Well, it would have been rude not to. After announcing a big 90th birthday bash in his honour two days ago, organisers have today revealed that Nelson Mandela will indeed be attending his June 27th Hyde Park party. Those conceding that, yes, Nelson lead the transition to multi-racial democracy in South Africa, and that true, he’s one of few people that can call themselves an international icon of peace and equality, but are unable......

No, it's not in anyway related to Gorillaz (except for that bit where Jamie Hewlett does the design). Damon Albarn's operatic adaptation of Journey To The West, which had its premier at the Manchester International Festival last summer, will make its London debut at the Royal Opera House. Monkey: Journey to the West will open in Covent Garden in July as part of a celebration of the Beijing Olympics. Chen Shi-Zheng directed and adapted......

Is it just us or was January rubbish? Nice then that February, with its special extra day this year, commences with Brazilian Carnival, yummy pancakes and Chinese New Year... it's like a whole new start for 2008 and lots of it totally FREE! Monday: Get some Monday Love at the Inspiral Lounge, Camden Lock as UK Indymedia host their radical film, talk, and music night. Free entry for all those who still believe in......

Orhan*'s snap of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise out on the Thames this morning. Read more about why she's here (and what Damon Albarn was up to) here.......

While we don't seem to be able to turn on the television these days without seeing Kate Thornton or Vernon Kay peering on down at us, we never thought the day would come when a member of Blur who isn't Damon Albarn would be over-exposing himself to crazy heights. Alex James has always been our favourite member of Blur. He's got cool hair, and well, he's just quite hot isn't he. But we're not......

More acts have been confirmed for the inaugural BBC Electric Proms, taking place 25th-29th October this year. The Electric Proms is looking to create "new moments in music" (there should probably be a trademark symbol there) so needs to be something other than just being another set of gigs. To this end each of the artists appearing has been challenged to come up with something innovative for their performance that reflects the ambition of......

Since Alex James' sideproject Wigwam crashed and burned, and Damon Albarn announced the end of Gorillaz, we've been feeling slightly more confident in claims that we'll be seeing a new Blur album by the end of the year. Now it seems there are not one but two new projects that may sadly be getting in the way. With Gorillaz on the backburner, Damon announced several weeks ago that he was a member of a new......

The Gorillaz are a good thing. Firstly, the music is pretty swanky and secondly, we get to enjoy Damon Albarn without having to actually look at him. We also really like the colourful delights of the National Theatre's front projection as you cross the Thames, being particularly fond of the purple. So imagine our delight when we hear that the Gorillaz & the National Theatre are coming together in a whole big projection bonanza.......

Ever so occasionally we'll hear of an event that is well off the London radar, but we quite fancy anyway. If it's within the catchment area of the Ist network we'll pass it along, but at the time of writing, Manchesterist is nothing but a glimmer in a Northern blogger's eye. It falls to us then to give a quick plug to something going on up North that we think you'll find interesting for......

On 21st June, the ratcheted-rental-threatened London Eye shames its greedy landlords (the South Bank Centre) by hosting a special event to raise awareness of Third World Debt and its attendant trade issues. Flight 5065 aims to promote Cafedirect's Fairtrade range and to raise awareness of the issues prior to the G8 conference, which takes place 6th-8th July and has the African economy on its agenda for discussion. Make Poverty History is one of the......

The XFM website has kindly informed us that, if we so desire, we could be the proud owners of a giant blue sofa that once belonged to Damon Albarn. The "unique electric blue 12 piece sofa" has been placed on ebay by the owners of Albarn’s former residence on Chesterton Road. According to the seller the sofa is "Comfortable, stylish, and funky [and] comprises of six base pieces and six sausage cushions and is......