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- published: 04 Oct 2011
- views: 42639
- author: australianopentv
Coordinates: 37°49′22″S 144°58′48″E / 37.82267°S 144.98005°E / -37.82267; 144.98005
Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open in tennis, which is played annually in January. The venue was the home of the Melbourne Tigers basketball team, and can be adapted to host netball, ice skating, concerts, cycling as well as swimming and motorsport events. It is run by Melbourne & Olympic Parks, which also runs the adjacent Olympic Park Stadium. The Yarra Park section of the Sports and Entertainment Precinct is run separately.
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Melbourne Park was built in 1988 beside the Jolimont Yards as a new venue to host the Australian Open, as Kooyong, the previous venue, had become too small. It was originally known as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park until 1996, when then-Premier, Jeff Kennett decided to rename it Melbourne Park, mainly to advertise the name "Melbourne" to a wide international audience. The decision was met with strong opposition, and was compared by some to renaming Stade Roland Garros (home to the French Open in Paris) "Paris Park". However, over the years, it has become accepted by the Melbourne community.
While it is best known for being a tennis venue, Melbourne Park also plays host to a number of other sports and musical events throughout the year. The venue tends to be used by more popular international performers, as it is the largest that the city has to offer, excluding the Docklands Stadium in the Docklands and the nearby Melbourne Cricket Ground, which are both hugely expensive.
The Two Tribes dance festival was held there annually.
Formerly known as Centre Court, Rod Laver Arena has a capacity of nearly 15,000, and has a retractable roof. The second largest court is Hisense Arena (temporarily known as the Multi-Purpose Venue during the 2006 Commonwealth Games), which was opened in 2000. It has a capacity of 10,500, and also has a retractable roof. There are also three show courts, with the former Show Court 1 now named the Margaret Court Arena.
Melbourne Park is adjacent to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Yarra Park, and there are several pedestrian bridges linking the two across the separating railway lines. The park is five minutes walk from Richmond and Jolimont railway stations, and five minutes from the city centre by tram (route 70) or ten minutes on foot.
Rod Laver Arena, exterior (formerly Centre Court)
Hisense Arena (formerly known as Vodafone Arena), interior with roof closed
Margaret Court Arena (formerly Show Court 1)
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Melbourne Victoria |
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(From top left to bottom right) Melbourne city centre, Flinders Street Station, Shrine of Remembrance, Federation Square, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Royal Exhibition Building. |
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Population: | 4,137,432 (Metropolitan area)[1] (2nd) | ||||||
• Density: | 1567/km² (4,058.5/sq mi) (Urban area; 2006)[2] | ||||||
Established: | 30 August 1835 | ||||||
Coordinates: | 37°48′49″S 144°57′47″E / 37.81361°S 144.96306°E / -37.81361; 144.96306Coordinates: 37°48′49″S 144°57′47″E / 37.81361°S 144.96306°E / -37.81361; 144.96306 | ||||||
Elevation: | 31 m (102 ft) | ||||||
Area: | 8806 km² (3,400.0 sq mi) (LGAs total) | ||||||
Time zone:
• Summer (DST) |
AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||
Location: | |||||||
LGA: | 31 Municipalities across Greater Melbourne | ||||||
County: | Grant, Bourke, Mornington | ||||||
State electorate: | 54 electoral districts and regions | ||||||
Federal Division: | 23 Divisions | ||||||
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Melbourne ([ˈmelbən, -bn̩, ˈmæl-],[3][4] rhotically /ˈmɛlbərn/) is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia.[2] The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million.[1] Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melburnians or Melbournians.[5]
The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River (at the northernmost point of the bay).[6] The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and the metropolitan area consists of a further 30 municipalities.[7]
Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia) by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land.[8] It was named by governor Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb—the 2nd Viscount Melbourne.[8] Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847.[9] In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria.[9] During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities.[10] After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.[11]
Often referred to as the "cultural capital of Australia",[12] Melbourne is the birthplace of cultural institutions such as Australian film (as well as the world's first feature film),[13][14] Australian television,[15] Australian rules football,[16] the Australian impressionist art movement (known as the Heidelberg School)[17] and Australian dance styles such as New Vogue and the Melbourne Shuffle.[18][19] It is also a major centre for contemporary and traditional Australian music.[18] Melbourne was ranked as the world's most liveable city in the World's Most Livable Cities ratings by the Economist Group's Intelligence Unit in August, 2011.[20][21][22][23] It was also ranked in the top ten Global University Cities by RMIT's Global University Cities Index (since 2006)[24][25][26] and the top 20 Global Innovation Cities by the 2thinknow Global Innovation Agency (since 2007).[27][28][29][30] The metropolis is also home to the world's largest tram network.[31] The main airport serving Melbourne is Melbourne Airport. Avalon Airport is currently being developed into Melbourne's second international airport.
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Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years[32] by under 20,000[33] hunter-gatherers from three indigenous regional tribes: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong.[34] The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance, as well as a vital source of food and water.[35][36] The first European settlement in Victoria was established in 1803 on Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento, but this settlement was abandoned due to a perceived lack of resources. It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.[37]
In May and June 1835, the area which is now central and northern Melbourne was explored by John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania), who negotiated a purchase of 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) with eight Wurundjeri elders.[35][36] Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village".[citation needed] Batman then returned to Launceston in Tasmania. By the time a settlement party from the association arrived to set up the new village, a separate group organised and financed by John Pascoe Fawkner had already arrived (on 30 August 1835) aboard his ship the Enterprize and had established a settlement at the same location. The two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement.
Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled by the New South Wales government (which at the time governed all of eastern mainland Australia), which compensated the association.[35] In 1836, Governor Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, and commissioned the first plan for the city, the Hoddle Grid, in 1837.[38] Later that year the settlement was named "Melbourne" after the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose seat was Melbourne Hall in the market town of Melbourne, Derbyshire. On 13 April 1837, the settlement's general post office was officially opened with that name.[39]
Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of territory bigger than England.[40] By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne.[41] Although the British Colonial Office appointed 5 "Aboriginal Protectors" for the entire Aboriginal population of Victoria, arriving in Melbourne in 1839, they worked ". . . within a land policy that nullified their work, and there was no political will to change this".[42] "It was government policy to encourage squatters to take possession of whatever [Aboriginal] land they chose, . . . that largely explains why almost all the original inhabitants of Port Phillip's vast grasslands were dead so soon after 1835".[43] By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences then issued in Victoria and became the patriarchs " . . . that were to wield so much political and economic power in Victoria for generations to come".[44]
Melbourne was declared a city by letters patent of Queen Victoria, issued on 25 June 1847.[9] The Port Phillip District became the separate Colony of Victoria in 1851, with Melbourne as its capital. With the Aboriginal population dispossessed of their lands and their management of fire having been disrupted for almost 15 years, the Colony experienced for the first time its largest-ever bushfires, burning about 25% of the land area of Victoria on Black Thursday on 6 February 1851.
The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 led to the Victorian gold rush, and Melbourne, which served as the major port and provided most services for the region, experienced rapid growth. Within months, the city's population had increased by nearly three-quarters, from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants.[45] Thereafter, growth was exponential and by 1865, Melbourne had overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city.[46]
An influx of interstate and overseas migrants, particularly Irish, German and Chinese, saw the development of slums including a temporary "tent city" established on the southern banks of the Yarra. Chinese migrants founded a Chinatown in 1851, which remains the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World.[47] In the aftermath of the Eureka Rebellion, mass public support for the plight of the miners in Melbourne resulted in major political changes to the colony. The various nationalities involved in the Eureka Stockade revolt and Burke and Wills expedition give some indication of migration flows in the second half of the nineteenth century.[48]
The population growth and flow of gold into the city helped stimulate a program of grand civic building beginning with the design and construction of many of Melbourne's surviving institutional buildings including Parliament House, the Treasury Building and Treasury Reserve, the Old Melbourne Gaol, Victoria Barracks, the State Library, Supreme Court, University, General Post Office, Government House, Customs House the Melbourne Town Hall, St Paul's, St Patrick's cathedrals and several major markets including the surviving Queen Victoria Market. The city's inner suburbs were planned, to be linked by boulevards and gardens. Melbourne had become a major finance centre, home to several banks, the Royal Mint to Australia's first stock exchange in 1861.[49] Grand private buildings also were built in this era, including the Athenaeum Hall and several large hotels. Before the arrival of white settlers, the indigenous population in the district was estimated at 15,000, but following settlement the number had fallen to less than 800,[50] and continued to decline with an estimated 80% decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases, particularly smallpox,[33] frontier violence and dispossession from their lands.
The economic boom of the Victorian gold rush peaked during the 1880s, by which time Melbourne had become the richest city in the world,[10] and the largest after London in the British Empire.[51] Melbourne hosted two international exhibitions at the large purpose-built Exhibition Building between 1880 and 1890, spurring the construction of several prestigious hotels including the Menzies, Federal and the Grand (Windsor).
In 1855 the Melbourne Cricket Club secured possession of its now famous ground, the MCG. Australian Football commenced in earnest about 1858, and Yarra rowing clubs and "regattas" became popular about the same time. In 1861 the Melbourne Cup was first run. In 1864 Melbourne acquired its first public monument—the Burke and Wills statue.
In 1880 a telephone exchange was established and in the same year the foundations of St. Paul's Cathedral were laid; in 1881 electric light was installed in the Eastern Market building, and in the following year a generating station capable of supplying 2,000 incandescent lamps was in operation.[52]
In 1885 the first cable tram in Melbourne was built. Cable tramways were in general use until the 1920s, when they were superseded by electric motors. Electric trams were introduced into the suburbs in 1906.[53]
During a visit in 1885 English journalist George Augustus Henry Sala coined the phrase "Marvellous Melbourne", which stuck long into the twentieth century and is still used today by Melburnians.[54] Growing building activity culminated in a "land boom" which, in 1888, reached a peak of speculative development fuelled by consumer confidence and escalating land value.[55] As a result of the boom, large commercial buildings, coffee palaces, terrace housing and palatial mansions proliferated in the city.[55] The establishment of a hydraulic facility in 1887 allowed for the local manufacture of elevators, resulting in the first construction of high-rise buildings;[56] most notably 1889's APA (The Australian) Building, the world's tallest office building upon completion and Melbourne's tallest for over half a century.[55] This period also saw the expansion of a major radial rail-based transport network.[57]
A brash boosterism that had typified Melbourne during this time ended in 1891 with a severe depression of the city's economy, sending the local finance and property industries into a period of chaos[55][58] during which 16 small banks and building societies collapsed and 133 limited companies went into liquidation. The Melbourne financial crisis was a contributing factor in the Australian economic depression of the 1890s and the Australian banking crisis of 1893. The effects of the depression on the city were profound, although it recovered enough to grow slowly during the early twentieth century.[59][60]
At the time of Australia's federation on 1 January 1901, Melbourne became the seat of government of the federation. The first federal parliament was convened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building, subsequently moving to the Victorian Parliament House where it was located until 1927, when it was moved to Canberra. The Governor-General of Australia resided at Government House in Melbourne until 1930 and many major national institutions remained in Melbourne well into the twentieth century.[61] Flinders Street Station was the world's busiest passenger station in 1927 and Melbourne's tram network overtook Sydney's to become the world's largest in the 1940s.
