Coordinates: 48°51′24″N 2°21′03″E / 48.8567°N 2.3508°E / 48.8567; 2.3508
Paris (i/ˈpærɨs/; French: [paʁi] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (or Paris Region, French: Région parisienne). As of January 2008 the city of Paris, within its administrative limits (the 20 arrondissements) largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated population of 2,211,297 and a metropolitan population of 12,089,098, and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. Paris was the largest city in the Western world for about 1,000 years, prior to the 19th century, and the largest in the entire world between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres, and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. It hosts the headquarters of many international organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the International Chamber of Commerce or the European Space Agency. Paris is considered one of the greenest and most liveable cities in Europe. It is also one of the most expensive.
William Robert "Will" Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise. His debut single, "Anything is Possible", was released two weeks after the show's finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the United Kingdom.
As a teenager, Young studied politics at the University of Exeter before moving to London, where he pursued a musical theatre degree at the Arts Educational School. Although enrolled in a three-year programme, Young put his studies on hold in late 2001 to become a contestant on Pop Idol. After winning the competition the following year, he released his debut album From Now On (2002) which went to straight to number one. Friday's Child (2003) followed one year later and enjoyed greater popularity, eventually going platinum five times in the UK and spawning three top five singles. Achieving similar success, the album's successors include the multi-platinum Keep On (2005) and platinum Let It Go (2008) with his most recent release Echoes (2011) becoming his third UK number-one album.
Alison Louise Balsom (born 7 October 1978) is an English trumpet soloist.
Balsom was born in Hertfordshire. She attended the Tannery Drift Primary School, then the Greneway Middle School and the Meridian School, all in Royston, Hertfordshire, where she played in a brass band, the Royston Town Band. She took her A levels at the Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.
She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the Conservatoire de Paris, and also with Håkan Hardenberger.
Balsom has been a professional classical trumpeter since 2001. She is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, and she released her debut album with EMI Classics in 2002. In 2005, she released her second disc, Bach Works for Trumpet as part of a contract with EMI Classics. In 2006, Balsom won 'Young British Classical Performer' at the 2006 Classical BRIT Awards and was awarded the 'Classic FM Listeners' Choice Award' at the Classic FM Gramophone Awards. She won 'Female Artist of the Year' at the 2009 and 2011 Classical BRIT Awards. Her third album (the second disc in the EMI contract), Caprice was released in September 2006 and was awarded 'Solo CD of the Year 2006' by Brass Band World magazine. Alison was a soloist at the 2009 Last Night of the Proms, performing, among other pieces, Haydn's Trumpet Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and a jazz orientated arrangement of George Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away from Me" with mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly.