2 w. ago Dior Paris show is sweet relief for anyone wanting to flex a cooler muscle

Jonathan Anderson makes his sharp-eyed debut as creative director for the fashion houseEven Anna Wintour can only be in one place at a time. And rather than Paris, where Jonathan Anderson made his Dior debut on Friday, the most powerful person in fashion was in Venice for the Bezos/Sánchez wedding shortly after relinquishing her role as editor-in-chief at American Vogue.And unlike the wedding of the year, Anderson’s show proved to be sweet relief for anyone wanting to flex a cooler, chicer muscle. Perched on wooden cubes within the Cour du Dôme des Invalides sat plenty of VIP clout: Daniel Craig, Donatella Versace and Roger Federer. Most of the Arnault family, who own Dior and routinely joust with Jeff Bezos over who has more money, were present. Even Rihanna, pregnant in a Dior pastel waistcoat, was relatively punctual. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Olympics chief reveals plans for transgender policy change and pledges to 'protect the female category'

Kirsty Coventry revealed that a working group was being set up to determine a new policy after 'overwhelming support' amid raging controversy over transgender boxers.

Events

2 w. ago New Olympics chief Kirsty Coventry vows IOC will ‘ensure fairness’ for female athletes

Task force of scientists and federations to revise policyTrans and DSD athletes expected to be banned from female categoryKirsty Coventry has said there is now “overwhelming support” among International Olympic Committee members to protect the female category in a significant shift in its gender eligibility policy.Coventry, who was chairing her first meetings as the IOC’s new president, said that a taskforce of scientists and international federations would be set up within weeks to come up with a new policy. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago IOC’s Kirsty Coventry announces ‘scientific approach’ to protect ‘female category’

Task force of scientists and federations to revise policyTrans and DSD athletes expected to be banned from female categoryKirsty Coventry has said there is now “overwhelming support” among International Olympic Committee members to protect the female category in a significant shift in its gender eligibility policy.Coventry, who was chairing her first meetings as the IOC’s new president, said that a taskforce of scientists and international federations would be set up within weeks to come up with a new policy. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Kirsty Coventry vows that IOC will ensure fairness for female athletes

Two athletes – Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting – won gold medals despite having been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships.

Politics

2 w. ago Kirsty Coventry takes over as Olympic president and promises to change lives

First woman in the role replaces Thomas Bach‘We are guardians of the Olympic movement’Kirsty Coventry has promised to change lives and inspire hope during an official ceremony to mark her taking over from Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee.The 41-year-old from Zimbabwe, who in March became the first woman and the first African to be elected to the most powerful job in sports politics, also paid tribute to the strong women in her life as she was given the golden key to the IOC by Bach. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Kirsty Coventry is now the most powerful person in sport and faces a bulging in

Successor to Thomas Bach is already making a positive impression and displaying a more human approachA new day has broken, has it not? For several reasons, Tony Blair’s 1997 election victory speech comes to mind on what will be a historic and symbolic day for sport. Because in Lausanne on Monday, after plenty of handshakes and platitudes, the 41-year-old Kirsty Coventry will become the first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee in its 131-year-old history.It has been, by any measure, a dizzying ascent. In 2016, Coventry stepped out of an Olympic pool for the final time in Rio. Now, nine years later, she is the most powerful person in sport. Yet as she takes charge, there are some who suspect that the new dawn will look rather like the old one – and that her predecessor, Thomas Bach, and his administration, will remain puppet masters behind the throne. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Coventry makes history and has steel to make IOC role more than a puppet show | Sean Ingle

Bach’s successor is already making a positive impression but will need all her resolve at mammoth organisationA new day has broken, has it not? For several reasons, Tony Blair’s 1997 election victory speech comes to mind on what will be a historic and symbolic day for sport. Because in Lausanne on Monday, after plenty of handshakes and platitudes, the 41-year-old Kirsty Coventry will become the first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee in its 131-year-old history.It has been, by any measure, a dizzying ascent. In 2016, Coventry stepped out of an Olympic pool for the final time in Rio. Now, nine years later, she is the most powerful person in sport. Yet as she takes charge, there are some who suspect that the new dawn will look rather like the old one – and that her predecessor, Thomas Bach, and his administration, will remain puppet masters behind the throne. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago Charles Dickens’s ‘sliding doors’ moment: how a cold turned an aspiring thespian into a writer

An exhibition explores the authors’ love of theatre, highlighting the dramatic impact of his works As a sliding doors moment, it leads to arguably one of the greatest “what if?” questions in literary history. Passionate about the theatre, Charles Dickens, then just 20, wrote to the famous Covent Garden theatre actor-manager George Bartley seeking an audition, saying he believed he “had a strong perception of character and oddity, and a natural power of reproducing in my own person what I observed in others”.Bartley responded saying they were producing “the Hunchback” and arranging an appointment. Dickens planned to take his sister, Fanny, to accompany him singing on the piano. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Kirsty Coventry vows to stay humble as the first female president of the IOC

Zimbabwean opts against using luxury hotelsCoventry wants IOC members to speak their mindsKirsty Coventry has promised to not let power go to her head when she becomes the first female president of the International Olympic Committee next week.Her predecessor, Thomas Bach, would always stay in a suite paid for by the IOC at the five-star Lausanne Palace hotel, costing about £2,000 a night, whenever he was in the city. However, the Zimbabwean confirmed her family would not be following suit. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Kirsty Coventry to swerve palaces and focus on responsibility as first female IOC president

Zimbabwean takes over from Thomas Bach next weekCoventry speaks of making ‘right decisions’ in the roleKirsty Coventry has promised to not let power go to her head when she becomes the first female president of the International Olympic Committee next week.Her predecessor, Thomas Bach, would always stay in a suite paid for by the IOC at the five-star Lausanne Palace hotel, costing about £2,000 a night, whenever he was in the city. However, the Zimbabwean confirmed her family would not be following suit. Continue reading...

Politics