rd season finale of The Simpsons entitled "Lisa Goes Gaga".[108]
Artistry[link]
Influences[link]
Gaga's parents, who exposed her to artists like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and Elton John had significant influence on her childhood and, presently, still do.[109] "I am a real family girl. When it comes to love and loyalty, I am very old-fashioned. And I am quite down-to-earth for such an eccentric person," she insists.[110] "I'm quite traditional in the family sense. I've always been that way."[109] According to Gaga, Joanne Germanotta – her aunt who died of lupus aged 19 – lives on through her and inspires all of her music and art.[111] Joanne's date of death is tattooed on Gaga's body and, despite dying 12 years before her birth, Gaga commented, "I really believe I have two hearts. I think I actually carry two souls in my body, and that I'm living out the rest of her life and her goodness – she died a virgin, she died never having experienced all these things that we all get to love and experience in our lives."[112] Another spiritual influence on Gaga has been the Indian physician, public speaker and writer Deepak Chopra. Labeling him a "true inspiration", she stated that "he's always reminded me to work in a life of service to my fans and to fulfill my vision and my destiny" in addition to thinking about Chopra when it comes to her work as a musician: "I want so much for it to go beyond the music for my fans."[113]
Musically, Gaga takes influence from numerous musicians from dance-pop singers like Madonna and Michael Jackson to glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen whilst employing the theatrics of artists like Andy Warhol and of her musical theatre roots in performance.[31][114][115] The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique—one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music," she commented.[18][114][116] Gaga receives regular comparisons to recording artist Madonna who admits that she sees herself reflected in Gaga.[117] In response to the comparisons, Gaga stated, "I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I've made it my goal to revolutionize pop music. The last revolution was launched by Madonna 25 years ago" in addition to commenting that "there is really no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan personally and professionally."[114][118] Like Madonna, Gaga has continued to reinvent herself and, over the years of her career, has drawn musical inspiration from a diverse mix of artists including Whitney Houston, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie singer Debbie Harry, Scissor Sisters, Prince, Marilyn Manson, Yoko Ono, and Britney Spears.[119]
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Gaga has been influenced by a wide-range of artists as to which she has played homages to, including Madonna (left) and Bruce Springsteen. (Right)
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Gaga has mentioned Spears in several interviews, and revealed, "Britney certainly doesn’t need any freakin’ tips from me! Britney Spears is the queen of pop. I was learning from her."[120] Gaga also paid tribute to Spears during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards with the MTV Video Vanguard Award, adding that the pop singer "taught us all how to be fearless, and the industry wouldn't be the same without her."[121]
Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence and has been stylistically compared to English eccentrics Leigh Bowery and Isabella Blow and to American recording artist Cher.[14][26][110][122] She commented that "as a child, she somehow absorbed Cher's out-there fashion sense and made it her own."[122] She has considered Donatella Versace her muse and the late British fashion designer and close friend Alexander McQueen as an inspiration, admitting that "I miss Lee every time I get dressed" while channeling him in some of her work.[14][78] Modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory, Gaga has her own creative production team, which she handles personally, called the Haus of Gaga, who create many of her clothes, stage props, and hairdos.[123] Her adoration of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful."[6] "When I'm writing music, I'm thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It's all about everything altogether—performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it's everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us."[26] The Global Language Monitor named "Lady Gaga" as the Top Fashion Buzzword with her trademark "no pants" a close third.[124] Entertainment Weekly put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."[125] Gaga made her runway debut at Thierry Mugler's Paris fashion show in March 2011 where she wore items from Nicola Formichetti's debut women's wear collection.[126] In June of the same year, she won the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for Fashion Icon.[127] Time Magazine placed Gaga on their "All-Time 100 Fashion Icons List" amongst some of Gaga's inspirations such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the The Beatles, stating: "Lady Gaga is just as notorious for her outrageous style as she is for her pop hits. After all, Gaga, born Stefani Germanotta, has sported outfits made from plastic bubbles, Kermit the Frog dolls, and raw meat."[128] She has since devoted her time as a fashion columnist for V magazine, where she has written about her creative process, her studying of the world of pop culture, and her ability to tune into the evolution of pop-culture meme.[129]
In August 2011 she sent to her 15 millions followers that she had at that time on Twitter, a quote about creativity from the book "Creativity"[130] by Osho,[131] which led journalists, on October 28, of the same year, on her arrival to India for the inauguration of a big Formula One motorsport event,[132] to ask her about her connection to him, to which Gaga said she was influenced by his work and that for her, "the creativity is the greatest way of rebellion": "Equality", she concluded, "is one of the most important things in my life".[133]
Musical style[link]
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A 30-second sample of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" featuring the chorus sung by Lady Gaga and Colby O'Donis in the range of B3 to C♯, backed by a synth marching beat. The song became her first international hit single and sold 7.7 million copies worldwide.