In the immediate years after World War II, Melbourne expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by Post war immigration to Australia, primarily from Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.[62] While the "Paris End" of Collins Street began Melbourne's boutique shopping and open air cafe cultures,[63] the city centre was seen by many as stale, the dreary domain of office workers, something expressed by John Brack in his famous painting Collins St., 5 pm (1955).[64]
Height limits in the Melbourne CBD were lifted after the construction ICI House, transforming the city's skyline with the introduction of skyscrapers. The eyes of the world were on the city when it hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics. Suburban expansion then intensified, serviced by new indoor malls beginning with Chadstone Shopping Centre.[65] The post-war period also saw a major renewal of the CBD and St Kilda Road which significantly modernised the city.[66] New fire regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings either demolished or partially retained through a policy of facadism. Many of the larger suburban mansions from the boom era were also either demolished or subdivided.
To counter the trend towards low-density suburban residential growth, the government began a series of controversial public housing projects in the inner city by the Housing Commission of Victoria, which resulted in demolition of many neighbourhoods and a proliferation of high-rise towers.[67] In later years, with the rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining inner city population. The Bolte government sought to rapidly accelerate the modernisation of Melbourne. Major road projects including the remodelling of St Kilda Junction, the widening of Hoddle Street and then the extensive 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan changed the face of the city into a car-dominated environment.[68]
Australia's financial and mining booms between 1969 and 1970 resulted in establishment of the headquarters of many major companies (BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, among others) in the city. Nauru's then booming economy resulted in several ambitious investments in Melbourne, such as Nauru House.[69] Nauru, which had become incredibly wealthy thanks to the selling of phosphate, began the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (NPRT) to re-invest profits in international real-estate.[70] Melbourne remained Australia's main business and financial centre until the late 1970s, when it began to lose this primacy to Sydney.[71]
As the centre of Australia's "rust belt", Melbourne experienced an economic downturn between 1989 to 1992, following the collapse of several local financial institutions. In 1992 the newly elected Kennett government began a campaign to revive the economy with an aggressive development campaign of public works coupled with the promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events and sports tourism.[72] During this period the Australian Grand Prix moved to Melbourne from Adelaide. Major projects included the construction of a new facility for the Melbourne Museum, Federation Square, the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Crown Casino and the CityLink tollway. Other strategies included the privatisation of some of Melbourne's services, including power and public transport, and a reduction in funding to public services such as health, education and public transport infrastructure.[73]
Since the mid-1990s, Melbourne has maintained significant population and employment growth. There has been substantial international investment in the city's industries and property market. Major inner-city urban renewal has occurred in areas such as Southbank, Port Melbourne, Melbourne Docklands and more recently, South Wharf. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Melbourne sustained the highest population increase and economic growth rate of any Australian capital city in the three years ended June 2004.[74] These factors have led to population growth and further suburban expansion through the 2000s.
From 2006, the growth of the city extended into "green wedges" and beyond the city's urban growth boundary. Predictions of the city's population reaching 5 million people pushed the state government to review the growth boundary in 2008 as part of its Melbourne @ Five Million strategy.[75] In 2009, Melbourne was less affected by the Late-2000s financial crisis in comparison to other Australian cities. At this time, more new jobs were created in Melbourne than any other Australian capital—almost as many as the next two fastest growing cities, Brisbane and Perth, combined,[76] and Melbourne's property market remained strong,[77] resulting in historically high property prices and widespread rent increases.[78]
Melbourne is located in the south-eastern part of mainland Australia, within the state of Victoria. Geologically, it is built on the confluence of Quaternary lava flows to the west, Silurian mudstones to the east, and Holocene sand accumulation to the southeast along Port Phillip. The southeastern suburbs are situated on the Selwyn fault which transects Mount Martha and Cranbourne.
Melbourne extends along the Yarra River towards the Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges to the east. It extends northward through the undulating bushland valleys of the Yarra's tributaries—Moonee Ponds Creek (toward Tullamarine Airport), Merri Creek, Darebin Creek and Plenty River—to the outer suburban growth corridors of Craigieburn and Whittlesea.
The city sprawls south-east through Dandenong to the growth corridor of Pakenham towards West Gippsland, and southward through the Dandenong Creek valley, the Mornington Peninsula and the city of Frankston taking in the peaks of Olivers Hill, Mount Martha and Arthurs Seat, extending along the shores of Port Phillip as a single conurbation to reach the exclusive suburb of Portsea and Point Nepean. In the west, it extends along the Maribyrnong River and its tributaries north towards Sunbury and the foothills of the Macedon Ranges, and along the flat volcanic plain country towards Melton in the west, Werribee at the foothills of the You Yangs granite ridge and Geelong as part of the greater metropolitan area to the south-west.
Melbourne's major bayside beaches are located in the south-eastern suburbs along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, in areas like Port Melbourne, Albert Park, St Kilda, Elwood, Brighton, Sandringham, Mentone and Frankston although there are beaches in the western suburbs of Altona and Williamstown. The nearest surf beaches are located 85 kilometres (53 mi) south-east of the Melbourne CBD in the back-beaches of Rye, Sorrento and Portsea.[79][80]
Melbourne has a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb)[81][82] and is well known for its changeable weather conditions. This is mainly due to Melbourne's location situated on the boundary of the very hot inland areas and the cold southern ocean. This temperature differential is most pronounced in the spring and summer months and can cause very strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for all sorts of severe weather from gales to severe thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops, and heavy rain.
Port Phillip is often warmer than the surrounding oceans and/or the land mass, particularly in spring and autumn; this can set up a "bay effect" similar to the "lake effect" seen in the United States where showers are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect the same places (usually the eastern suburbs) for an extended period of time, whilst the rest of Melbourne and surrounds stays dry. Overall, Melbourne is, owing to the rain shadow of the Otway Ranges, nonetheless drier than average for southern Victoria. Within the city and surrounds, however, rainfall varies widely, from around 425 millimetres (17 in) at Little River to 1,250 millimetres (49 in) on the eastern fringe at Gembrook.
Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can contain hail and squalls and significant drops in temperature, but they pass through very quickly at times with a rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather and the temperature rising back to what it was before the shower. This occurs often in the space of minutes and can be repeated many times in a day, giving Melbourne a reputation for having "four seasons in one day",[83] a phrase that is part of local popular culture and familiar to many visitors to the city.[84]
Melbourne is colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in the winter. The lowest temperature on record is −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), on 4 July 1901.[85] However, snowfalls are rare: the most recent occurrence of sleet in the CBD was on 25 July 1986 and the most recent snowfalls in the outer eastern suburbs and Mount Dandenong were on 10 August 2005.[86][87] More commonly, Melbourne experiences frosts and fog in winter.
Melbourne summers are notable for occasional days of extreme heat.[citation needed] This occurs when the synoptic pattern is conducive to the transportation of very hot air from central Australia over to the south east corner of the continent. The inland deserts of Australia are amongst the hottest areas on earth, particularly the inland parts of north-west Australia. Every summer, intense heat builds starting in the Pilbara district of Western Australia around October/November and spreading widely over the tropical and subtropical inland parts of the continent by January. In the summer months, the southern part of the continent straddles the westerly wind belt to the south and the subtropical high pressure ridge to the north. The intense heat buildup occurs where high pressure is highly dominant in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the tropics and subtropics of Australia in summer allowing for a huge area of stable atmospheric conditions to predominate. On occasion a strong cold front will develop in summer and bring the westerlies further north than their mean summer position. On these occasions, north-west winds will develop ahead of the cold front's passage and sometimes these can be very strong, even gale force. When this occurs the hot air from the inland is dragged right down over south east Australia, occasionally even as far as southern Tasmania. As this air mass is carried entirely over the continental land mass it remains unmodified, i.e. it does not pick up additional moisture from a body of water and retains most if not all of its heat. On these occasions, the normally temperate parts of southern Victoria, including Melbourne, can experience the full fury of the desert climate albeit only briefly as the cold front responsible usually passes through relatively quickly allowing cool southerly winds from the southern ocean to replace the hot desert air. The highest temperature recorded in Melbourne city was 46.4 °C (115.5 °F), on 7 February 2009.[88]
Climate data for Melbourne | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 45.6 (114.1) |
46.4 (115.5) |
41.7 (107.1) |
34.9 (94.8) |
28.7 (83.7) |
22.4 (72.3) |
23.1 (73.6) |
26.5 (79.7) |
31.4 (88.5) |
36.9 (98.4) |
40.9 (105.6) |
43.7 (110.7) |
46.4 (115.5) |
Average high °C (°F) | 25.9 (78.6) |
25.8 (78.4) |
23.9 (75.0) |
20.3 (68.5) |
16.7 (62.1) |
14.1 (57.4) |
13.5 (56.3) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
19.7 (67.5) |
22.0 (71.6) |
24.2 (75.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
Average low °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) |
14.6 (58.3) |
13.2 (55.8) |
10.8 (51.4) |
8.6 (47.5) |
6.9 (44.4) |
6.0 (42.8) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.0 (46.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.2 (52.2) |
12.9 (55.2) |
10.2 (50.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
2.8 (37.0) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
0.1 (32.2) |
2.5 (36.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
Rainfall mm (inches) | 47.6 (1.874) |
48.0 (1.89) |
50.3 (1.98) |
57.4 (2.26) |
55.8 (2.197) |
49.0 (1.929) |
47.5 (1.87) |
50.0 (1.969) |
58.1 (2.287) |
66.4 (2.614) |
60.4 (2.378) |
59.5 (2.343) |
650.0 (25.591) |
Avg. rainy days | 8.4 | 7.5 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 14.9 | 14.2 | 11.8 | 10.4 | 150.6 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 254.3 | 228.8 | 192.1 | 158.2 | 110.2 | 101.7 | 104.5 | 132.8 | 161.0 | 178.0 | 197.8 | 211.9 | 2,031.3 |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology"[83] |
The centre of Melbourne's central business district is formed by the Hoddle Grid (dimensions of 1 by 0.5 miles (1.6 by 0.80 km)). The grid's southern edge fronts onto the Yarra River. Office, commercial and public developments in the adjoining districts of Southbank and Docklands have made these redeveloped areas into extensions of the CBD in all but name. The city centre is well known for its historic and attractive lanes and arcades (the most notable of which are Block Place and Royal Arcade) which contain a variety of shops and cafés[89] and are a byproduct of the city's layout.[90]
Melbourne's CBD, compared with other Australian cities, has comparatively unrestricted height limits and as a result of waves of post-war development contains five of the six tallest buildings in Australia, the tallest of which is the Eureka Tower, situated in Southbank. It has an observation deck near the top from where you can see above all of Melbourne's structures.[91] The Rialto tower, the city's second tallest, remains the tallest building in the old CBD; its observation deck for visitors has recently closed.[92]
The CBD and surrounds also contain many significant historic buildings such as the Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Town Hall and Parliament House.[93][94] Although the area is described as the centre, it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the south east, the demographic centre being located at Glen Iris.[95]
Melbourne is typical of Australian capital cities in that after the turn of the 20th century, it expanded with the underlying notion of a 'quarter acre home and garden' for every family, often referred to locally as the Australian Dream. This, coupled with the popularity of the private automobile after 1945, led to the auto-centric urban structure now present today in the middle and outer suburbs. Much of metropolitan Melbourne is accordingly characterised by low density sprawl, whilst its inner city areas feature predominantly medium-density, transit-oriented urban forms. The city centre, Docklands, St. Kilda Road and Southbank areas feature high-density forms.
Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and the state of Victoria was once known as the garden state.[96][97][98] There is an abundance of parks and gardens in Melbourne,[99] many close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways and tree-lined avenues. There are also many parks in the surrounding suburbs of Melbourne, such as in the municipalities of Stonnington, Boroondara and Port Phillip, south east of the central business district. The extensive area covered by urban Melbourne is formally divided into hundreds of suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as local government areas[100] 31 of which are located within the metropolitan area.[101]
Housing in Melbourne is characterised by minimal and lack of public housing and high demand for, and largely unaffordable, rental housing.[102][103][104] Public housing is usually provided by the Housing Commission of Victoria and operates within the framework of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, by which funding for public housing is provided by both federal and state governments.[citation needed]
At present, Melbourne is experiencing high population growth, generating high demand for housing. This has created a housing boom, pushing housing prices up and having an effect on rental prices as well as availability of all types of housing. Subdivision regularly occurs in the far outer areas of Melbourne with Display homes from numerous developers offering house and land packages.
Like many urban environments, Melbourne faces some significant environmental issues, many of them relating to the city's large urban footprint and urban sprawl and the demand for infrastructure and services. One such issue is water usage, drought and low rainfall. Drought in Victoria, low rainfalls and high temperatures deplete Melbourne water supplies and climate change may have a long-term impact on the water supplies of Melbourne.[105] Melbourne has been in a drought since 1997.[106] In response to low water supplies and low rainfall due to drought, the government implemented water restrictions and a range of other options including: water recycling schemes for the city, incentives for household water tanks, greywater systems, water consumption awareness initiatives, and other water saving and reuse initiatives; also, in June 2007, the Bracks Government announced that a $3.1 billion Wonthaggi desalination plant would be built on Victoria's south-east coast, capable of treating 150 billion litres of water per year,[107] as well as a 70 km (43 mi) pipeline from the Goulburn area in Victoria's north to Melbourne and a new water pipeline linking Melbourne and Geelong. Both projects are being conducted under controversial Public-Private Partnerships and a multitude of independent reports have found that neither project is required to supply water to the city and that Sustainable Water Management is the best solution. In the meantime, the drought must be weathered.[108]
In response to Attribution of recent climate change, the City of Melbourne, in 2002, set a target to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2020[109] and Moreland City Council established the Zero Moreland program, however not all metropolitan municipalities have followed, with the City of Glen Eira notably deciding in 2009 not to become carbon neutral.[110] Melbourne has one of the largest urban footprints in the world due to its low density housing, resulting in a vast suburban sprawl, with a high level of car dependence and minimal public transport outside of inner areas.[111] Much of the vegetation within the city are non-native species, most of European origin, and in many cases plays host to invasive species and noxious weeds.[112] Significant introduced urban pests include the Common Myna,[113] Feral Pigeon,[114] Brown Rat,[115][116] European Wasp,[117] Common Starling and Red Fox.[118] Many outlying suburbs, particularly towards the Yarra Valley and the hills to the north-east and east, have gone for extended periods without regenerative fires leading to a lack of saplings and undergrowth in urbanised native bushland. The Department of Sustainability and Environment partially addresses this problem by regularly burning off.[119][120] Several national parks have been designated around the urban area of Melbourne, including the Mornington Peninsula National Park, Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park and Point Nepean National Park in the south east, Organ Pipes National Park to the north and Dandenong Ranges National Park to the east. There are also a number of significant state parks just outside Melbourne.[121][122] Responsibility for regulating pollution falls under the jurisdiction of the EPA Victoria and several local councils. Air pollution, by world standards, is classified as being good. Summer and autumn are the worst times of year for atmospheric haze in the urban area.[96][123]
Another recent environmental issue in Melbourne was the Victorian government project of channel deepening Melbourne Ports by dredging Port Phillip Bay—the Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project. It was subject to controversy and strict regulations among fears that beaches and marine wildlife could be affected by the disturbance of heavy metals and other industrial sediments.[80][124] Other major pollution problems in Melbourne include levels of bacteria including E. coli in the Yarra River and its tributaries caused by septic systems,[125] as well as litter. Up to 350,000 cigarette butts enter the storm water runoff every day.[126] Several programs are being implemented to minimise beach and river pollution.[80][127] In February 2010, The Transition Decade, an initiative to transition human society, economics and environment towards sustainability, was launched in Melbourne.[128]
Melbourne is an international cultural centre, with cultural endeavours spanning major events and festivals, drama, musicals, comedy, music, art, architecture, literature, film and television. It was the second city after Edinburgh to be named a UNESCO City of Literature[129] and has thrice shared top position in a survey by The Economist of the world's most liveable cities on the basis of a number of attributes which include its broad cultural offerings.[130]
The city celebrates a wide variety of annual cultural events and festivals of all types, including the Melbourne International Arts Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Melbourne Fringe Festival. The Australian Ballet is based in Melbourne, as is the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Melbourne is the second home of Opera Australia after it merged with "Victoria State Opera" in 1996. The Victorian Opera had its inaugural season in 2006 and operates out of various venues in Melbourne.
Notable theatres and performance venues include the Victorian Arts Centre (which includes the State Theatre, Hamer Hall, the Playhouse and the Fairfax Studio), Melbourne Recital Centre, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Princess Theatre, Regent Theatre, Forum Theatre, Palace Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Athenaeum Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, Capitol Theatre, Palais Theatre and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. There are more than 100 galleries in Melbourne.[131] Most notably it is home to Australia’s oldest and largest art gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria.[132]
Melbourne is the birthplace of television in Australia,[15] Australian rules football,[16] Australian impressionist art movement known as the Heidelberg School,[133] and Australian contemporary dance (including the Melbourne Shuffle and New Vogue styles).[134] The city has an extensive cinematic history. Indeed, the world's first feature films were produced in Melbourne and its outer suburbs. Limelight Department's 1900 Soldiers of the Cross, the world's first religious epic,[135] anticipated the early 1900s golden age of Melbourne film production—an era marked by the exploration of local history and Australia's emerging identity. The 1854 civil insurrection of Ballarat was brought to life on the screen in Eureka Stockade, and The Story of the Kelly Gang (the world's first feature length narrative film and precedent of the "Bushranging drama"[136]) followed the escapades of Ned Kelly and his gang of outlaws. Melbourne filmmakers continued to produce bushranger and convict films, such as 1907's Robbery Under Arms and 1908's For the Term of His Natural Life, up until 1912, when Victorian politicians banned the screening of bushranger films for what they perceived as the promotion of crime.[136]
Melbourne's and Australia's film industries declined soon after and came to a virtual stop in the 1960s. A notable film shot and set in Melbourne during this lull is 1959's On the Beach. The 1970s saw a major renaissance of Australian film, giving rise to the Australian New Wave, as well as the Ocker and Ozploitation genres, instigated by Melbourne-based productions Stork and Alvin Purple respectively. Other 70s Melbourne films, such as Picnic at Hanging Rock and Mad Max, would achieve worldwide acclaim. 2004 saw the construction of Melbourne's largest film and television studio complex, Docklands Studios Melbourne, which has hosted many domestic films and television shows, as well as international features Ghost Rider, Knowing, Charlotte's Web, Nightmares and Dreamscapes and Where the Wild Things Are, among others.[137] Melbourne is also home to the headquarters of Village Roadshow Pictures, Australia's largest film production company. Famous modern day actors from Melbourne include Cate Blanchett, Rachel Griffiths, Olivia Newton-John, Guy Pearce and Eric Bana. Artist Banksy, from the United Kingdom, hailed street art in Melbourne as "[Australia]'s most significant contribution to the arts since the Aborigines' pencils were stolen".[138] The city is often placed alongside New York and Berlin as one of the world's great street art meccas,[139][140] and its extensive street art-laden laneways, alleys and arcades were voted by Lonely Planet readers as Australia's top cultural attraction.[138] The Melbourne Shuffle is a rave and club dance that originated in the late 1980s in the underground rave music scene in Melbourne, and has since grown in popularity.[141] The city is also admired for its exciting mix of vigorous modern architecture which intersects with an impressive range of nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings.[142]
Melbourne is a notable sporting location as the host city for the 1956 Summer Olympics games (the first Olympic Games ever held in the southern hemisphere), along with the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The city is home to three major annual international sporting events: the Australian Open (one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments), the Melbourne Cup (horse racing), and the Australian Grand Prix (Formula One). Melbourne was proclaimed the "World's Ultimate Sports City", for the second time, in 2008.[143] The city is home to the National Sports Museum, which until 2003 was located outside the members pavilion at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and reopened in 2008 in the Olympic Stand.[144]
Australian rules football and cricket are the most popular sports in Melbourne and also the spiritual home of these two sports in Australia and both are mostly played in the same stadiums in the city and its suburbs. The first ever official cricket Test match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877. The first Australian rules football matches were played in Melbourne in 1859 and the Australian Football League is headquartered at Docklands Stadium. Nine of its teams are based in the Melbourne metropolitan area and the five Melbourne AFL matches per week attract an average 40,000 people per game.[145] Additionally, the city annually hosts the AFL Grand Final.
