Jamaican music, food and comedy are hitting The O2 in a 12-day cultural extravaganza
10:12am Friday 1st June 2012 in Freetime latest news By Nikki Jarvis
All the best things about Jamaica will land right on our doorstep when The O2 is transformed into a jamming Caribbean oasis of “love and unity”.
Bob Marley’s Grammy award-winning son Damian will be joined by more than 50 artists taking to the stage during Respect Jamaica 50 – the greatest Jamaican festival our country has ever seen.
To celebrate 50 years of the island’s independence, The O2’s multiple venues in Greenwich will host a 12-day extravaganza of legendary Jamaican singers, DJs, writers, comedians, actors and poets from July 25.
Tickets to the cultural spectacular went on sale on Friday (May 25).
Kingston-born Michael Prophet, who has been singing since 1978, is performing at the festival.
He told Vibe: “It’s huge.
“It’s really nice to see things like this going on for 12 days, I wish it could be more.
“Yeah man, this is what independence is all about - freedom.
“We need some celebration time.
“I’m most looking forward to performing and chatting to one or two of my friends.”
Michael is set to sing with his friend Johnny Clarke.
He will be performing his greatest hits including Gunman and You Are No Good.
"To be truthful my favourite artist is Bob Marley.” He added.
“I have respect for all the old folks from Jamaica before me.
“At the end of the day it’s about remembering your heritage and where you came from, where you’ve been and having respect for yourself.
“The festival will open quite a few doors and windows so people can come out and enjoy themselves – it’s really positive and good for Jamaica.”
Now living in the UK, Michael adores his homeland and wants everyone in Greenwich to come and discover its most talented artists, tastiest food and sunny spirit.
He continued: “I love everything about Jamaica.
“I love my fish, fried down dry and crispy, and my rice and peas.
“You should come and try the food, hear the music and participate.
“Show a bit of love and unity – that’s what it’s there for.
“I’m more than honoured to be part of this.
“You’ve got bigger stars than me like Jimmy Cliff - it’s going to be huge.”
Joining Michael on the bill is Junior Murvin, whose 1976 song Police and Thieves cemented his place in reggae history.
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Shaggy, Mad Professor, Mighty Diamonds and Young Toots are just some of the other confirmed acts.
A stunning feast of authentic Jamaican food and drink will also be available and all key Olympic events will be screened at the venues to ensure none of the action is missed.
Other outstanding cultural events at Respect Jamaica 50 include Messenger: The Bob Marley Exhibition at the BME July 24 – October 22.
Visitors will be invited to explore personal memorabilia, candid photographs, old concert posters, records, music clips and archive video footage.
Rob Hallett, President of International Touring at AEG Live, said: “Having held a lifelong affection for Jamaica and its culture I am honoured that AEG Live, along with Jamaica 50 will be presenting the entertainment as part of Jamaica’s official celebrations in London of 50 years of independence with the greatest array of Jamaican talent, over 12 nights, this country has ever seen.”
For the full line-up and for tickets visit theo2.co.uk
KPN Said to Weigh German Wireless Merger With Telefonica - Bloomberg
Royal KPN NV (KPN) and Telefonica SA (TEF) are considering ways to merge their German units, a move that would create the country’s top mobile-phone operator by customers.
The companies are evaluating a variety of options, including a combination of Telefonica’s O2 Germany unit and KPN’s E-Plus, the two smaller of the nation’s four operators, said two people with knowledge of the matter, declining to be identified as the discussions are private. The companies are considering selling a stake in a German entity as part of an initial public offering, one of the people said.
A merger could help KPN, which said today it had begun a strategy review of E-Plus, to fend off an unsolicited 2.6 billion-euro ($3.2 billion) offer for a stake by Carlos Slim’s America Movil SAB. (AMXL) Telefonica this week received approval from its board to hold an initial share sale for O2 Germany as the Madrid-based company speeds up attempts to cut its net debt of more than 57 billion euros.