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Continually experimenting with new musical ideas and images, Gaga's musical and performance style is the subject of much analysis and scrutiny from critics. She professes that she is "liberating" herself by constantly reinventing her sound and image, insisting that she has been drawn to such a practice since her childhood.[134] Vocally, Gaga possesses the range of a contralto and exhibits "overwhelming expression, instinctive vocal phrasing, '80s rock reminiscent chest belts and animalistic vocal ticks" while being able to move through 2.4 octaves.[135][136] Refusing to lip sync, Gaga – whose range is frequently compared to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani – has manipulated her vocal style over the course of her career yet considers Born This Way (2011) "much more vocally up to par with what I've always been capable of."[137][138] In summation of her voice, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "There's an immense emotional intelligence behind the way she uses her voice. Almost never does she overwhelm a song with her vocal ability, recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung power."[139]
Although her early lyrics have been criticized for lacking intellectual stimulation, "[Gaga] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace."[140] She admits that her songwriting has been misinterpreted; her friend and blogger Perez Hilton articulated her message in a clearer way: "you write really deep intelligent lyrics with shallow concepts." Gaga opined, "Perez is very intelligent and clearly listened to my record from beginning to end, and he is correct."[141] "I love songwriting. It's so funny – I will just jam around in my underwear or I could be washing my dishes. I wrote several songs just at the piano," she confesses.[141] Gaga believes that "all good music can be played at a piano and still sound like a hit."[142] She has covered a wide variety of topics in her songs: while The Fame (2008) meditates on the lust for stardom, The Fame Monster (2009) expresses fame's dark side through monster metaphors. Born This Way (2011) is sung in English, French, German and Spanish and includes common themes in Gaga's controversial songwriting like love, sex, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation, sexuality, freedom and individualism.[143][144]
The structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop.[145] Her debut album The Fame (2008) provoked The Sunday Times to assert "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, [Gaga] evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now" and a critic from The Boston Globe to comment that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats."[146][147] Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B-ish beats."[148] The follow-up The Fame Monster (2009), saw Gaga's taste for pastiche, drawing on "Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q" while Born This Way (2011) also draws on the records of her childhood and still has the "electro-sleaze beats and Eurodisco chorus chants" of its predecessor but includes genres as diverse as opera, heavy metal, disco, and rock and roll.[143] "There isn't a subtle moment on the album, but even at its nuttiest, the music is full of wide-awake emotional details," wrote Rolling Stone, who concluded: "The more excessive Gaga gets, the more honest she sounds."[144]
Music videos and performances[link]
With constant costume changes, backup dancers, and provocative visuals, Gaga's music videos are often described as short films.[149] "Being provocative is not just about getting people's attention. It's about saying something that really affects people in a real way, in a positive way," she professes.[149] Exploring bondage and sadomasochism in addition to highlighting prevalent feminist themes, "the three central themes that shape Lady Gaga's music videos are sex, violence, and power."[150] "Vaudevillian and carnal, Lady Gaga has got the knack of sending rape-like fantasies—in songs and videos that double as catch club hits—to the top of the charts," wrote one critic.[151] "Whether it is physical violence or sexual exploitation, these videos offer vivid depictions of male power over women's bodies," wrote another.[150] While she labels herself "a little bit of a feminist" (she rejects man-hating feminism) and asserts that she is "sexually empowering women,"[151] Gaga strives to empower young women to stand up for what they believe in.[150] She also attempts to liberate her fans so they can feel "less alone."[152] "She not only reiterates her assertion of total originality," professed pop critic Ann Powers, "but also finesses it until it's both a philosophical stance about how constructing a persona from pop-cultural sources can be an expression of a person's truth—a la those drag queens Gaga sincerely admires—and a bit of a feminist act."[153] In summation of her videos, Rolling Stone used the rhetoric: "does anyone look to a Lady Gaga video for restraint?"[93]
Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV.[154] She continued the "blood soaked" theme during The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and was "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people.[155] "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence.[156] Her unconventionality continued at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards: performing in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, and delivering a lovesick monologue before a performance of her song "You and I".[157] Some have defended her flamboyant and provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," Chris Rock said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?"[158] As Gaga's choreographer and creative director, Laurieann Gibson provided material for her shows and videos for four years. However, the pair parted in November 2011; Gaga replacing her with Gibson's assistant Richard Jackson.[159] Gaga admits to being a perfectionist when it comes to her elaborate shows. "I'm very bossy. I can scream my head off if I see one light fixture out. I'm very detailed – every minute of the show has got to be perfect."[149]
Public image[link]
See also: Lady Gaga on Twitter
While Rolling Stone named Gaga the "Queen of Pop" in 2011, public reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed.[160] Her status as a role model, self-esteem booster for her fans, trailblazer and fashion icon who breathes new life into the industry is by turns affirmed and denied.[161] Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews and critics have pointed out her unique place in pop music, the need for new movements in popular culture, the attention Gaga brings to modern social issues, and the inherently subjective nature of her art.[162] In view of her influence on modern culture and her rise to global fame, sociologist Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina has organized a course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" since spring 2011 with the objective of unravelling "some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga."[163] When Gaga briefly met with US president Barack Obama at a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser, he described the interaction as "intimidating" as she was dressed in 16-inch heels making her undoubtedly the tallest woman in the room.[164]
Contrary to her outré style, the New York Post described her early look as like "a refugee from Jersey Shore" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes."[18] Gaga is a natural brunette; she bleached her hair blonde because she was often mistaken for Amy Winehouse.[6] She has nine tattoos on the left side of her body (her father has banned etchings on her right): a unicorn head with a ribbon wrapped around its horn that says "Born This Way"; a small heart with "dad" written inside it; several white roses; a treble clef; three daises; "Tokyo Love" with a little heart; "Little Monsters" written in cursive; a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon, whom she stated was her hero; and a curling German script on her left arm quoting the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, her favorite writer, commenting that his "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her.[116][165] In a question posed about the necessary procedure to attach the prosthetics to give the unconventional appearance of recent horn-like ridges on her cheekbones, temples, and shoulders, Gaga responded, "They're not prosthetics, they're my bones." She also clarified that they were not the result of plastic surgery, believing such surgery to only be the modern byproduct of fame-induced insecurity to which she does not subscribe. The interviewer's further probing brought Gaga to the conclusion that they are an artistic representation of her inner inspirational light and part of the "performance piece" that is her musical persona: an inevitability of her becoming who she now is.[166]
Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up.[14] Aguilera stated that she was "completely unaware of [Gaga]" and "didn't know if it [was] a man or a woman."[14] Gaga released a statement in which she welcomed the comparisons due to the attention providing useful publicity, saying, "She's such a huge star and if anything I should send her flowers, because a lot of people in America didn't know who I was until that whole thing happened. It really put me on the map in a way."[167][168] When interviewed by Barbara Walters for her annual ABC News special 10 Most Fascinating People in 2009, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny."[169] In addition to Aguilera's statement, comparisons continued into 2010, when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance".[170] There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.[171]
While devout followers call Gaga "Mother Monster", Gaga often refers to her fans as "Little Monsters" which has been tattooed on "the arm that holds my mic" in dedication.[172][173] Her treatment of her "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image.[174] To some, this dichotomy contravenes the concept of outsider culture. Camille Paglia in her 2010 cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" in The Sunday Times asserts that Gaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those."[175][176] Writing for The Guardian, Kitty Empire opined that the dichotomy "...allows the viewer to have a 'transgressive' experience without being required to think. At [her performance's] core, though, is the idea that Gaga is at one with the freaks and outcasts. The Monster Ball is where we can all be free. This is arrant nonsense, as the scads of people buying Gaga's cunningly commercial music are not limited to the niche worlds of drag queens and hip night creatures from which she draws her inspiration. But Gaga seems sincere."[177]
Philanthropy[link]
Besides her career in music, Gaga has also contributed to various charities. For natural disasters, Gaga has helped various relief efforts. Although declining an invitation to appear on the single "We Are the World 25" to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she donated the proceeds of her January 24, 2010 concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall to the country's reconstruction relief fund.[178] All profits from her official online store on that day were also donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of US$500,000 was collected for the fund.[179] Hours after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, Gaga tweeted a message and a link to Japan Prayer Bracelets. All revenue from a bracelet she designed in conjunction with the company was donated to relief efforts.[180] As of March 29, 2011, the bracelets raised $1.5 million.[181] However, attorney Alyson Oliver filed a lawsuit against Gaga in Detroit in June 2011, noting that the bracelet was subject to a sales tax and an extra $3.99 shipping charge was added to the price. She also believed that not all proceeds from the bracelets would go to the relief efforts, demanding a public accounting of the campaign and refunds for people who had bought the bracelet. Gaga's spokesperson called the lawsuit "meritless" and "misleading".[182] On June 25, 2011, Gaga performed at MTV Japan's charity show in Makuhari Messe, which benefited the Japanese Red Cross.[183]
HIV and AIDS[link]
Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS, focusing on educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company's campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide.[184] In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick."[185] The sales of Gaga-endorsed Viva Glam lipstick and lipgloss have raised more than $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS.[3]
Born This Way Foundation[link]
Main article: Born This Way Foundation
As a humanitarian, she has launched her own non-profit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on youth empowerment and issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring, and career development. "My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation," Gaga said in a statement about the foundation, which takes its name from the 2011 single and album. "Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." The foundation will work with a number of partners, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.[186] She also jumped into the debate surrounding SB 1070, Arizona's recently-enacted anti-immigration law, after premiering her Born This Way song "Americano" on the Guadalajara stop of The Monster Ball Tour in Mexico, telling the local press that she could not "stand by many of the unjust immigration laws" in the US.[187] A devoted advocate for the LGBT community, Gaga is also an outspoken activist for LGBT rights worldwide.[188] On February 29, 2012, Gaga and Oprah Winfrey visited Harvard University to launch her Born This Way Foundation.
