What's New

• 26 October 2009

  Kris Meeke wants to win in Scotland

  

  Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion Kris Meeke will only be totally satisfied with his outstanding achievements this season if he wins RACMSA Rally of Scotland.

  Kris Meeke, from Northern Ireland, is the favourite to win the Rally of Scotland which is the twelfth and final round of the prestigious Intercontinental Rally Challenge.  This event marks the first time Britain has hosted a round of the series.

  "The Scottish fans are always enthusiastic and are among the most knowledgeable in the world so it would be great to end my season by winning in front of them," said Meeke, who has claimed four wins in the IRC so far this season.

  "There are some classic and rugged stags to overcome and the weather could also be a factor. The stages are fast and flowing in nature with tricky, narrow sections, which mean you have to maintain your concentration at all times."

  Meeke will drive a Peugeot UK-backed 207 Super 2000 alongside Irish navigator Paul Nagle. He will prepare for the event with tests in France and Scotland.

  Category: International Events
• 26 October 2009

  The 2009 Tour of Britain attracts 4 million spectators!

  

  SweetSpot, organisers of The Tour of Britain have today announced that the 2009 event was a resounding success, with increased numbers of spectators on the race route and across television and media coverage watching the best field of professional cyclists ever assembled for a British professional race.

  The 2009 event attracted well over one million spectators over the course of the eight race stages as The Tour of Britain made its way from the Grand Depart in Scunthorpe on Saturday 12 September across the length and breadth of the nation, leading to the historic final stage in London on Saturday 19 September.

  The streets of central London were closed for a sporting event on a Saturday for the first time ever to welcome The Tour’s Grand Finale, and the capital’s public responded in force with over 150,000 people lining the iconic race circuit which took in the sights of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, and Victoria Embankment, to welcome the race into the nation’s capital.

  In addition to record live spectator numbers, through daily hour long TV coverage on ITV4, The Tour of Britain reached an audience of over three million television viewers across the eight days of the 2009 event.

  Category: International Events
• 20 October 2009

  EIFF and Skillset announce new screenwriting initiative, The Story Works

  

  The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) on Thursday 15 October announced a new training initiative funded by Skillset - The Story Works.

  The Story Works is a high-level screenwriting initiative aimed at experienced screenwriters which will be delivered by the triumvirate partnership of story editor Kate Leys as project director, producers Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey as creative advisors, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

  The programme is for ten experienced British screenwriters and will run for a year from March 2010.  At the centre of the initiative is a residential week of masterclasses for participants with A-list screenwriters and film practitioners.  The residential week will run immediately prior to the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2010 so that all participants can also attend the EIFF.  Over the year, participants will have the chance to work with an experienced mentor on their chosen script or feature film idea and there will also be several further masterclass and group sessions held in London.

  Submissions are now invited and participants will be confirmed early next year.  Writers experienced in other media such as theatre will also be considered as long as they have feature screenplay ideas in development.

  For more information visit the EIFF website.

  Category: International Events