Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תל אביב-יפו‎ pronounced [ˈtel ˈaviv ˈjafo], Arabic: تل أبيب يافا‎) or Tel Aviv (Hebrew: תל אביב‎ pronounced [ˈtel ˈaviv], Arabic: تل أبيب‎) is a city in Israel, and the second most populous city administered by that country's government after Jerusalem. Situated on the Mediterranean coastline in central-west Israel, Tel Aviv has a population of 426,138. The greater Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, also known as Gush Dan, constitutes Israel's largest conurbation with 3,713,200 residents, 42% of the country's population. Tel Aviv is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai, and is home to many foreign embassies.

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 by Jewish immigrants on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Hebrew: יפו‎ Yafo). Immigration by mostly Jewish refugees meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa's, which had a majority Arab population at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings.

Yarkon Park

Yarkon Park (Hebrew: פארק הירקון‎, Park HaYarkon) is the largest park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Bounded by Rokach Boulevard on the north and Bavli on the south, the park includes extensive lawns, sports facilities, botanical gardens, an aviary, a water park, two outdoor concert venues and lakes.

History

Planning of the park began in 1969. When it was opened to the public in 1973, it was called Ganei Yehoshua, honoring Yehoshua Rabinovich, the mayor of Tel Aviv between 1969-1974.

Landmarks

The park has six gardens: Gan HaBanim (Fallen Soldiers Memorial Garden), Gan Nifga'ei HaTeror (Terror Victims Memorial Garden), Gan HaSlaim (Rock Garden), Gan HaKaktusim (Cactus Garden), Gan HaGazum (Trimmed Garden), and Gan HaTropi (Tropical Garden).

The Rock Garden, one of the largest of its kind in the world, reflects Israel's geological diversity. In its 10-acre enclosure the rocks are interspersed with some 3,500 species of plants, including over six acres of cacti. The five-acre Tropical Garden has a wooden walkway shaded by palm trees leading to a small lake. The rainforest-like microclimate is supports a large variety of orchids and vines.

Queen + Adam Lambert

Queen + Adam Lambert (sometimes referred to as Q+AL or QAL) is a collaboration between the active members of the British band Queen (Brian May and Roger Taylor) and American vocalist Adam Lambert. As with all other Queen performances since 1997, longstanding bassist John Deacon has declined to participate in the project due to his retirement. This is the first long-term collaboration of Queen since the Queen + Paul Rodgers project ended in 2009. The collaboration originated when May and Taylor appeared on American Idol in 2009 when Lambert was a contestant. They began performing occasionally in 2011, conducted a short European tour in 2012, and in 2014 announced a world tour, the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 with dates in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and South America. In 2016, the group will perform several dates as part of a festival tour in Europe.

Joining May, Taylor and Lambert are long-time Queen touring keyboardist Spike Edney, bassist Neil Fairclough and percussionist Rufus Tiger Taylor (Roger Taylor's son). Although there are currently no plans to release a studio album with this lineup, May and Taylor have stated that there is a possibility of the group recording new material.

Adam Lambert

Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and stage actor. Since 2009, he has sold over 2.5 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide.

Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album, For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several hit singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance."

In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album, Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album, The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist since 2011, culminating in a successful world-wide tour from 2014 to 2016.

Park

A park is an area of natural, semi-natural, or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil, and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments, fountains or playground structures. In North America, many parks have fields for playing sports such as soccer, baseball and football, and paved areas for games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses, and these parks may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Often, the smallest parks are in urban areas, where a park may take up only a city block or less. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and they may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills. Parks have differing rules regarding whether dogs can be brought into the park: some parks prohibit dogs; some parks allow them with restrictions (e.g., use of a leash); and some parks, which may be called "dog parks," permit dogs to run off-leash.