LGBT advocacy[link]
Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a gay icon.[189] Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase."[190] She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of The Fame, saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team."[191] One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance".[192] In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.[193]
After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'."[33] When she appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May 2009, she praised DeGeneres for being "an inspiration for women and for the gay community".[194] She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009 National Equality March rally on the National Mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays,"[195] similar to her 2009 MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech for Best New Artist a month earlier.[196] At the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, held the same weekend as the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality.[197]
Gaga attended the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards accompanied by four service members of the United States Armed Forces (Mike Almy, David Hall, Katie Miller and Stacy Vasquez), all of whom, under the United States military's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, had been prohibited from serving openly because of their sexuality.[198] In addition, Gaga wore a meat dress to the ceremony which was supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat that were all fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal.[199] Partly awarded in recognition of the dress, Vogue.com UK named her one of the Best Dressed people of 2010 while Time magazine's named the dress the Fashion Statement of 2010, it received divided opinions – evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA.[200][201][202] She denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community, adding that "If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones."[203]
She later released three videos on YouTube urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to overturn the policy. In late September 2010 she spoke at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's "4the14K" Rally in Deering Oaks Park in Portland, Maine. The name of the rally signified the number – an estimated 14,000 – of service members discharged under the DADT policy at the time. During her remarks, she urged members of the U.S. Senate (and in particular, moderate Republican Senators from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins) to vote in favor of legislation that would repeal the DADT policy. Following this event, editors of The Advocate commented that she had become "the real fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians, one that Barack Obama had promised to be.[204][205]
Gaga appeared at Europride, a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, held in Rome in June 2011. In a nearly twenty-minute speech, she criticized the intolerant state of gay rights in many European countries and described homosexuals as "revolutionaries of love" before performing acoustic renderings of "Born This Way" and "The Edge of Glory" in front of thousands at the Circus Maximus.[206][207] She stated that "Today and every day we fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now".[208] Gaga revealed that she is often questioned why she dedicates herself to "gayspeak" and "how gay" she is, to which, she told the audience: "Why is this question, why is this issue so important? My answer is: I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place." She then joked: "On a gay scale from 1 to 10, I'm a Judy Garland fucking 42."[209]
Discography[link]
For the full list, see Lady Gaga discography.
- The Fame (2008)
- The Fame Monster (2009)
- Born This Way (2011)
Filmography[link]
- Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden (2011)
- A Very Gaga Thanksgiving (2011)
- "Lisa Goes Gaga" (The Simpsons episode) (2012)
- Men in Black 3 (Plays the role of an alien.) (2012)[210]
Concert tours[link]
- The Fame Ball Tour (2009)
- Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga (2009–10) (cancelled)
- The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)
- The Born This Way Ball Tour (2012–13)
See also[link]
 |
Book: Lady Gaga |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
- List of awards and nominations received by Lady Gaga
- Honorific nicknames in popular music
- List of best-selling music artists
References[link]
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- ^ Review: Unnecessary ‘Men in Black 3’ just O‘K’ compared to predecessors - a-e - The Lantern - Ohio State University
Further reading[link]
- Herbert, Emily (2010). Lady Gaga: Queen of Pop. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84454-963-4.
- Goodman, Elizabeth (2010). Lady Gaga: Critical Mass Fashion. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-66840-6.
- Morgan, Johnny (2010). Gaga. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 1-4027-8059-1.
- Parvis, Sarah (2010). Lady Gaga. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-9795-6.
- Phoenix, Helia (2010). Lady Gaga: Just Dance—The Biography. Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4091-1567-0.
- Monster Anthems (2011) by Robert Christgau
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lady Gaga |
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lady Gaga |
- Official website
- Lady Gaga at Allmusic
- Lady Gaga at AllRovi
- Lady Gaga discography at Discogs
- Lady Gaga on Facebook
- Lady Gaga at the Internet Movie Database
- Lady Gaga collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Lady Gaga collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Lady Gaga collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
- Works by or about Lady Gaga in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Slide show Vanity Fair
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Germanotta, Stefani Joanne Angelina |
| Alternative names | Lady Gaga |
| Short description | American pop singer |
| Date of birth | March 28, 1986 |
| Place of birth | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
 Bolt at Berlin World Championships 2009 |
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| Nickname(s) | Lightning Bolt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Jamaican | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1986-08-21) 21 August 1986 (age 25)[1] Trelawny, Jamaica[2] |
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| Residence | Kingston, Jamaica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (200 lb)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Sprints | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Racers Track Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal best(s) |
100 m: 9.58 WR (Berlin 2009)[4] |
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Medal record
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.svg){kind=small}
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. ( /ˈjuːseɪn/;[8] born 21 August 1986), is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and (along with his teammates) the 4×100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events, and is one of only seven athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.