The city is also home to several professional franchises/teams in national competitions including Cricket clubs Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades and Victorian Bushrangers who play in the Big Bash League and other domestic cricket competitions, Football (Soccer) clubs Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart who play in the A-league competition, the rugby league club Melbourne Storm[146] who play in the NRL competition, the rugby union club Melbourne Rebels who play in the Super Rugby competition, the netball club Melbourne Vixens who play in the trans-Tasman trophy ANZ Championship, and the basketball club Melbourne Tigers who play in the NBL competition and the Bulleen Boomers and Dandenong Rangers who play in the WNBL and the baseball club Melbourne Aces who play in the Australian Baseball League. A second Melbourne-based NBL team may be established for the 2011–2012 season.[147] In November 2008, it was announced that the Victorian Major Events Company had informed the Australian Olympic Committee that Melbourne was considering making bids for either the 2024 or 2028 Summer Olympics.[148]
Melbourne has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in finance, manufacturing, research, IT, education, logistics and transportation, conventions and tourism.[citation needed] Melbourne is headquarters for many of Australia's largest corporations, including five of the ten largest in the country (based on revenue), and five of the largest six in the country (based on market capitalisation)[150] (ANZ, BHP Billiton (the world's largest mining company), the National Australia Bank, Rio Tinto and Telstra); as well as such representative bodies and thinktanks as the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The city is home to Australia's largest and busiest seaport which handles more than $75 billion in trade every year and 39% of the nation's container trade.[98][151][152] Melbourne Airport provides an entry point for national and international visitors, and is Australia's second busiest airport.
Melbourne is also an important financial centre. Two of the big four banks, NAB and ANZ, are headquartered in Melbourne. The city has carved out a niche as Australia’s leading centre for superannuation (pension) funds, with 40% of the total, and 65% of industry super-funds including the $40 billion-dollar Federal Government Future Fund. The city was rated 34th within the top 50 financial cities as surveyed by the Mastercard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2007),[153] between Barcelona and Geneva, and second only to Sydney (14th) in Australia.
Melbourne is Australia's industrial centre. It is the centre of Australia's automotive industry, which includes Ford and Toyota manufacturing facilities, and the engine manufacturing facility of Holden and parts suppliers. It has the Australian automotive headquarters and design centres. It is also home to a very wide variety of other manufacturers, ranging from petrochemicals, aircraft parts and pharmaceuticals to fashion garments, paper manufacturing and food processing.[154]
It is a major international centre for biotechnology, and is the base of such companies as CSL and Biota. Melbourne has an important ICT industry that employs over 60,000 people (one third of Australia's ICT workforce), with a turnover of $19.8 billion and export revenues of $615 million. In addition, tourism also plays an important role in Melbourne's economy, with approximately 7.6 million domestic visitors and 1.88 million international visitors in 2004[155] In 2008, Melbourne overtook Sydney with the amount of money that domestic tourists spent in the city.[156] accounting for around $15.8 billion annually[157] Melbourne has been attracting an increasing share of domestic and international conference markets. Construction began in February 2006 of a $1 billion 5000-seat international convention centre, Hilton Hotel and commercial precinct adjacent to the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre to link development along the Yarra River with the Southbank precinct and multi-billion dollar Docklands redevelopment.[158]
Melbourne is a diverse and multicultural city. In 2006, 35.8% of its population was born overseas, exceeding the national average of 23.1%. In concordance with national data, Britain is the most commonly reported overseas place of birth, with 4.7%, followed by Italy (2.1%), Croatia (1.7%), Vietnam (1.6%), People's Republic of China (1.5%), and New Zealand (1.5%).[159] Melbourne has the world's third largest Greek-speaking population after Athens and Thessaloniki (Melbourne's Greek sister city), and the Vietnamese surname Nguyen is the second most common in Melbourne's phone book.[160] The city also features substantial Indian, Sri Lankan, and Malaysian-born communities, in addition to recent South African and Sudanese influxes. The cultural diversity is reflected in the city's restaurants serving various international cuisines.
Over two-thirds of Melburnians speak only English at home (68.1%). Chinese (mainly Cantonese and Mandarin) is the second-most-common language spoken at home (3.6%), with Greek third, Italian fourth and Vietnamese fifth, each with more than 100,000 speakers.[159] Although Victoria's net interstate migration has fluctuated, the Melbourne statistical division has grown by approximately 50,000 people a year since 2003. Melbourne has now attracted the largest proportion of international overseas immigrants (48,000) finding it outpacing Sydney's international migrant intake on percentage, along with having strong interstate migration from Sydney and other capitals due to more affordable housing and cost of living, which have been two recent key factors driving Melbourne's growth.[161]
In recent years, Melton, Wyndham and Casey, part of the Melbourne statistical division, have recorded the highest growth rate of all local government areas in Australia. Despite a demographic study stating that Melbourne could overtake Sydney in population by 2028,[162] the ABS has projected in two scenarios that Sydney will remain larger than Melbourne beyond 2056, albeit by a margin of less than 3% compared to a margin of 12% today. However, the first scenario projects that Melbourne's population overtakes Sydney in 2039, primarily due to larger levels of internal migration losses assumed for Sydney.[163]
After a trend of declining population density since World War II, the city has seen increased density in the inner and western suburbs aided in part by Victorian Government planning blueprints, such as Postcode 3000 and Melbourne 2030 which have aimed to curtail the urban sprawl.[164][165]
Melbourne was ranked the world's fourth top university city in 2008 after London, Boston and Tokyo in a poll commissioned by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.[166] Melbourne is the home of the University of Melbourne, as well as Monash University, the largest university in Australia. The University of Melbourne is the second oldest university in Australia.[167] It was ranked first among Australian universities in the 2010 THES international rankings.[168]
The 2011-2012 Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Melbourne as the 37th (30th by QS ranking) best university in the world. Monash University was ranked as the 117th (60th by QS ranking) best university in the world. Both universities are members of the Group of Eight.
Other universities located in Melbourne include La Trobe University, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, based in the inner city Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, Victoria University, which has nine campuses across Melbourne's western region, including three in the heart of Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) and another four within ten kilometres of the CBD, and the St Patrick's campus of the Australian Catholic University. Deakin University maintains two major campuses in Melbourne and Geelong, and is the third largest university in Victoria. In recent years, the number of international students at Melbourne's universities has risen rapidly, a result of an increasing number of places being made available to full fee paying students.[169]
Three daily newspapers serve Melbourne: the Herald Sun (tabloid), The Age (broadsheet) and The Australian (national broadsheet). The free mX is also distributed weekday afternoon at railway stations and on the streets of central Melbourne.[170] Five television networks and a community television station serve Melbourne: HSV-7, which broadcasts from the Melbourne Docklands precinct; GTV-9, which broadcasts from their new Docklands studios; and ATV-10, which broadcasts from the Como Complex in South Yarra. National stations that broadcast into Melbourne include ABV-2 (branded ABC1) from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The ABC has two studios, one at Ripponlea and another at Southbank. SBS One from the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), broadcasts from their studios at Federation Square in central Melbourne.
New digital-only channels available in addition to ABC1, HSV-7 (Seven), GTV-9 (Nine), ATV-10 (Ten) and SBS One include One HD, Eleven, ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24, SBS Two, 7Two, 7mate, GEM HD and GO!. C31 Melbourne is the only local community television station in Melbourne, and its broadcast range also branches out to regional centre Geelong. Melbourne also receives Pay TV, largely through cable and satellite services. Foxtel and Optus are the main Pay TV providers. Various television programs are produced in Melbourne, notably Neighbours, Kath & Kim, Winners and Losers, Offspring, The Project and Underbelly.
A long list of AM and FM radio stations broadcast to greater Melbourne. These include "public" (i.e. state owned ABC & SBS) and community stations. Many commercial stations are networked-owned: DMG has Nova 100 and Classic Rock; ARN controls Gold and Mix; and Southern Cross Austereo runs both Fox and Triple M. Stations from towns in regional Victoria may also be heard (e.g. 93.9 Bay FM, Geelong ). Youth alternatives include ABC Triple J and youth run SYN. Triple J, and similarly PBS and Triple R, strive to play under represented music. JOY caters for gay and lesbian audiences. For fans of classical music there are 3MBS and ABC Classic FM. Light FM is a contemporary Christian station. AM stations include ABC: 774, Radio National, and News Radio; also Fairfax affiliates 3AW (talk) and Magic (easy listening). For sport fans and enthusiasts there is SEN 1116. Melbourne has many community run stations that serve alternative interests, such as 3CR and 3KND (Indigenous). Many suburbs have low powered community run stations serving local audiences.[171]
Melbourne is home to a wide range of religious faiths, the most widely held faith of which is Christian (58.9%) with a large Catholic population (28.3%).[159] The large Christian population is signified by the city's two large cathedrals—St Patrick's (Roman Catholic), and St Paul's (Anglican). Both were built in the Victorian era and are of considerable heritage significance as major landmarks of the city.[172]
Other categories include no religion (20.0%), Anglican (12.1%), Eastern Orthodox (5.9%) and the Uniting Church (4.0%).[159] Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs collectively account for 9.2% of the population.[173]
Melbourne has the largest Jewish population in Australia, the community currently numbering approximately 60,000. The city is also home to the largest number of Holocaust survivors of any Australian city,[174] indeed the highest per capita outside Israel itself.[175] Reflecting this vibrant and growing community, Melbourne has a plethora of Jewish cultural, religious and educational institutions, including over 40 synagogues and 7 full-time parochial day schools,[176] along with a local Jewish newspaper.[177]
The governance of Melbourne is split between the government of Victoria and the 26 cities and five shires which comprise the metropolitan area. There is no ceremonial or political head of Melbourne; however, the Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne often fulfils such a role as a first amongst equals,[178] particularly when interstate or overseas.