“The combination would create significant synergies,” said Henri Alexaline, a fixed-income investor who helps manage $1 billion at London-based FM Capital Partners Ltd. “The key hurdle would be how to remedy antitrust concerns but looking at Vodafone’s current reach it does not look like a deal breaker.”
Synergies
O2 Germany and E-Plus would have a combined mobile-phone client base of 41.7 million in the country, based on information from the company’s websites. That compares with Vodafone Group Plc (VOD)’s 36.5 million local mobile customers and Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE)’s 35.1 million wireless clients in Germany.
KPN acting Chief Financial Officer Eric Hageman said today that consolidation in the German market could generate 4 billion euros in synergies. Chief Executive Officer Eelco Blok said as recently as in November that Telefonica was “not willing” to sell. He declined to comment today on whether KPN is in talks with Telefonica.
“A combination of businesses of some kind would make a lot of sense,” said Francisco Salvador, a Madrid-based strategist at FGA/MG Valores. “It would boost the operators’ market share and would allow them to obtain significant synergies while ruling out any potential problems with licenses to offer services in the country.”
Telefonica, whose stock is down 33 percent this year, last week had it debt rating cut by Standard & Poor’s as the Spanish banking crisis accelerated the company’s loss of phone customers to discounters.
Debt Rating
KPN reversed earlier losses in Amsterdam trading and gained as much as 2.1 percent. Telefonica rose 0.5 percent to 8.98 euros at 3:26 p.m. in Madrid. The Spanish operator has a market value of 41 billion euros, compared with 110 billion euros in 2007.
A spokesman for Telefonica declined to comment on whether the companies are considering combining their German businesses.
America Movil this week began a 2.6 billion-euro offer to increase its stake in The Hague, Netherlands-based KPN. Telefonica’s finance chief, Angel Vila, told an investor conference in London yesterday that Telefonica has no plan to make a counter bid for KPN, according to two people who attended the meeting, who asked not to be identified because the meeting is private.
Telefonica CEO Cesar Alierta, with his company’s net debt greater than its market value, is turning to some of Telefonica’s most valuable assets for cash.
Slim’s Offer
Alierta bought mobile-phone operator O2 Plc for $31.5 billion in 2006 to add wireless units in the U.K., Ireland and Germany in his biggest acquisition. Germany is now Telefonica’s second-largest market in Europe and may be valued at as much as 9 billion euros, according to Citigroup Inc. (C)
KPN had 23 million mobile customers in Germany at the end of the first quarter. Frank Claassen, an analyst at Rabobank International, estimates E-Plus is worth about 8.5 billion euros, though with cost savings through a merger, that could rise to 10 billion euros.
Telefonica said this week it will explore share sales for O2 Germany and its Latin American businesses. The prospect of owning a minority stake in the No. 3 of four mobile operators in Germany, a market with more handsets than people, has left investors unconvinced.
Boris Boehm, who helps manage 1.1 billion euros including Telefonica shares at Aramea Asset Management in Hamburg, says the IPO plans aren’t helped by the fact that the operator’s need for cash is too obvious.
Poker Game
“If everyone knows that Telefonica needs money out of the IPO, I would say it’s not a wise idea,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t be interested in buying O2 Germany’s stock. “It’s like in a poker game, if everyone knows what your cards are, it’s not a good game to play.”
German mobile-phone subscriptions rose 4.8 percent in 2011, compared with growth of 5.6 percent in all of Europe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Industries. Wireless penetration reached 139 percent in 2011 compared with 130.3 percent for the region.
Heinrich Ey, a fund manager at Allianz Global Investors in Frankfurt, which manages about 300 billion euros including Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom shares, said the Spanish company had to “rush and react” after S&P’s cut and Slim’s KPN bid.
“The big question down the road is on consolidation,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jacqueline Simmons at jackiem@bloomberg.net Manuel Baigorri in Madrid at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net
KPN, Telefonica Said to Weigh German Merger as Slim Prowls
Jock Fistick/Bloomberg
A selection of smartphones sit on display inside a Royal KPN NV store.
A selection of smartphones sit on display inside a Royal KPN NV store. Photographer: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg
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