Bolt won a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition's youngest-ever gold medalist at the time (since surpassed by Jacko Gill). In 2004, at the CARIFTA Games, he became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in less than 20 seconds with a time of 19.93 s,[9] breaking the previous world junior record held by Roy Martin by two-tenths of a second. He turned professional in 2004, and although he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he missed most of the next two seasons due to injuries. In 2007, he broke Don Quarrie's 200 m Jamaican record with a run of 19.75 s.
His 2008 season began with his first world record performance—a 100 m world record of 9.72 s—and culminated in world and Olympic records in both the 100 m and 200 m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. He ran 9.69 s for the 100 m and 19.30 s in the 200 m, and also set a 4×100 m relay record of 37.10 s with the Jamaican team. This made him the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. The following year he further lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships.[10] This made him the first man to hold both the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.
His 2009 record breaking margin over 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements.[11] His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt",[12] and awards including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and Laureus Sportsman of the Year.
Contents |
Early years[link]
Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content,[13] a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica, and grew up with his parents, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt, his brother Sadeeki,[14] and his sister Sherine.[2][15] His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother,[16] later saying, "When I was young, I didn’t really think about anything other than sports".[17]
As a child, he attended Waldensia Primary and All-age School, and it was here that he first began to show his sprinting potential, running in the annual national primary-schools' meeting for his parish.[12] By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over the 100 metres distance.[18]
Upon his entry to William Knibb Memorial High School, Bolt continued to focus on other sports, but his cricket coach noticed Bolt's speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events.[19] Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete,[20] and Dwayne Barrett coached Bolt, encouraging him to focus his energy on improving his athletic abilities. The school had a history of success in athletics with past students, including sprinter Michael Green.[12] Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001, taking the silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.04 seconds.[12] McNeil soon became his primary coach, and the two enjoyed a positive partnership, although McNeil was occasionally frustrated by Bolt's lack of dedication to his training and his predisposition to practical jokes.[20]
Early competitions[link]
Performing for Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best of 48.28 s in the 400 metres in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, winning a silver medal. The 200 m also yielded a silver as Bolt finished in 21.81 s.[21]
He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Running in the 200 m event, he failed to qualify for the finals, but he still set a new personal best of 21.73 s.[22] Bolt still did not take athletics or himself too seriously, however, and he took his mischievousness to new heights by hiding in the back of a van when he was supposed to be preparing for the 200 m finals at the CARIFTA Trials. He was detained by the police for his practical joke, and there was an outcry from the local community, which blamed coach McNeil for the incident.[20] However, the controversy subsided, and both McNeil and Bolt went to the CARIFTA Games, where Bolt set championship records in the 200 m and 400 m with times of 21.12 s and 47.33 s, respectively.[21] He continued to set records with 20.61 s and 47.12 s finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships.[23]
Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson recognised Bolt's talent and arranged for him to move to Kingston, along with Jermaine Gonzales, so he could train with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) at the University of Technology, Jamaica.[20]
Rise to prominence[link]
The 2002 World Junior Championships before a home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica, gave Bolt a chance to prove his credentials on the world stage. By the age of 15, he had grown to 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall, and he physically stood out amongst his peers.[12] He won the 200 m, in a time of 20.61 s,[24] 0.03 seconds slower than his personal best of 20.58 s set in the 1st round.[25] Bolt's 200 m win made him the youngest world-junior gold medalist ever.[26] The expectation from the home crowd had made him so nervous that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet. However, it turned out to be a revelatory experience for Bolt as he vowed never again to let himself be affected by pre-race nerves.[27] As a member of the Jamaican sprint relay team, he also took two silver medals and set national junior records in the 4×100 metres and 4×400 metres relay, running times of 39.15 s and 3:04.06 minutes respectively.[28][29]
The flow of medals continued as he won four gold medals at the 2003 CARIFTA Games, and was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games.[30][31][32] He won another gold at the 2003 World Youth Championships. He set a new championship record in the 200 m with a time of 20.40 s, despite a 1.1 m/s head wind.[33] Michael Johnson, the 200 m world-record holder, took note of Bolt's potential but worried that the young sprinter might be over-pressured, stating, "It's all about what he does three, four, five years down the line".[34] Bolt had also impressed the athletics hierarchy, and he received the IAAF Rising Star Award for 2002.[35]
Bolt turned his main focus to the 200 m and equalled Roy Martin's world junior record of 20.13 s at the Pan-American Junior Championships.[12][36] This performance attracted interest from the press, and his times in the 200 m and 400 m led to him being touted as a possible successor to Johnson. Indeed, at sixteen years old, Bolt had reached times that Johnson did not register until he was twenty, and Bolt's 200 m time was superior to Maurice Greene's season's best that year.[34]
In his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003, he broke both the 200 m and 400 m records with times of 20.25 s and 45.30 s, respectively. Bolt's runs were a significant improvement upon the previous records, beating the 200 m best by more than half a second and the 400 m record by almost a second.[12]
Bolt was growing more popular in his homeland. Howard Hamilton, who was given the task of Public Defender by the government, urged the JAAA to nurture him and prevent burnout, calling Bolt "the most phenomenal sprinter ever produced by this island".[34] His popularity and the attractions of the capital city were beginning to be a burden to the young sprinter. Bolt was increasingly unfocused on his athletic career and preferred to eat fast food, play basketball, and party in Kingston's club scene. In the absence of a disciplined lifestyle, he became ever-more reliant on his natural ability to beat his competitors on the track.[37]