The local councils are responsible for providing the functions set out in the Local Government Act 1989[179] such as urban planning and waste management. Most other government services are provided or regulated by the Victorian state government, which governs from Parliament House in Spring Street. These include services which are associated with local government in other countries and include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, health and planning of major infrastructure projects. The state government retains the right to override certain local government decisions, including urban planning, and Melburnian issues often feature prominently in state election.
The Government of Victoria's Department of Health oversees approximately 30 public hospitals in the Melbourne metropolitan region, and 13 health services organisations.[180]
There are many major medical, neuroscience and biotechnology research institutions located in Melbourne: St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Australian Stem Cell Centre, the Burnet Institute, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Victorian Institute of Chemical Sciences, Brain Research Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre.
Other institutions include the Howard Florey Institute, the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute and the Australian Synchrotron.[181] Many of these institutions are associated with and are located near universities.
Among Australian capital cities, Melbourne ties equal 1st with Canberra for the highest male life expectancy (80.0 years) and ranks second behind Perth in female life expectancy (84.1 years).[182]
Melbourne has a very high dependency on the automobile for transport,[183] particularly in the outer suburban areas where the largest number of cars are bought,[184] with a total of 3.6 million private vehicles using 22,320 km (13,870 mi) of road, and one of the highest lengths of road per capita in the world.[183] The early 20th century saw an increase in popularity of automobiles, resulting in large-scale suburban expansion,[185] and today it has an extensive network of freeways and arterial roadways used by private vehicles including freight as well as public transport systems including bus and taxis. Major highways feeding into the city include the Eastern Freeway, Monash Freeway and West Gate Freeway (which spans the large West Gate Bridge), whilst other freeways circumnavigate the city or lead to other major cities, including CityLink (which spans the large Bolte Bridge), Eastlink, the Western Ring Road, Calder Freeway, Tullamarine Freeway (main airport link) and the Hume Freeway which links Melbourne and Sydney.[186]
Melbourne has an integrated public transport system based around extensive train, tram, bus and taxi systems. In the 1940s, 25% of travellers used public transport but by 2003 it had declined to just 7.6%.[187] The public transport system was privatised in 1999, symbolising the peak of the decline.[188] Despite privatisation and successive governments persisting with auto-centric urban development into the 21st century,[189] there have since been large increases in public transport patronage, with the mode share for commuters increasing to 14.8% and 8.4% of all trips.[190] A target of 20% public transport mode share for Melbourne by 2020 was set by the state government in 2006.[191] Since 2006 public transport patronage has grown by over 20%.[191] There have also been recent developments with the introduction with reusable card system, Myki.
The Melbourne rail network has its origins in privately built lines from the 1850s gold rush era, and today the suburban network consists of 200 suburban stations on 16 lines which radiate from the City Loop, a partially underground metro section of the network beneath the Central Business District (Hoddle Grid). Flinders Street Station is Melbourne's busiest railway station, and was the world's busiest passenger station in 1926. It remains a prominent Melbourne landmark and meeting place.[192] The city has rail connections with regional Victorian cities, as well as direct interstate rail services to Sydney and Adelaide and beyond which depart from Melbourne's other major rail terminus, Southern Cross Station in Spencer Street. In the 2008–2009 financial year, the Melbourne rail network recorded 213.9 million passenger trips, the highest in its history.[193] Many rail lines, along with dedicated lines and rail yards are also used for freight.
The Melbourne Metro Project, is a planned development consisting of a new railway line running north-south under the city centre. This line will be installed in two stages:
Stage 1 from Arden Metro (Dynon Rd) to Parkville Metro, to CBD North Metro (Carlton) to CBD South, to Domain (St Kilda)
Stage 2 from Domain to Caulfield.
Melbourne has the largest tram network in the world[31][195] which had its origins in the city's 1880s land boom. In the 2010-2011 year 182.7 million passenger trips were made by tram.[196] Melbourne's is Australia's only tram network to comprise more than a single line and consists of 250 km (155.3 mi) of track, 487 trams, 28 routes, and 1,773 tram stops.[197] Sections of the tram network are on roads,[197] while others are separated or are light rail routes.[198] Melbourne's trams are recognised as iconic cultural assets and a tourist attraction. Heritage trams operate on the free City Circle route, intended for visitors to Melbourne, and heritage restaurant trams travel through the city and surrounding areas during the evening.[199]
Melbourne's bus network consists of almost 300 routes which mainly service the outer suburbs fill the gaps in the network between rail and light rail services.[199][200] 86.7 million passenger trips were recorded on Melbourne’s buses in 2007.[201]
Ship transport is an important component of Melbourne's transport system. The Port of Melbourne is Australia's largest container and general cargo port and also its busiest. The port handled two million shipping containers in a 12 month period during 2007, making it one of the top five ports in the Southern Hemisphere.[151] Station Pier on Port Phillip Bay is the main passenger ship terminal with cruise ships and the Spirit of Tasmania ferries which cross Bass Strait to Tasmania docking there.[202] Ferries and water taxis run from berths along the Yarra River as far upstream as South Yarra and across Port Phillip Bay.
Melbourne has four airports. Melbourne Airport, at Tullamarine, is the city's main international and domestic gateway and second busiest in Australia. The airport is home base for passenger airlines Jetstar Airways and Tiger Airways Australia and cargo airlines Australian air Express and Toll Priority; and is a major hub for Qantas and Virgin Australia. Avalon Airport, located between Melbourne and Geelong, is a secondary hub of Jetstar. It is also used as a freight and maintenance facility. Buses and taxis are the only forms of public transport currently available to and from the city's main airports. Air Ambulance facilities are available for domestic and international transportation of patients.[203] Melbourne also has a significant general aviation airport, Moorabbin Airport in the city's south east as well as handling a limited number of passenger flights. Essendon Airport, which was once the city's main airport also handles passenger flights, general aviation and some cargo flights.[204]
Melbourne has a bicycle sharing system. It was established in 2010[205] and utilises a network of marked road lanes and segregated cycle facilities.
Water storage and supply for Melbourne is managed by Melbourne Water, which is owned by the Victorian Government. The organisation is also responsible for management of sewerage and the major water catchments in the region and will be responsible for the Wonthaggi desalination plant and North–South Pipeline. Water is stored in a series of reservoirs located within and outside the Greater Melbourne area. The largest dam, the Thomson River Dam, located in the Victorian Alps, is capable of holding around 60% of Melbourne's water capacity,[206] while smaller dams such as the Upper Yarra Dam and the Cardinia Reservoir carry secondary supplies.
Gas is provided state wide by SP Ausnet. Electricity is provided by 5 distribution companies:
Numerous telecommunications companies provide Melbourne with terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services and wireless internet services.
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Roger Federer (German pronunciation: [ˈfeːdəʁɐ]) (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2 February 2004 to 18 August 2008.[2] Federer has occupied the #1 ranking for 285 overall weeks, one week short of the record 286 weeks held by Pete Sampras. As of 28 May 2012, he is ranked World No. 3. Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open.[10] At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. During the course of his run at the 2012 French Open in Roland Garros, Federer eclipsed Jimmy Connors long standing record of 233 match wins in Grand Slam tournaments when he defeated Adrian Ungur in a second round match.
Federer has won a record six ATP World Tour Finals and 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record nine consecutive times (2003–2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record seven times overall and six times consecutively (2004–2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.[11][12]
As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008)[13] and in 2012 he topped a list of the "100 greatest tennis players of all time" (male or female) by Tennis Channel.[14] He is often referred to as the Federer Express[15] or abbreviated to Fed Express, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro,[15] or simply Maestro.[15][16][17][18]
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Federer was born in Binningen, Arlesheim near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand.[19] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships.[20] He grew up in nearby Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language.[19][21][22] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[23] Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation.[24] Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. "I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved," he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.[25]
Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.[26] They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).[27] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[28]
Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[29][30] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[31] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[32] At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami.[33] He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims.[34] He was named a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to society.[35]
Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
Federer is currently number 31 on Forbes top 100 celebrities as of May 2012. [36]
Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze,[37] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram.[38] In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals.[39] He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.
Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost.[40] Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset.[41] Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter.[41] Although he won his first ever title already in 1999 on the challenger tour, winning the doubles event in Segovia, Spain together with Dutchman Sander Groen, the finals was played on Federer´s 18th birthday. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court.[42] In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time.[42] Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[40][41][42][43][44] He also made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.[42][44]
In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis.[45] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[46] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[45] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[45] Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.[45]
During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick.[47] Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there.[47] Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada.[47] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.[47]
In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.[48] However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final.[48] Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay.[48] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[48] Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[48]
In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final.[49] Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis,[49] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion).[49] In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.[49]
In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal.[50] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles.[50] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.[50]
In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray.[51] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.[51] At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[51] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[51] However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[52]
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Federer on the Cover of Sports Illustrated After 2009 French Open Victory |
In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick.[53] Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open.[53] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay.[53] The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year.[53] Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.[53]
In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open,[54] where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and improved his Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles.[51] But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking.[54] At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[54][55] Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings.[54][56][57] At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic.[54] Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish.[58] In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial basis.[59] Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.
The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.
During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003.[60] Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals,[61] where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.[62]
Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2005. He beat del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7–8, and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, and defeated John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Rafael Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Federer then lost in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open to Andy Roddick in three sets. Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on new blue clay, where he beat Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomáš Berdych in the final and regained the world no. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal in the process. Federer then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome where he won over Carlos Berlocq, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andreas Seppi en route to the semifinal, where he was defeated in straight sets by the defending champion and 2012 runner up Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[63][64][65][66][67]
They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2).[68] They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[69]
Nadal leads their head-to-head 18–10. However, most of their matches have been on clay. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–2 and clay by 12–2.[70] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals.[71] From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[72][73][74][75] They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.
The two have met 25 times with Federer leading 14–11, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player to do it two times.
Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 25 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5.[76] Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).
Many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.[77]
Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7.[78] Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open[79] and 2010 Australian Open,[80] but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008[81] and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010.[82] Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.
Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record.[83] This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.
One of Federer's longstanding rivalries is with American Andy Roddick. Federer and Roddick have met on many occasions, including in four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open). Federer leads 21–3, making Roddick the ATP player with the most tournament losses to Federer. Roddick lost his World No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004.
