Government Stuff
BEIS has announced a £166m cash boost for green technology and up to 60,000 UK jobs.
Ofgem is to supercharge the UK’s electric car charging network and triple the number of charging points with £300m funding.
The European court of human rights has ruled that GCHQ violated rights to privacy through mass data interception.
A dedicated team is to be set up in government to protect the work of researchers in areas such as cyber security, export and intellectual property.
DCMS Minister Matt Warman has launched a series of events focused on 6G research in the UK. I’m actually already on 7G. Twitter loads before I've even clicked it.
DCMS has launched a call for evidence around improving connectivity for hard-to-reach premises in the UK.
The government is testing a new emergency alert service direct to your phone when you might be in danger. Here’s The Atlantic on when a similar service went wrong in Hawaii.
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Culture Stuff
Arts & Culture
Arts Council England has announced details of the £42m Cultural Investment Fund to support the recovery of the arts and creative sectors.
A massive rocket and the casts of 850 trans women are among the shortlist for the next commission on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth.
Bradford City Council has unveiled a 10-year strategy to deliver a ‘cultural renaissance’.
Just 7% of disabled arts professionals are in full time employment, according a survey set out by Arts Pro.
Arts organisations can now apply for digital R&D funding and support from The Space.
Joe Biden has removed Trump’s appointees from the US Commission of Fine Art.
C’EST BON! France’s 18-year-olds have all been given a €300 culture pass to get them out and about when the cultural scene reopens.
Design
Last week it was flag-esque unfurling TV, this week it's a transparent one that can be used as a shelf. Keep up.
Theatre & Dance
UK theatres have promised to only cast trans actors in trans roles.
Amazon is partnering with the National Theatre to stream four major plays, including Fleabag *side glances to Jeff Bezos*
Love to see it. London theatre New Diorama and British Land are partnering to creating a ‘world-first’ free rehearsal complex in the capital.
Classical Music & Opera
BBC Proms will go ahead this summer with 52 concerts in front of live audiences at the Royal Albert Hall.
A number of music organisations have urged the Government to update guidance only allowing groups of six to sing together indoors.
The Guardian charts Les Dennis’ move from quiz shows and Corrie into opera.
Tourism & Heritage
VisitBritain guesstimates reckon domestic tourism will be worth about £51.4bn in 2021, down from £96.1bn two years ago.
The Eden Project has set out a site in Dundee for its first attraction in Scotland.
UCL has signed a long-term strategic partnership with the National Trust to help conserve historical sites and address heritage challenges.
Museums
Stephen Hawking’s office has become part of the Science Museum’s collection.
Press, Books & Libraries
GB News launch date? 13th June. Same day as England vs Croatia in the Euros. Coincidence? Probably, yes.
A ‘lost library’ of British literature, including handwritten poems by Emily Brontë, works by Robert Burns and Ed’s first newsletter, is to be auctioned off at Sotheby's.
The Times right here with its best books of 2021 so far.
The first English dictionary of ancient Greek since the Victorian era is set to be published. And it's a whopper! Go big or go Homer!
Exhibitions and Events
Coldplay and Jorja Smith have been added to the bill for Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2021 which is happening online this weekend.
The Beeb on the uplifting exhibitions easing us out of lockdown.
Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum invites you to a free exhibition to crack the world of codebreaking until the end of August.
As part of Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture, a major exhibition exploring natural history and climate change has opened at The Herbert.
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2000 AD with the perfect comics primer for director Duncan Jones’ hotly anticipated Rogue Trooper movie.
Rebellion Publishing with a cover reveal and sneak peak excerpt for Adrian Tchaikowsky’s next novella, Ogres.
Sci-fi writer John Appel is up next on The RP Book Club podcast chatting about his debut novel Assassin’s Orbit.
The prestigious TIGA STAR Award has this year gone to award-winning developer Sumo Digital.
Rebellion asks its dev team how they got involved in the games industry for this new behind-the-scenes vid.
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Creative Industries & Tech Stuff
Film & TV
Amazon has agreed to buy the historic MGM Studios for $8.45bn, including the James Bond back catalogue. Licence to stream.
I May Destroy You and Small Axe were the big winners at the BAFTA Craft Awards.
Sky looks at how filmmakers have adapted in the age of COVID to continuing creating quality content. Same.
Construction work is underway on the major expansion of Elstree Studios.
Oompah, loompah, doompah-de-do. Timothée Chalamet is to play young Willy Wonka in a new film or two.
Get in loser - we’re going to Netflix HQ to thank them for casting Lindsay Lohan as a lead in a romcom again (very loose Mean Girls reference there. Fetch)
Fashion
M&S reported a pre-tax loss of £201.2m last year as the pandemic took its toll on clothing sales.
Amazon Fashion has launched a new digital Local Label Hub, showcasing a curated selection of UK brands.
Music & Radio
A new poll suggest 40% of musicians would consider leaving the UK over EU touring fears #bluepassports.
Download Festival is to host a 10,000 capacity COVID pilot event next month with camping. Sounds a bit in-tents for me.
The Guardian loved the musical offering from Live at Worthy Farm… just a shame about the technical issues. The Beeb is set to screen highlights soon.
Greg James and George The Poet were among the winners at The Audio & Radio Industry Awards.
STATEMENT: Dear readers, I would like to apologise for saying ‘IT’S COMING HOME’ last week with reference to the UK’s participation in Eurovision. I was wrong. We got nil points. I am sincerely sorry and I will now enter a period of deep reflection. Thankyou.
Gaming
EA earned £1.15bn just from the Ultimate Team part of FIFA alone over the past year. Wowzers.
Rumour has it (according to The Information) that Netflix could be looking to expand into subscription gaming. You heard it here second.
Tech & Telecoms
Uber has struck a landmark deal with GMB that will allow at least 70,000 drivers to join the trade union.
6.5m households in the UK plan to buy an electric car by 2030, according to Ofcom.
Snapchat looks set to buy UK augmented reality company WaveOptics for over $500m.
Instagram is to allow users to hide their number of likes to help reduce social media pressure.
A new Bitcoin Mining Council has been formed to improve the cryptocurrency’s sustainability, following a meeting between ‘miners’ and Elon Musk.
British scientists have made a breakthrough in the hunt for pollution and radiation-free electricity from nuclear fusion.
Microsoft is pulling the plug on the stalwart of the web browsing game after over 26 years. Goodbye Internet Explorer. It’s been a blast x
STOP ITTTT CHARLIIIIIIEEEEE. The Charlie Bit My Finger vid has been taken off YouTube and sold as an NFT (obvs) for £538,000.
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Appointments & Movers
The Louvre has appointed Laurence des Cars as its first ever female president; Former BBC director general Tony Hall has resigned as chair of the National Gallery; National Trust chairman Tim Parker has resigned amid backlash from members; David Ross is stepping down as chair of the Royal Opera House just months into a four-year role; Polly Risbridger is stepping down as chief exec and artistic director of East London Dance; Chester Storyhouse founding artistic director Alex Clifton is leaving after 11 years; Sharon D Clarke has been appointed vice-president of ArtsEd; St George’s Bristol has announced Samir Savant as its new chief exec
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Ed Stuff
Wrote in the Financial Times about how this crisis is an opportunity for the BBC to push a positive case for homegrown talent and innovation.
Gave an enlightening speech (his words) in the House of Lords on using the Dormant Assets Bill to unlock the £519m National Fund for good causes
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...And Finally
How about a puffer jacket filled with helium instead of down from designer Andrew Kostman? Can see this one taking off, for sure.
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