As the reigning 200 m champion at both the World Youth and World Junior championships, Bolt hoped to take a clean sweep of the world 200 m championships in the Senior World Championships in Paris.[12] Bolt beat all comers at the 200 m in the World Championship trials, but he was pragmatic about his chances and noted that, even if he did not make the final, he would consider setting a personal best a success.[34][38] However, he suffered a bout of conjunctivitis before the event, and it ruined his training schedule.[12] Realising he would not be in peak condition, the JAAA refused to let him participate in the finals on the grounds that he was too young and inexperienced. Bolt was dismayed at missing out on the opportunity, but focused on getting himself in shape to gain a place on the Jamaican Olympic team instead.[38] Even though he missed the World Championships, Bolt was awarded the IAAF Rising Star Award for the 2003 season on the strength of his junior record-equalling run.[35]
Professional athletics career[link]
Early Professional Career (2004 – 2007)[link]
Under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman, Bolt turned professional in 2004, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda.[12] He became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under twenty seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93 s.[12][26] For the second time in the role, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2004 CARIFTA Games.[39][30][31] A hamstring injury in May ruined Bolt's chances of competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships, but he was still chosen for the Jamaican Olympic squad.[40] Bolt headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics with confidence and a new record on his side. However, he was hampered by a leg injury and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres with a disappointing time of 21.05 s.[1][41] American colleges offered Bolt track scholarships on the strength of his performances, but the teenager from Trelawny refused them all, stating that he was content to stay in his homeland of Jamaica.[15] Bolt instead chose the surroundings of the University of Technology, Jamaica, as his professional training ground, staying with the university's primitive track and weight room that had served him well in his amateur years.[42]
The year 2005 signalled a fresh start for Bolt in the form of a new coach, Glen Mills, and a new attitude to athletics. Mills recognised Bolt's potential and aimed to cease the sprinter's unprofessional approach to the sport.[41] Bolt began training with Mills in preparation for the upcoming athletics season, partnering with more-seasoned sprinters such as Kim Collins and Dwain Chambers.[43] The year began well, and in July he knocked more than a third of a second off the 200 m CAC Championship record with a run of 20.03 s,[44] then registered his 200 m season's best at London's Crystal Palace, running in 19.99 s.[1] Misfortune awaited Bolt at the next major event, the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Bolt felt that both his work ethic and athleticism had much improved since the 2004 Olympics, and he saw the World Championships as a way to live up to expectations, stating, "I really want to make up for what happened in Athens. Hopefully, everything will fall into place".[45] Bolt qualified with runs under 21 s, but he suffered an injury in the final, finishing in last place with a time of 26.27 s.[41][46] Injuries were preventing him from completing a full professional athletics season, and the eighteen-year-old Bolt still had not proven his mettle in the major world-athletics competitions.[47] Bolt was involved in a car accident in November, and although he suffered only minor facial lacerations, his training schedule was further upset.[48][49] His manager, Norman Peart, made Bolt's training less intensive, and he had fully recuperated the following week.[48] Bolt had continued to improve his performances, and he reached the world top-5 rankings in 2005 and 2006.[12] Peart and Mills stated their intentions to push Bolt to do longer sprinting distances with the aim of making the 400 m event his primary event by 2007 or 2008. Bolt was less enthusiastic, and demanded that he feel comfortable in his sprinting.[48][50] He suffered another hamstring injury in March 2006, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and he did not return to track events until May.[51] After his recovery, Bolt was given new training exercises to improve flexibility, and the plans to move him up to the 400 m event were put on hold.[47]
Upon his return to competition, the 200 m remained his primary event, and he beat Justin Gatlin's meet record in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Bolt had aspired to run under twenty seconds to claim a season's best but, despite the fact that bad weather had impaired his run, he was happy to end the meeting with just the victory.[52] However, a sub-20-second finish was soon his, as he set a new personal best of 19.88 s at the 2006 Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, finishing behind Xavier Carter and Tyson Gay to earn a bronze medal.[53] Bolt had focused his athletics aims, stating that 2006 was a year to gain experience. Also, he was more keen on competing over longer distances, setting his sights on running regularly in both 200 m and 400 m events within the next two years.[52] Bolt claimed his first major world medal two months later at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He passed the finishing post with a time of 20.10 s, gaining a bronze medal in the process.[1] The IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece, yielded Bolt's first senior international silver medal.[1] Wallace Spearmon from the United States won gold with a championship record time of 19.87 s, beating Bolt's respectable time of 19.96 s.[54] Further 200 m honours on both the regional and international stages awaited Bolt in 2007. The young Jamaican yearned to run in the 100 metres, but coach Mills diverted his attention, stating that he could run the shorter distance if he broke the 200 m national record.[41] In the Jamaican Championships, he ran 19.75 s in the 200 m, breaking the 36-year-old Jamaican record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 s.[12][15]
Mills complied with Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m, and he was entered to run the event at the 23rd Vardinoyiannia meeting in Rethymno, Crete. In his debut tournament run, he set a personal best of 10.03 s, winning the gold medal and feeding his enthusiasm for the event.[15][55]
He built on this achievement at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, winning a silver medal.[1] Bolt recorded 19.91 s with a headwind of 0.8 m/s but this paled in comparison with Tyson Gay's time of 19.76 s, which set a new championship record.[56]
The Jamaican national record fell when Bolt partnered with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter in the 4×100 metres relay. However, their finish in 37.89 s was not enough to beat the Americans' time of 37.78 s.[57] Bolt did not win any gold medals at the major tournaments in 2007, but Mills felt that Bolt's technique was much improved, pinpointing improvements in Bolt's balance at the turns over 200 m and an increase in his stride frequency, giving him more driving power on the track.[41]
World-record breaker[link]
The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to run, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career.[19] Bolt continued to develop in the 100 m, and he entered to run in the event at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s, aided by a tail wind of 1.8 m/s, considerably improving upon his previous personal best of 10.03 s.[58] This was the second-fastest legal performance in the history of the event; second only to compatriot Asafa Powell's 9.74 s record set the previous year in Rieti, Italy.[59] Rival Tyson Gay lauded the performance, praising Bolt's form and technique especially.[60] Michael Johnson, who was observing the race, said that he was shocked at how quickly he had improved over the 100 m distance.[61] The Jamaican surprised even himself with the time, but coach Glen Mills remained confident that there was more to come.[60]
Mills' prediction came true before the end of the month when Bolt established a new 100 m world record on 31 May 2008. Pushed on by a tail wind of 1.7 m/s, Bolt ran 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix held in the Icahn Stadium in New York City, breaking Powell's record.[62] The record time was even more remarkable in light of the fact that it was only his fifth senior run over the distance.[63] Gay again finished second and commended Bolt's physical superiority, stating, "It looked like his knees were going past my face".[15] Commentators noted that Bolt appeared to have gained a psychological advantage over fellow Olympic contender Gay.[41]
In June 2008, Bolt responded to claims that he was a lazy athlete, saying that the comments were unjustified, and he trained hard to achieve his potential. However, he surmised that such comments stemmed from his lack of enthusiasm for the 400 metres event, and chose to not make the effort to train for distance running.[64] Turning his efforts to the 200 m, Bolt proved that he could excel in multiple events—first setting the world-leading time in Ostrava, then breaking the national record for the second time with a 19.67 s finish in Athens, Greece.[65][66] Although Mills still preferred that Bolt focus on the longer distances, the acceptance of Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m worked for both sprinter and trainer. Bolt was more focused in practice, and a training schedule to boost his top speed and his stamina, in preparation for the Olympics, had improved both his 100 m and 200 m times.[15][67][68] His confidence was building, and he was sure that he would perform well in the upcoming Olympics.[65]
2008 Summer Olympics[link]
Bolt announced that he would double-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics, and the new 100 m world-record holder was the favourite to win both.[69][70] Michael Johnson, the 200 m and 400 m record holder, personally backed the sprinter, saying that he did not believe that a lack of experience would work against him.[71] Bolt qualified for the 100 m final with times of 9.92 s and 9.85 s in the quarter-finals and semifinals, respectively.[72][73][74]
In the Olympic 100 m final, Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s.[75] This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s.[76] Not only was the record set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied.[77][78][79] Bolt's coach reported that, based upon the speed of Bolt's opening 60 m, he could have finished with a time of 9.52 s.[80] After scientific analysis of Bolt's run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen and his colleagues also predicted a sub 9.60 s time. Considering factors such as Bolt's position, acceleration and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55±0.04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line.[81][82]
Bolt stated that setting a record was not a priority for him, and that his goal was just to win the gold medal, Jamaica's first of the 2008 Games.[83] Olympic medalist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time.[84] IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful.[85][86] Bolt denied that this was the purpose of his celebration by saying, "I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy".[87] Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, supported Bolt and said that his celebration was appropriate given the circumstances of his victory. Jamaican government minister Edmund Bartlett also defended Bolt's actions, stating, "We have to see it in the glory of their moment and give it to them. We have to allow the personality of youth to express itself".[88]
Bolt then focused on attaining a gold medal in the 200 m event, aiming to emulate Carl Lewis' double win in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.[89] Michael Johnson felt that Bolt would easily win gold but believed that his own world record of 19.32 s set at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta would remain intact at the Olympics.[90] Bolt eased through the first and second rounds of the 200 m, jogging towards the end of his run both times.[91] He won his semifinal and progressed to the final as the favourite to win.[92] Retired Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie praised Bolt, saying he was confident that Johnson's record could be beaten.[35] The following day, at the final, he won Jamaica's fourth gold of the Games, setting a new world and Olympic record of 19.30 s.[93] Johnson's record fell despite the fact that Bolt was impeded by a 0.9 m/s headwind. The feat made him the first sprinter since Quarrie to hold both 100 m and 200 m world records simultaneously and the first since the introduction of electronic timing.[93][94] Furthermore, Bolt became the first sprinter to break both records at the same Olympics.[95] Unlike in the 100 m final, Bolt sprinted hard all the way to the finishing line in the 200 m race, even dipping his chest to improve his time.[96] Following the race, "Happy Birthday" was played over the stadium's sound system as his 22nd birthday would begin at midnight.[96]
Two days later, Bolt ran as the third leg in the Jamaican 4x100 metres relay team, increasing his gold medal total to three.[97] Along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell, Bolt broke another world and Olympic record, their 37.10 s finish breaking the previous record by three tenths of a second.[98] Powell, who anchored the team to the finishing line, lamented the loss of his 100 m record to Bolt but showed no animosity towards his Jamaican rival, stating that he was delighted to help him set his third world record.[99] Following his victories, Bolt donated US$50,000 to the children of the Sichuan province of China to help those harmed by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[100]
Bolt's record-setting runs caused commentators not only to praise his achievements but also to speculate about his potential to become one of the most successful sprinters ever.[17][101] Critics hailed his Olympic success as a new beginning for a sport that had long suffered through high-profile drug scandals.[63][102][dead link] The previous six years had seen the BALCO scandal, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin stripped of their 100 m world records, and Marion Jones returning three Olympic gold medals.[103] All three sprinters were disqualified from athletics after drugs tests detected banned substances in their systems.[104][105] Bolt's record-breaking performances caused suspicion among some commentators, including Victor Conte, and the lack of an independent Caribbean anti-doping federation raised more concerns.[106][107] The accusations of drug use were vehemently rejected by Glen Mills (Bolt's coach) and Herb Elliott (the Jamaican athletics team doctor). Elliott, a member of the IAAF anti-doping commission, urged those concerned about the issue to "come down and see our programme, come down and see our testing, we have nothing to hide".[108] Mills had been equally ardent that Bolt was a clean athlete, declaring to the Jamaica Gleaner: "We will test any time, any day, any part of the body...[he] doesn't even like to take vitamins".[109] Bolt stated that he had been tested four times prior to the Olympics, and all had tested negative for banned substances. He also welcomed anti-doping authorities to test him to prove that he was clean, stating, "We work hard and we perform well and we know we're clean".[110]
| “ | I was slowing down long before the finish and wasn't tired at all. I could have gone back to the start and done it all over again. | ” |
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—Usain Bolt's thoughts on his 100m sprint at the 2008 Olympics, published in his autobiography Usain Bolt 9.58[111] |
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After the Olympics[link]