In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. It included a fifth set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) and a match that was over 4 hours long. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.
Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."[84]
Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip,"[85] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport."[86] Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Though Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net.[85] His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph);[87][88][89] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[87][88] Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying,[90] and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career.[91] His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react.[citation needed] Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.[92]
Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet,[93] which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 357.2 grams, and thin beam of 17.5 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3).[94] Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.[94] When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."[95]
Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[96] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006.[97] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[98] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[99] Federer endorses Gillette,[100] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[101] as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[102] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[103] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[104] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[105]
Information in these tables is updated only once the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | LQ | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | W | SF | W | W | SF | F | W | SF | SF | 4 / 13 | 63–9 | 87.50 |
French Open | A | 1R | 4R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | F | F | W | QF | F | 1 / 14 | 52–12 | 81.25 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | W | W | W | W | W | F | W | QF | QF | 6 / 13 | 59–7 | 89.39 | |
US Open | A | LQ | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | W | W | W | W | W | F | SF | SF | 5 / 12 | 61–7 | 89.71 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 7–4 | 13–4 | 6–4 | 13–3 | 22–1 | 24–2 | 27–1 | 26–1 | 24–3 | 26–2 | 20–3 | 20–4 | 7–1 | 16 / 52 | 235–35 | 87.04 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Mark Philippoussis | 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3) |
Winner | 2004 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Marat Safin | 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 2004 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | US Open (1) | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
Winner | 2005 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Winner | 2005 | US Open (2) | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
Winner | 2006 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2006 | French Open (1) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |
Winner | 2006 | US Open (3) | Hard | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
Winner | 2007 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Fernando González | 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2007 | French Open (2) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 2007 | US Open (4) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2008 | French Open (3) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |
Winner | 2008 | US Open (5) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |
Winner | 2009 | French Open (1) | Clay | Robin Söderling | 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |
Runner-up | 2009 | US Open (1) | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |
Runner-up | 2011 | French Open (4) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YEC | NQ | NQ | NQ | NQ | SF | W | W | F | W | W | RR | SF | W | W | 6 / 10 | 39–7 | 84.78 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 5–0 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Houston | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | Houston | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Shanghai | Carpet (i) | David Nalbandian | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | James Blake | 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | David Ferrer | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
Winner | 2011 | London | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2008 | Beijing | Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |
6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 |
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
Career Grand Slam | Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
16 titles | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
23 finals | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open |
10 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
23 consecutive semifinals[106][107] | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open |
31 consecutive quarterfinals | Stands alone |
2004 & 2006–2007 | 3 years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 & 2009 | 5 years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 | 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 | 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2003–2010 | 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title[107] | Björn Borg Pete Sampras |
2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open |
8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
4+ titles at 3 different Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
5+ finals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2001 French Open — 2011 US Open |
8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open |
5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors[107] | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open |
7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open |
First 7 finals won | Stands alone |
2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open |
9 hard-court titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 & 2009 | All 4 Major finals in 1 season | Rod Laver |
2006 French Open — 2009 US Open |
Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
235 match wins overall[108] | Stands alone |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
50+ match wins at all 4 Majors[109] | Stands alone |
2006 | 27 match wins in 1 season | Stands alone |
2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon |
18 consecutive No. 1 seeds | Stands alone |
2006 US Open — 2007 French Open |
36 consecutive sets won | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | 35 consecutive service points won | Stands alone |
2009 Wimbledon | 50 aces in a final | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | $2.4 million earned at one event | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2 winning streaks of 25+ matches | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
3 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
5 winning streaks of 15+ matches | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
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Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 4 titles overall | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2006–2007 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Novak Djokovic |
Australian Open | 2004–2007 | 3 titles in 4 years | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 5 finals overall | Stefan Edberg |
Australian Open | 2004–2012 | 9 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
Australian Open | 2007 | Won without dropping a set[110] | Ken Rosewall |
Australian Open | 2000–2012 | 63 match wins overall[110] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2009 | 4 consecutive finals | Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |
French Open | 2006–2008, 2011 | 4 runner-ups[111] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2008 | 3 consecutive runner-ups | Stands alone |
French Open | 2005–2009 | 5 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
French Open—Wimbledon | 2009 | Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year | Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |
Wimbledon | 2003–2007 | 5 consecutive titles[112] | Björn Borg |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 finals overall | Boris Becker Pete Sampras |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 titles overall | Jimmy Connors Pete Sampras |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 consecutive titles | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2009 | 40 consecutive match wins[113] | Stands alone |
US Open | 1999–2011 | 89.71% (61–7) match winning percentage | Stands alone |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
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2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 |
237 consecutive weeks at No. 1[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents | Stands alone |
2005–2006 | 56 consecutive hard court match victories | Stands alone |
2003–2008 | 65 consecutive grass court match victories[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 24 consecutive tournament finals won[107] | Stands alone |
2001–2012 | 10+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts | Stands alone |
2003–2009 | 11 grass court titles | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 51 hard court titles | Stands alone |
2006 | 9 hard court titles in 1 season | Jimmy Connors |
1998–2012 | 315 tiebreaks won[114] | Stands alone |
1999–2011 | 87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage[115] | Stands alone |
1998–2012 | 83.20% (515–104) hard court match winning percentage[116] | Stands alone |
2006 | 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season | Stands alone |
2003–2011 | 6 ATP World Tour Finals titles overall[117] | Stands alone |
2002–2011 | 39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins[117] | Ivan Lendl |
2002–2012 | 32 combined Championship Masters Series finals | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 44 Masters 1000 semifinals | Stands alone |
2000–2012 | 261 Masters 1000 match wins | Stands alone |
2004–2012 | 14 Masters 1000 hard court titles | Andre Agassi |
2004–2012 | 4 Indian Wells Masters titles[118] | Stands alone |
2004–2008 | 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Jimmy Connors |
2003–2010 | Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2 | Jimmy Connors |
2007 | $10 million prize money earned in a season | Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic |
2005–2007 | 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches | Björn Borg |
2004–2012 | 7 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Roger Federer |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roger Federer |
Book: Roger Federer | |
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Federer, Roger |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Swiss tennis professional |
Date of birth | 8 August 1981 |
Place of birth | Binningen (near Basel), Switzerland) |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Jay Park | |
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Jay Park at the 2011 Mr. Idol press conference |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Park Jaebeom |
Born | (1987-04-25) April 25, 1987 (age 25) Seattle, Washington, United States |
Genres | Hip hop, R&B, pop, rap, dance, K-pop |
Occupations | Singer, rapper, dancer, songwriter, composer, actor |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | JYP Entertainment (2008–10) Sidus HQ (2010–present) |
Associated acts | AOM, dok2, The Quiett, Prepix, Project Prepix Asia, Clara Chung, Dumbfoundead, Teddy Riley, Rob Knox |
Website | jaypark.com |
Korean name | |
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Hangul | 박재범 |
Hanja | 朴載範 |
Revised Romanization | Bak Jae-beom |
McCune–Reischauer | Pak Chaebŏm |
This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul or Hanja. |
Park Jaebeom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範, born April 25, 1987), also known as Jay Park, is a Korean-American recording artist, dancer, rapper, music producer, b-boy, songwriter, composer and actor. He was the former leader of the South Korean boy band 2PM, and is a member of the Seattle-based b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM).
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Born in Seattle, Washington, Park showed great interest in hip hop music and breakdancing at a young age. Park was raised in Edmonds, Washington where he attended Edmonds Woodway High School. In 2004, he auditioned in Seattle, Washington, for Korea-based JYP Entertainment (JYPE), which brought him to Korea in January 2005, to receive further training in dancing, rapping, singing, and the Korean language.
Park first appeared through Mnet's Hot Blood Men, a documentary-style reality program that showed the future members of idol groups 2AM and 2PM in training. Park, finishing with the most fan votes, was given the position of 2PM's leader.[1] On September 4, 2008, 2PM debuted with the song "10점 만점에 10점" ("10 Points Out Of 10") on music program M! Countdown after the release of their first mini-album, Hottest Time of the Day, a few days prior.
