Harry Styles has personally reached out to one Wimbledon star after her successful run in the tennis tournament forced her to miss his gig.
Millions of fans in countless countries have had the chance to see the Cheshire-born singer live on stage as part of his major Love On Tour global tour over the last year or so – but unfortunately for tennis player Elina Svitolina, she wasn’t going to be one of them.
If you haven’t been keeping up to date with Wimbledon this year, the 28-year-old Ukrainian wildcard has been one of the unexpected stand-outs so far.
Just this past Sunday, Svitolina made it through to the quarter finals after beating 33-year-old Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in what was an undeniable three-set thriller on Court One, cementing her place as the talk of the tournament – but ahead of that fourth round match, the Ukrainian revealed that her successful run had come at a bit of a cost.
And that cost was missing out on seeing her favourite pop star Harry Styles live in concert.
Svitolina took to social media to reveal that she had bought tickets to go and watch Styles in Vienna as his Love On Tour run arrived in the Austrian capital last Saturday, but due to playing one of the most important matches of her career so far the next day, she was unable to go.
“Hey guys!! I was supposed to go to see my fav @harrystyles concert in Vienna tomorrow,” Svitolina wrote on Instagram.
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“But Wimbledon changed my plans. Someone want to go? I have two tickets.”
Harry Styles on stage on the Love On Tour tour / Credit: Harry Styles (Credit:
After Svitolina’s impressive victory grabbed headlines, thousands of fans headed to social media to congratulate the former world number three on her success – but it appears it wasn’t just tennis fans that reached out.
Harry Styles also personally got in touch with Svitolina to offer her the chance to reschedule her previous gig plans before his tour is over.
Commenting underneath a post about Svitolina missing his Vienna gig on the official Wimbledon Instagram account, Styles wrote: “Congratulations! We have four shows to go, you’re welcome at any of them.
“Good luck with the rest of the tournament. H.”
The remaining dates in Styles’ Love On Tour this month are Barcelona tomorrow (12 July) Madrid on Friday (14 July), Lisbon on 18 July, and Reggio Emilia in Italy on 22 July.
So if Svitolina gets all the way to Saturday’s women’s singles final, then Barcelona and Madrid are of course out of the question, but there’s a chance she could still catch Styles in Portugal or Italy if she takes the singer up on his generous offer.
Tickets go live as opening date is announced for Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience
Emily Sergeant
Tickets to visit Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience have officially gone live ahead of the grand opening.
Set to open in the heart of the £300m Medlock Square entertainment district at Manchester’s Etihad Campus next month, the Manchester City Museum Experience will be spread across 10 distinctive spaces – with visitors invited to take a trip down memory lane with nostalgic environments from throughout the club’s history.
Fans will also be able to take part in interactive media experiences, like posing with all 48 major trophies won by the club’s first teams or trying their hand at football punditry.
The experience will combine the latest immersive technology with physical memorabilia drawn from across the club’s history to do this.
Hidden details and surprising ‘did you know’ facts are set to be embedded across the experience, so that even the most devoted Man City fans will have the chance to discover something new about the club they love.
By combining interactive environments, technology, and authentic artefacts, the experience is aiming to appeal to a wide audience – from lifelong Manchester City supporters, to families and those with a broader interest in football, culture, and the city of Manchester.
“The Museum Experience has been designed as a destination that goes beyond just the pitch,” commented Jeremy Maxton, who is the Director of Visitor Attractions at Manchester City Football Club.
Manchester City releases CGIs and important details of its new ‘immersive’ museum / Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
“Whether you’re a lifelong supporter, visiting Manchester for a weekend, or simply looking for a unique day out, we’ve created an experience that offers something for everyone.
“From the recreated environments and original memorabilia to the interactive elements, there are different ways into the Club’s history throughout the Museum.
“We’ve also built in space for new stories to be added over time, so the experience can continue to evolve. It’s been a huge project to bring together and we’re looking forward to people seeing it for themselves later this year.”
The Manchester City Museum Experience officially opens on 14 December, and you can now book tickets to visit from that date here.
Featured Image – Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Emily Sergeant -
11th July 2023 
