British Airways – Travel Industry News

Plans for a new museum in London that will celebrate the UK’s Olympic legacy have been announced.
The museum – set to open in 2014 – will find its home next to the Orbit Tower at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and gather mementos from the 2012 Games.
Visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about each of the city’s Olympic venues and how they were built, as well as celebrate the 1908 and 1948 Games – which were also hosted in London.
“The museum will also provide an important opportunity to honour and celebrate the most outstanding British Olympic athletes and create a platform for their stories to inspire generation upon generation of future sport participants with their achievements,” BOA Chairman Colin Moynihan told the BBC.
Still in its early stages, organisers say the museum’s design and content are under discussion but anticipate the museum will also include information on sports, as well as an inside-look at the Olympics that goes beyond typical media coverage.
The museum will cost a proposed £10 million – money organisers will seek to raise through sponsorship and private funding. Once opened, visitors will be charged an entry fee.
“I am a firm believer that the Olympic Games are not only about gold medals, world records are unforgettable sporting competition. At their core they are about people,” International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told the BBC.
“The new British Olympic Museum is the place where these stories of human triumph and sacrifice will come to life and it will become part of the lasting legacy that London 2012 will leave the UK for generations to come.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17176884

A new exhibition in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is putting the early works of Rembrandt and Degas on display side-by-side, revealing the impact the iconic Dutch painter had on the young French impressionist.

“Rembrandt and Degas: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” explores the similarities between the two artists, and how many of their works came as a result of direct observation.

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Just outside Toronto at one of Canada’s most iconic landmarks, visitors are getting excited for a once-in-a-lifetime stunt show recently approved by park officials.

The Niagara Parks Commission has voted unanimously to allow Nick Wallenda – from the Flying Wallenda family of daredevils – to attempt an 1,800ft tightrope walk from the American to Canadian side of Niagara Falls this summer.

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A new sculpture has been unveiled on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square in London after being commissioned by Mayor Boris Johnson as part of the Fourth Plinth Programme design competition.
Created by artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, the 3.1 tonne bronze statue – titled “Powerless Structures, Fig. 101″ – depicts a boy on a rocking horse, a subversive take on the tradition of equestrian statues in the square.
“Now that the sculpture is unveiled it is up to the public to love or hate it, hopefully not ignore it,” designers Elmgreen & Dragset said in a press release.
“The boy on his rocking horse will have a fascinating viewpoint throughout 2012 as Trafalgar Square will host all kinds of events; everything from school children dancing in pink leggings for Big Dance, to Chinese New Year or giant film screenings during the Olympics.
“Trafalgar Square is one of the liveliest parts of London – that’s what makes it so exciting for us and such a huge honour to show our work here.”
Built in 1841, the Fourth Plinth was originally designed to host an equestrian statue of King William IV by Sir Charles Barry, but was never completed. Now, some 170 years later, the Plinth has a new sculpture celebrating the “heroism of growing up.”
“The unique artworks that bestride the Fourth Plinth are amongst the many reasons why London is internationally renowned for culture, a vital part of our economy that creates jobs and attracts millions of visitors from around the world,” said Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
“I personally am always excited to see what the latest offering will be and the newest addition is simply magnificent. It seems fitting to have such a gleaming talisman to watch over our city during this fantastic Olympic year – it hopefully will bring us luck in the medal tables this summer!”
Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 will remain on display in Trafalgar Square for 18 months.

http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/giant-child-rocking-horse-unveiled-trafalgar-square-today

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is putting on display the unique works of renowned French and Spanish painters from one of the most famous family of collectors in the United States.

“The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde” is set to open tomorrow, tracing the unique influence of Gertrude, Leo, and Michael and Sarah Stein and their patronage of some of the most influential painters of all time.

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A new exhibition at The Field Museum in Chicago is ‘unwrapping’ a collection of rare mummies that have not been on public display since 1893.

‘Opening the Vaults: Mummies’ gives visitors an opportunity to see some 20 mummified remains – both human and animal – from Egypt and Peru. The majority of the mummies have not been on display since the museum acquired the artifacts.

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The curtains have been raised on an extra-sensory dance experience called a “Cosmic Opera” at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

According to event organiser and entrepreneur Justin Cohen, a Cosmic Opera is best described as a hybrid of Cirque du Soleil-esque performance and high-tech DJ shows – but he promises that the performances will be unlike anything audiences have experienced before.

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A solo exhibition of photography by the famed ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov has opened in Miami.

The “Dance This Way” exhibition at the Gary Nader Art Centre features photographs Baryshnikov took of ethnic, hip-hop, ballet, modern and popular dances around the world. Baryshnikov himself is also the subject of many of the roughly two dozen photographs in the show.

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