Aside from 2PM's music activities, Park created the song "正" ("Jeong") with Yeeun of the Wonder Girls for the television drama "Conspiracy in the Court"'s original soundtrack, and V.O.S's "To Luv...".[2] He also participated in special stage performances such as Navi's "마음이 다쳐서" ("Heart Damage") on May 3, 2009,[3] and K.Will's "1초에 한방울" ("One Drop per Second") on June 20, 2009.[4] He also became a regular cast member in several variety programs, including Star King and Introducing a Star's Friend.[5] In August 2009, he and Kara band member, Nicole Jung, became the new hosts for a cultural variety show called Nodaji.[6]
On September 4, 2009, unfavorable comments towards Korea were found on Park’s personal Myspace account from 2005. The comments, written in English to a friend, were translated by Korean media, quickly spreading across hundreds of news articles. In this letter, he explained the unhappiness that he experienced during his early days as a trainee in an unfamiliar country where he lacked family, the ability to easily communicate and an understanding of the culture.[7] Although outraged protesters demanded that Park should be removed from 2PM, JYP Entertainment's CEO, Park Jin-young, stated on September 7, 2009, that he was going to continue as a part of the group.[8]
The following day, Park announced on his official fancafe that he would be leaving the group for a while to calm the situation and return to his hometown Seattle, Washington. He also apologized to the other 2PM members, and promised "I will come back a better person."[9] However, Park Jin-young suddenly confirmed that 2PM would continue as a 6-member group.[10] Additionally, due to the sensitive topic of Park's departure, all 2PM members were withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows,[11] and the final episode of their reality show, Wild Bunny, was postponed indefinitely.[12]
The remaining 6 members of 2PM re-filmed their music video for "Heartbeat" without Park on October 31, 2009. According to management, Park's vocals would not be removed from the older songs he promoted with 2PM, but he would be absent from the newer tracks.[13]
2PM's first official album was titled 1:59PM, to symbolize Park's absence (according to the 6 remaining members).[14] Through their acceptance speeches at end-of-year award shows for "Again & Again", the members thanked Park and reiterated their wish for his return. At the Mnet Asian Music Awards, the group paid homage to him during their performance of "Again & Again" with a spotlight shown over his usual position in the dance formation and his lines left unsung.[15][16]
After Park returned to the United States, fans changed their perspective on the matter when they realized that his Myspace messages had been severely mistranslated and taken out of context. However, on February 25, 2010, JYP suddenly announced that Park's contract with them had been terminated, citing separate "personal mistake" that Park had made some time in 2010.[17] JYP would make reference to this unknown mistake several times in 2010, yet never giving details even when Park's current agency insisted they reveal whatever it is they are hiding. Boycotts on 2PM-endorsed products and protests for Park's return to the group began to take place, not only in South Korea, but internationally as well.[18] Various Jay Park-dedicated forums and fansites all over the world organized silent protests and flash dance mobs.[19]
On several instances, Park was the number one trending topic on Twitter, even topping the Oscars on March 8, 2010.[20] Park's fanbase revealed that they plan to release a self-produced album in his honor on March 27, 2010, to commemorate the 200th day anniversary of his departure from Korea.[21] However, because the album had been prepared since January, during the time where public opinion on 2PM had changed, the fans decided it would be in the best interest to not release the CDs, instead mailing 10-20 copies to Park's hometown in Seattle.[22]
On March 15, 2010, Park created his own YouTube channel, "jayparkaom". His first post was a video where he sings a rendition of "Nothin' on You" (with his own rap and lyrics) in his bathroom.[23][24] The video went viral and reached over 2,000,000 views in less than 24 hours. In Korea, the original song by B.o.B and Bruno Mars topped the Cyworld background music chart in a matter of hours upon the video's release.[25] "Nothin' on You" also reached #1 on other music sites such as Dosirak, Melon, Mnet, Bugs, and Soribada, profiting $300,000 in sales through the effects of Park's video.[26] On his 'About Me' page, Park left a message thanking his fans for their support. He also encouraged fans not to hate remaining 2PM members on his behalf.[27]
In April 2010, he appeared with fellow Art of Movement members at an annual Korean American festival event called Project Korea III: KSA Cinderella Story at Rutgers University, New Jersey, on April 3, 2010.[28] Videos of the event were uploaded onto internet portal sites, where footage of Park acting as an MC and dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on stage drew much positive interest.[29]
On April 24, 2010, Dumbfoundead released a collaboration track featuring Park and Clara Chung on his website, titled "Clouds".[30] On September 5, 2010, Park participated in the 3rd International Secret Agents Los Angeles concert held in Cerritos, California, together with well-known YouTube celebrities such as Nigahiga, KevJumba, AJ Rafael, Alyssa Bernal, Far East Movement, and America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 champions, Poreotix. Park's performance drew many positive responses.[31][32]
On June 18, 2010, Park returned to Korea through Incheon International Airport, to the biggest crowd ever at the airport.[33] "Park Jaebeom has returned" became the biggest headline in Korea that day. "JayIsBack" shot up immediately on the trending topics on Twitter on June 18 at 9:30 AM GMT.[34] Pictures of Park in Hype Nation were released on July 2,[35] and Park was able to meet with the Korean media for interviews for the first time, talking about his current activities.[36] It was also revealed that his single "Demon" would be included in Hype Nation's original soundtrack.[37]
On July 8, 2010, it was reported that Park will sign a contract with Sidus HQ for his domestic Korean activities in terms of acting and singing,[38] where his management states that he plans to redebut as a rookie artist.[39] The contract with Sidus HQ was finalized on July 16, 2010.[40]
Park released a single album titled 믿어줄래 ("Count On Me") containing 3 tracks, including a rearranged Korean version of "Nothin' on You", on July 13, 2010.[41][42] The English and Korean lyrics were written by Park himself.[43] The song immediately reached #1 on Cyworld and Bugs music charts, and also on other music sites as Monkey3, Soribada, Dosirak, and Melon within the hour of its release.[44] The single album sold 21,989 physical copies on the first day of release, coming in at #1 in sales and #7 in the overall ranking of albums released from January 2010 to July 13, 2010. With more than 41,316 copies sold at the end of 2010 making the album place at #32 on Gaon's [45] year end chart, Park earned approximately 700 million won from his single album, which placed him at #3 in the overall annual ranking of album released until at the end of July 2010.[46]
Park was cast for the 2011 Korean movie Mr Idol.[47]
On October 10, 2010, Park was one of the performers alongside SE7EN, Taeyang, Musiq Soulchild at the Seoul Soul Festival held at the War Memorial of Korea. Park and Musiq Soulchild also performed a duet song titled "Love" at the festival.[48]
On January 6, 2011, Park was announced as the winner in "Best Web Video" Category around the globe for his song "Nothin' on You" at the Mashable Awards. He also has been nominated in ‘Must Follow Personality’ category and finished 2nd.[49]
Park was chosen to be the sole opener for Ne-Yo in his first concert in Seoul for the "2011 Hyundai Mall 40th Anniversary Concert" held on March 29, 2011. He also cooperated with Ne-Yo for a charity event for children dreaming to become musicians on March 28 at the Dream Academy in Seoul.[50]
On March 28, 2011, Park was a finalist and received the most votes in the special category 'Connecting People Award', a joint venture between Shorty Awards and Nokia. Park also was a finalist in the 'Celebrity' category at the same event.[51]
Park released his first Korean mini-album, Take A Deeper Look, in April 2011, with the title track "Abandoned".[52] Take A Deeper Look debuted at #3 in the Billboard World Album Charts and ranked #26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart.[53] Park also made his debut stage on Korean music shows such as KBS Music Bank, Mnet M! Countdown, MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo for the first time in 2 years as a solo artist. Park made history as the first artist crowned winner at a debut stage, as he won Music Bank on May 6 on his first debut stage on Korean music shows.[54][55] He won Music Bank again on May 13, 2011.
On August 6, 2011, Park participated in his first KBS Immortal Song 2 episode. He performed "Candy" by H.O.T. with Moon Hee-joon. He had won his round and received 2nd place overall on his first episode. Park followed up with his own R&B rendition of "Aemo" by Kim Soo-hee on the next episode. His remix was well received. On his third episode of Immortal Song 2, Park performed "Tell Me the Truth" by Jinusean with Solbi, Jang Hyuk and Kim Sooro. That performance won Park the competition for that episode, allowing him to choose the order for the next episode. For his fourth episode, Park again made his own R&B version of "Feel Good Day" by Kim Wan-sun. On his fifth episode, Park performed a remixed version of "Look Back at Me" by Deux, where he received attention from his fellow castmates for his incredible and dangerous b-boy moves. On his sixth episode and final appearance on the show, he performed "Dear, Do Not Change" by Nam Jin and won the last trophy.[56] It was revealed that Park will return to Immortal Song 2 for a special episode "King of Kings" with other singers that have claimed the #1 spot. This special episode will record November 7 at the KBS Open Hall and air November 19.
On September 5, 2011, the single "Demon" was released through various Korean digital music websites.[57] The music video was also finally released on the same day to negative reviews, and Park apologized, saying he had no control over the release of both the music video and the song.[58]
On October 1, 2011, Park returned to the USA to perform in the International Secret Agents Los Angeles concert..[59][60]
On October 29, 2011, Park delivered a performance to over 25,000 fans as he headlined the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) Live in Manila Concert held at the SM Mall of Asia. The concert also featured Californian alternative rock band, Evaline, and international singer/songwriter, Jason Mraz.[61]
On November 3, 2011, Park released his single "Girlfriend". The song was produced by American producers Da Beat Freakz.
On December 28, 2011, Park released Part 1 of his first full-length Korean album, New Breed.[62]
Park was chosen by KT Tech to be the official model of TakeHD, a new smartphone by the brand.[63][64]
On January 11, 2012, Park received the Disk Bonsang for his mini album Take A Deeper Look on the first day of the 26th Golden Disk Awards, which was held in Osaka. He was the only solo artist to receive the Disk Bonsang among the other Bonsang winners.[65] On January 18, 2012, he received the Popular Artist Award of the Asia Model Awards, which was held in Seoul.[66][67][68]
Songs composed and written by Park for others artists were released in 2012. Park produced and composed a song with Cha Cha Malone for Korean-American singer Brian Joo, titled "Can't Stop", for his new EP, ReBorn Part 1.[69][70][71] Park wrote the Korean version of the song[70], while Joo wrote the English Version[71]. On April 25, 2012, Park's 25th birthday, idol group U-KISS released their 6th mini-album, DoraDora, which includes the track "4U" written and composed by Park.[72] Park also produced and composed a song for upcoming girl group Tiny-G, "Polaris". The lyrics are written by actress Lee Si Young. They worked together as a couple through MBC Music and Lyrics.[73][74]
Park released his first full-length Korean album, New Breed, in February 2012, with the title track "Know Your Name".[75] The album reached #1 twice on the Gaon Weekly album chart in South Korea,[76][77] and also reached #1 on the Hanteo Weekly chart by solding more than 80000 copies offline.[78][79] New Breed debuted at #4 in the Billboard World Album Charts and ranked #16 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart.[80] Park made his comeback stage on Korean music shows on February 16, 2012. He won Music Bank on February 24, 2012, one week after his comeback.[81]
On March 3, 2012, Park held his first solo concert, New Breed Live in Seoul, at the Olympic Hall of Seoul Olympic Park.[82]
On April 23, 2012, Park has been selected as the "R-16 KOREA 2012" (B-Boy) ambassador by the Korea Tourism Organization.[83]
On April 27, 2012, Park began Asian promotions for the Asian version release of his album New Breed, and will visit 5 countries : Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. On April 28, 2012, Park performed at the Star Awards in Singapore.[83] On June 13, 2012, Park will release the Japan editions of his albums Take A Deeper Look and New Breed through Universal J. The regular edition of New Breed will contain the English version of "I Love You" as a bonus track.[84]
Park headlined the APAHM tour organized by Verizon in the USA in May 2012. The tour made stops in Washington DC on May 18, New York on May 21, San Francisco on May 24 and Los Angeles on May 26.[85][86] On May 16, 2012, Park released his first mixtape, Fresh A!r: Breathe !t[87][88][89], containing songs he will perform for the APAHM tour.[90][91][92] The mixtape was released for free on Park's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, official website, Datpiff and SoundCloud.