The end of the 2008 athletics season saw Bolt compete in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. Despite having the slowest start among his competitors in the 100 m race, he still crossed the finishing line in 9.83 s.[112] Even though the time was slower than both his newly set world record and Asafa Powell's track record, it was still among the top-fifteen 100 m finishes by any sprinter to that date.[77] Bolt admitted that he was not running at full strength, suffering from a cold, but he had concentrated on both winning the race and finishing the season in good health.[112] At the Super Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Bolt ran his second-fastest 200 m with a time of 19.63 s, equalling Xavier Carter's track record.[113] However, it was the 100 m final, featuring Asafa Powell, that drew the most interest. Powell had moved closer to Bolt's world record after setting a new personal best of 9.72 s, reaffirming his status as Bolt's main contender.[114] Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels. This was the first 100 m race featuring both Bolt and Powell since the final in the Olympics. Both Jamaicans broke the track record, but Bolt came out on top with a time of 9.77 s, beating Powell by 0.06 s. Victory, however, did not come as smoothly as it had in Beijing. Bolt made the slowest start of the nine competitors and had to recover ground in cold conditions and against a 0.9 m/s headwind.[115] Yet the results confirmed Jamaican dominance in the 100 m, with nine of the ten-fastest legal times in history being recorded by either Bolt or Powell.[77] On his return to Jamaica, Bolt was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics.[116]
He was selected as the IAAF Male Athlete of the year and won a Special Olympic Award for his performances.[117] However, Bolt turned his attention to future events, suggesting that he could aim to break the 400 metres world record in 2010 as no major championships were scheduled that year.[118]
2009 Berlin World Championships[link]
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Bolt started the season competing over 400 metres in order to improve his speed, winning two races and registering 45.54 s in Kingston,[119] and windy conditions gave him his first sub-10 second finish of the season in the 100 m in March.[120] In late April Bolt suffered minor leg injuries in a car crash. However, he quickly recovered following minor surgery and (after cancelling a track meet in Jamaica) he stated that he was fit to compete in the 150 metres street race at the Manchester Great City Games.[121] Bolt won the race in 14.35 s, the fastest time ever recorded for 150 m.[122] Despite not being at full fitness, he took the 100 and 200 m titles at the Jamaican national championships, with runs of 9.86 s and 20.25 s respectively.[123][124] This meant he had qualified for both events at the 2009 World Championships. Rival Tyson Gay suggested that Bolt's 100 m record was within his grasp, but Bolt dismissed the claim and instead noted that he was more interested in Asafa Powell's return from injury.[125] Bolt defied unfavourable conditions at the Athletissima meet in July, running 19.59 seconds into a 0.9 m/s headwind and rain, to record the fourth fastest time ever over 200 m,[126] one hundredth off Gay's best time.[127]
At the 2009 World Championships in August, Bolt eased through the 100 m heats, clocking the fastest ever pre-final performance of 9.89 seconds.[128] The final was the first time Bolt and Gay had met in the season, and Bolt improved his world record with a time of 9.58 s to win his first World Championship gold medal. Gay finished with a time of 9.71 s, 0.02 s off Bolt's 9.69 s world-record run in Beijing.[129] Taking over a tenth of a second off the previous best mark, this was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100 m world record since the beginning of electronic timing.[130]
Although Gay withdrew from the second race of the competition, the Jamaican once again produced world record-breaking form in the 200 metres final. He broke his own record by 0.11 seconds, finishing with a time of 19.19 seconds.[131] He won the 200 m race by the biggest margin in World Championships history, even though the race had three other athletes running under 19.90 seconds, the greatest number ever in the event.[132][133] Bolt's pace impressed even the more experienced of his competitors; third-placed Wallace Spearmon complimented his speed,[134] and former Olympic champion Shawn Crawford said "Just coming out there...I felt like I was in a video game, that guy was moving – fast".[135] Bolt pointed out that an important factor in his performance at the World Championships was his improved start to the races: his reaction times in the 100 m (0.146)[136] and 200 m (0.133)[137] were significantly faster than those he had produced in his world record runs at the Beijing Olympics.[138][139] However, he, together with other members of Jamaican 4x100 m relay team, fell short of their own world record of 37.10 s set at 2008 Summer Olympics by timing 37.31 s, which is, however, a championship record and the second fastest time in history at that date.[140]
On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that "one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable." The nearly three-ton segment will be delivered to Bolt's training camp in Jamaica.[141]
Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 metres events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 metres set in 1991) argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 metres, the long jump event being "a perfect fit for his speed and height".[142] At the end of the season he was selected as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year for the second year running.[143]
2010: Diamond League and broken streak[link]
Early on in the 2010 outdoor season, Bolt ran 19.56 seconds in the 200 m in Kingston, Jamaica for the fourth-fastest run of all-time, although he stated that he had no record breaking ambitions for the forthcoming season.[144] He took to the international circuit May with wins in East Asia at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting and then a comfortable win in his 2010 IAAF Diamond League debut at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.[145][146] Bolt made an attempt to break Michael Johnson's best time over the rarely competed 300 metres event at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. He failed to match Johnson's ten-year-old record of 30.85 and suffered a setback in that his 30.97-second run in wet weather had left him with an Achilles tendon problem.[147][148]
On his return from injury a month later, he asserted himself with a 100 m win at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (9.82 seconds) and a victory over Asafa Powell at Meeting Areva in Paris (9.84 seconds).[149][150] Despite this run of form, he suffered only the second loss of his career in a 100 m final at the DN Galan. Tyson Gay soundly defeated him with a run of 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds, and the Jamaican reflected that he had slacked off in training early in the season while Gay had been better prepared and in a better condition.[151] This marked Bolt's first loss to Gay over 100 m, which coincidentally occurred in the same stadium where Powell had beaten Bolt for the first time two years earlier.[152]
2011 Daegu World Championships[link]
Considered the overwhelming favourite to win in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Bolt was eliminated from the final for a false start.[153] Usain Bolt's countryman, Yohan Blake won in a season best of 9.92 seconds. In the 200m, Bolt cruised through to the final which he won in a time of 19.40s,[154] the fastest time in history never to be a World Record. Bolt also won gold in 4x100 metres relay with team Jamaica setting a world record time of 37.04.
Personal life[link]
Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed.[19][156][dead link][157] Bolt's Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100 m 200 m world record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt.[19] The first sport to interest him was cricket and he said if he was not a sprinter he would be a fast bowler instead.[19] As a child he was a supporter of the Pakistani cricket team and admired the bowling of Waqar Younis.[158] He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayle[159] and Australian opener Matthew Hayden.[160] During a charity cricket match Bolt clean-bowled Chris Gayle. Gayle was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing.[161] Bolt also struck a six off Chris Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose.[162]
Bolt has also expressed his love for football and is a fan of Manchester United as well as Real Madrid.[163] Bolt has also declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.[164] Following a race in Manchester, he met the team at their training ground and offered Portuguese national Cristiano Ronaldo some sprinting advice.[165] Bolt was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 UEFA Champions League final in London, where he stated he'd like to play for them after he retires.[166]
In 2010, he also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris.[167]
Sponsorships and advertising work[link]
After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma.[168] To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations.[169] After his world record breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm,[170] the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue".[171][172][173][dead link] During the Beijing 2008 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them.[174] His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management.[175]
In January 2012, Usain Bolt impersonated Richard Branson in a Ad Campaign for Virgin Media.[176] The multi-million pound campaign was directed by Seth Gordon and features Virgin founder Branson to promote its superfast broadband service. In March 2012, he starred in an ad for Visa and the London 2012 olympics.[177]
Book Deal[link]
In 2010, Bolt signed a lucrative publishing deal with HarperCollins for an autobiography, which was negotiated by Chris Nathaniel of NVA Management.[178] This is scheduled for release in 2012. During a press conference in Paris on 15 July 2010, Bolt declined any comment on what would be contained within the book saying, "you can't really give away anything in your book ... should be exciting, it's my life, and I'm a cool and exciting guy".[163]
Recognition[link]
As a result of Bolt's successes in athletics, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for 2009 and 2010.[179][180]
- IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009
- Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009
- Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: 2009, 2010
- BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2008, 2009
Statistics[link]
As of 28 August 2010 (2010 -08-28)[update]
Personal bests[link]
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date | Records | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres | 9.58 | Berlin, Germany | 16 August 2009 |   |
Also shares the second fastest time of 9.69 with Tyson Gay. Bolt's 9.69 set the Olympic record in 2008. |
| 150 metres | 14.35 | Manchester, United Kingdom | 17 May 2009 | World best[5] | He ran the last 100 m in 8.70, the fastest ever recorded time over a 100 m distance. This would equal an average speed of 41.38 km/h. |
| 200 metres | 19.19 | Berlin, Germany | 20 August 2009 | |
Also holds the Olympic Record with 19.30, at the time (2008) a new world record. |
| 300 metres | 30.97 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 27 May 2010 | This is the second fastest time, behind Michael Johnson's 30.85. | |
| 400 metres | 45.28[12] | Kingston, Jamaica | 5 May 2007 | ||
| 4 × 100 metres relay | 37.04 | Daegu, South Korea | 4 September 2011 | |
Shared with Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter. |
Records[link]
Bolt's personal best of 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres is the fastest ever legal time.[77] Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.69 seconds (more precisely 9.683),[75] the current Olympic record.[77] Tyson Gay recorded a time of 9.68 s at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, but was aided with a tail wind of 4.1 m/s, exceeding the legal limit of 2.0 m/s set by the IAAF and nullifying its inclusion as a world record.[182] Obadele Thompson's run of 9.69 s in 1996 is also not recognised as it was aided by a 5.0 m/s tail wind.[77]
Bolt's personal best of 19.19 s in the 200 metres is the world record. This was recorded at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin against a headwind of −0.3 m/s. He has also broken the Olympic record with a time of 19.30 s (more precisely 19.296 s)[183]
The Jamaican relay team including Bolt, set the 4x100 metres world and Olympic records at the 2008 Olympics with a time of 37.10 seconds. This is the only run in the IAAF top ten performances which was not set by an American team.[184]
Bolt also holds the 200 metres world teenage best results for the age categories 15 (20.58 s), 16 (20.13 s, world youth record), 17 (19.93 s) and 18 (19.93 s, world junior record).[75] He also holds the 150 metres world best set in 2009, during which he ran the last 100 metres in 8.70 seconds, the quickest timed 100 metres ever.[75]
Average speed[link]
From his record time of 9.58 s for the 100 m sprint Usain Bolt's average ground speed equates to: 37.58 km/h or 23.35 mph. However, once his reaction time of 0.15 s is subtracted, his time is closer to 9.43 s, making his average speed closer to 38.18 km/h or 23.72 mph.[185]
Honours[link]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 1st | 200 m | 20.61 |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.15 NJR | |||
| 2nd | 4×400 m relay | 3:04.06 NJR | |||
| 2003 | World Youth Championships | Sherbrooke, Canada | 1st | 200 m | 20.40 |
| 2003 | Pan American Junior Championships | Bridgetown, Barbados | 1st | 200 m | 20.13 WYB |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.40 | |||
| 2004 | CARIFTA Games | Hamilton, Bermuda | 1st | 200 m | 19.93 WJR |
| 2005 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 200 m | 20.03 |
| 2006 | World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 200 m | 20.10 |
| 2006 | IAAF World Cup | Athens, Greece | 2nd | 200 m | 19.96 |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 2nd | 200 metres | 19.91 |
| 2008 | Reebok Grand Prix | New York City, United States | 1st | 100 m | 9.72 WR |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | 100 metres | 9.69 WR OR |
| 1st | 200 metres | 19.30 WR OR | |||
| 1st | 4×100 metres relay | 37.10 WR OR | |||
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 100 metres | 9.58 WR |
| 1st | 200 metres | 19.19 WR | |||
| 1st | 4×100 metres relay | 37.31 CR | |||
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | |||
| 1st | 200 metres | 19.40 WL | |||
| 1st | 4×100 metres relay | 37.04 WR |
See also[link]
References[link]
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External links[link]
 |
Wikinews has related news: Usain Bolt sets new world record in 100m sprint |
|
Wikinews has related news: Usain Bolt to run 150 metre race in Manchester |
Media related to Usain Bolt at Wikimedia Commons- IAAF profile for Usain Bolt
- Official website
- Usain Bolt on Twitter
- Usain Bolt timeline via The Daily Telegraph
- Lightning Strikes Twice – slideshow by The First Post
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Asafa Powell |
Men's 100 metres World Record Holder 31 May 2008 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by Michael Johnson |
Men's 200 metres World Record Holder 20 August 2008 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Asafa Powell Christopher Gayle |
Jamaica Sportsman of the Year 2008, 2009 2011 |
Succeeded by Christopher Gayle Incumbent |
| Preceded by Asafa Powell |
CAC Male Athlete of the Year 2008 |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Tyson Gay |
Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2008, 2009 |
Succeeded by David Rudisha |
| Preceded by Tyson Gay David Rudisha |
IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2008, 2009 2011 |
Succeeded by David Rudisha Incumbent |
Preceded by Roger Federer |
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 2008, 2009 |
Succeeded by Rafael Nadal |
| L'Équipe Champion of Champions 2008, 2009 |
||
| Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2009, 2010 |
||
| Preceded by Tyson Gay |
Best Track and Field Athlete ESPY Award 2009 |
Succeeded by Tyson Gay |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by Asafa Powell |
Men's season's best performance, 100 metres 2008, 2009 |
Succeeded by Tyson Gay |
| Preceded by Tyson Gay |
Men's season's best performance, 200 metres 2008, 2009, 2010 |
Succeeded by Yohan Blake |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bolt, Usain |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Jamaican athlete |
| Date of birth | 21 August 1986 |
| Place of birth | Trelawny, Jamaica |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Usain_Bolt
Related pages:
http://cs.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://id.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://es.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://ru.wn.com/Болт, Усэйн
http://it.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://pl.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://fr.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://de.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://hi.wn.com/उसैन बोल्ट
http://pt.wn.com/Usain Bolt
http://nl.wn.com/Usain Bolt
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