Korean discography[link]
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English discography[link]
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Year | Awards | Category | Country | Result | Notes |
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2010 | Naver Most Popular Search[93] | Male Solo | Korea | Won | |
2011 | Mashable Awards[94][95] | Best Web Video | USA | Won | For his cover of "Nothin' on You" YouTube video. |
Must Follow Personality | 1st Runner-Up | ||||
Shorty Awards | Connecting People Award | Finalist | Received the most votes, joint venture with Nokia. | ||
Best Celebrity on Twitter | Finalist | ||||
Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Dance Performance - Solo | Korea | Nominated | For his song "Abandoned". | |
Song of the Year | Nominated | ||||
Golden Disk Awards[96] | Disk Bonsang | Won | For his mini album Take A Deeper Look. | ||
2012 | Asia Model Awards[66][67][68] | Popular Artist Award | Won |
Year | Date | Song | Music Program |
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2011 | May 6 | Abandoned | KBS Music Bank |
May 13 | |||
2012 | February 24 | Know Your Name |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Park, Jay |
Alternative names | Park, Jaebum |
Short description | American recording artist, dancer and actor |
Date of birth | April 25, 1987 |
Place of birth | Seattle, Washington, United States |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (May 2008) |
Murray Walker OBE | |
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Walker in 2009 |
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Born | Graeme Murray Walker (1923-10-10) 10 October 1923 (age 88) Hall Green, Birmingham, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Commentator |
Years active | 1948-2001, 2005- (occasional work) |
Employer |
BBC Sport (1976-1996, 2009-) ITV Sport (1997-2001) |
Title | OBE |
Graeme Murray Walker, OBE (known as Murray Walker; born 10 October 1923,[1] Hall Green, Birmingham, England) is a former Formula One (F1) motorsport commentator. For most of his career he worked for the BBC, but when it lost the contract for F1 coverage to the company ITV, Walker continued his commentating after the change of broadcaster.
He has a distinctive, enthusiastic commentary style. Since 1978, British television commentary of the Formula 1 seasons has been used by other broadcasters right around the world, including Australia and Japan. He is known for comments in the heat of the moment that could have a humorous interpretation; for example, it has been stated that as a car arrived for a pit stop during a race he uttered a Spoonerism by saying "...I'll stop the startwatch!". Of an injured, absent driver "He's watching us from hospital with his injured knee." "That Williams is unique, except for the car in front, which is identical!. When Nigel Mansell's tyre blew in the closing stages of the final race of the 1986 World Championship in Adelaide, depriving Mansell of a chance to win the title, he exclaimed "...And look at that!...".
He was an exponent of the commentator's curse, noting in an interview that he might say how well a driver was racing or that they would probably win the race, only to have them retire or crash out of the race shortly thereafter, hence his catchphrase "...Unless I'm very much mistaken..." which might lead shortly after to a correction "...I am very much mistaken..." to introduce the correction of the foregoing comment if it turned out in the event to be incorrect.
He is known for his gentlemanly and considerate conduct, seeing the best in drivers who had attracted controversy. He rarely criticised drivers and preferred to give the benefit of the doubt in attributing blame for incidents; he did not, for instance, criticise Michael Schumacher after his controversial collision with Damon Hill in Adelaide in 1994.
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Walker's father Graham was a despatch rider and works motorcyclist for Norton Motorcycle Company, who participated in the Isle of Man TT and was Sales competition Director at the Rudge-Whitworth Motorcycle company. Walker attended Highgate School and in World War II he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Royal Scots Greys. He went on to command a Sherman Tank and participate in the Battle of the Reichswald with the 4th Armoured Brigade. He left the army having attained the rank of captain and then worked in advertising for Dunlop and Aspro. He was then employed by the Masius advertising agency, with clients including Mars,[2] Vauxhall Motors and British Rail. He did not retire from this until the age of 59, long after he was famed as a commentator. He also briefly competed in motorcycle races himself.
Walker is often wrongly attributed with having invented the famous slogan "A Mars a day helps you work rest and play": "[it] was something that I administered, but I never invented it. I'll tell you how it got ascribed to me. It got put into an obituary file, maybe all of my obituary files, and I can't get rid of it. It's amazing the way it sticks."
Walker did, however, create the slogan "Trill makes budgies bounce with health" - a famous advertising slogan for bird seed in the 1960s as well as the slogan "Opal Fruits, made to make your mouth water." [3]
Walker made his first broadcast at Shelsley Walsh hillclimb in 1948.[4] By 1949 he was commentating on races alongside Max Robertson, although it wasn't until the late 1970s that each Formula 1 race was given extensive coverage on British television. He did occasional Formula 1 commentaries during the 1970s, going full-time for the 1978 season. He commentated on Formula 1 through to the 2001 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
His first regular work was on radio coverage of the Isle of Man TT, initially alongside his father. After Graham's death in 1962, Murray took over the lead role. He covered motocross (initially for ITV) during the 1960s and rallycross in the 1970s and early 1980s. He occasionally commentated on motorcycle racing and rallying. Walker also covered the BTCC for the BBC between 1988 and 1997, and the Macao event for Hong Kong TV on nine occasions.[1]
On Formula One coverage from 1980 to 1993, Walker struck up a surprisingly successful double act with 1976 world champion James Hunt. Initially they did not get on, as Hunt's interests, personality, and private life appeared to have little in common with Walker's. However, the pair were to work together for more than a decade at the BBC, until Hunt's sudden death from a heart attack the day after the 1993 Canadian Grand Prix. When in the commentary booth together, Walker would provide his typically animated descriptions of the action, with Hunt bringing in his expert knowledge - and opinionated nature - in his co-commentary role.
After Hunt died, Jonathan Palmer joined Walker in the commentary box until the end of 1996. The following year, the television rights for the UK coverage transferred to ITV, and Walker followed. His co-commentator from the 1997 season onwards until his retirement from commentating was Martin Brundle. There were few Grands Prix between 1978 and 1996 that Walker did not commentate on while employed by the BBC. Some of these including the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix (Simon Taylor), 1981 German Grand Prix and 1984 German Grand Prix (both commentated by Barrie Gill), the 1985 German Grand Prix (Tony Jardine) and 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix (Simon Taylor).
He also wrote a series of annuals for the Grand Prix season, Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year, for Hazelton Publishing from 1987 to 1997.
Walker's final Formula One television commentary was the 2001 United States Grand Prix which was also the second F1 race held at Indianapolis, United States. Upon his retirement, Walker was awarded an original brick from "The Brickyard" (the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) by track president Tony George, an honour very rarely bestowed on anyone other than the winning driver of a major race at the venue.
In November 1997, Walker was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters Degree from Bournemouth University.[5] He was later honoured, in July 2005, with an Honorary Doctorate from the Middlesex University, London.
In October 2005, it was announced that Walker would be returning to the microphone as the BBC's voice of the new Grand Prix Masters series.[6] After providing the commentary for the inaugural race in South Africa, in January 2006 BBC Radio 5 Live announced that Walker would be part of their team for their coverage of subsequent races.
Years of exposure to loud engines and age-related hearing problems left Walker with hearing loss in both ears. In 2006 he became chief ambassador for David Ormerod Hearing Centres, the high street Audiology chain that fitted his hearing aids.
In March 2006, the Honda Racing F1 Team, formerly British American Racing, announced that Walker would become its team ambassador for half of the 2006 season's 18 Grands Prix, starting with the San Marino Grand Prix in April.[7] Walker welcomed Honda Racing's VIP guests and entertained them with his F1 commentary.
In March 2006 Walker returned to the microphone for the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar round in Adelaide and in April he commentated on the Australian Grand Prix for Australia's Formula One broadcaster Network Ten. He was also Sky Sports' commentator for their coverage of Grand Prix Masters.
In March 2007 Walker again returned to the microphone for the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar round, and was awarded a Lifetime Infinite Pass to the event by organisers at a ceremony on pit straight, shortly before the main race. In March 2007 he was again part of Network Ten’s commentary team for the Australian Grand Prix.
In June 2007 Walker visited the Isle of Man to celebrate the Centenary of the Isle of Man TT and work on a DVD documentary about the event, TT: Centenary Celebration with Murray Walker, which was released later in the year.
In July 2007 Walker commentated on the European Grand Prix for BBC Radio 5 Live. This was a one-off in place of regular commentator David Croft who was on paternity leave.[8]
On 28 June 2008 Walker was honoured by the people of his hometown and presented with a "Star" on the Walk of Stars on Broad Street in Birmingham.
In November 2008, Walker's presence in the BBC's recovered coverage of F1 - as a website columnist - was confirmed.[9] Earlier that year, while being interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live, Walker was asked if he'd consider a return to the TV commentary box. He answered, "Never say never".
Now in his late eighties, Walker still remains in the public eye and contributes to the sport that is synonymous to his name, although appearances and contributions are a lot less frequent.
On 5 June 2011, a documentary entitled 'Life in the Fast Lane' premiered on BBC 2 that looked into his life, particularly his shaping of the sport we are accustomed to today. The programme itself featured him re-living his tank commander past and rides on classic scramble bikes. Memorable moments of his commentating career are also re-lived, and the documentary also accompanies Walker, aged 87, to Australia to experience the thrills he once faced at the opening race of the season.[10]
On 9 July 2011, he returned to BBC F1 on BBC Five Live and BBC One as a co-commentator for Free Practice 3, and appeared on the Qualifying show along side Jake Humphrey, Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard and his former co-commentator Martin Brundle as well as 5live F1 special and occasional commentary on the race on BBC Radio Five Live.
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Persondata | |
---|---|
Name | Walker, Murray |
Alternative names | |
Short description | British motorsport announcer |
Date of birth | 1923-10-10 |
Place of birth | Hall Green, Birmingham, England |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Coordinates: 37°49′22″S 144°58′48″E / 37.82267°S 144.98005°E / -37.82267; 144.98005
Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open in tennis, which is played annually in January. The venue was the home of the Melbourne Tigers basketball team, and can be adapted to host netball, ice skating, concerts, cycling as well as swimming and motorsport events. It is run by Melbourne & Olympic Parks, which also runs the adjacent Olympic Park Stadium. The Yarra Park section of the Sports and Entertainment Precinct is run separately.
Melbourne Park was built in 1988 beside the Jolimont Yards as a new venue to host the Australian Open, as Kooyong, the previous venue, had become too small. It was originally known as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park until 1996, when then-Premier, Jeff Kennett decided to rename it Melbourne Park, mainly to advertise the name "Melbourne" to a wide international audience. The decision was met with strong opposition, and was compared by some to renaming Stade Roland Garros (home to the French Open in Paris) "Paris Park". However, over the years, it has become accepted by the Melbourne community.