JLO - Dance Again World Tour (Jennifer Lopez)

Tue 18 Dec - Brisbane Entertainment Centre

The wait is over! The Frontier Touring Company is thrilled to announce that global superstar Jennifer Lopez (a.k.a. JLO) will be touring Australia for the first time ever in her impressive 13 year long career!

JLO will be touring down under as part of her 'Dance Again World Tour' which has already visited countless cities across North America, South America, Europe and Asia in recent months.

On the 'Dance Again World Tour', JLO will be performing hits from across her expansive and impressive career, which features seven studio albums that have sold more than 70 million records worldwide.

Those lucky enough to attend one of JLO's Australian performances will be treated to songs that brought JLO to the world's attention including 'If You Had My Love' and 'Waiting For Tonight' as well as those that have introduced her music to a new legion of adoring fans like 'I'm Into You' and 'Dance Again'.

JLO's impressive catalogue is also celebrated on her recently released greatest hits collection Dance Again...the Hits (out now through Sony Music Australia).

JLO is a woman who knows how to get the party started with her signature blend of killer vocal hooks, pulsing beats and storming synthesizers.

Her arena shows in December are destined to be amongst the dance parties of the year, don't miss the opportunity to join the fun on JLO's first ever Australian tour!

"Jennifer Lopez was glitz and glam through her set. At 43, Lopez is in perfect shape, and it showed through her stepped up choreography." - Edge, Boston

Andy Murray Set for Brisbane Return

Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray will return to Queensland this summer to defend his Brisbane International title.

The World No. 4 is the first player to be announced for the 2013 tournament, hot off his historic Olympic Games gold medal win over current World No. 1 Roger Federer.

“I really enjoyed playing the Brisbane International for the first time this January, and claiming the title was great preparation leading into the Australian Open,” Murray said.

“Brisbane attracts a tough draw with a lot of top players ... obviously I want to play as many matches as possible, and if I can, win. Winning always gives you extra confidence and is the perfect start leading into the first Grand Slam of the year.

“The Brisbane International is a fantastic event with great facilities, and I look forward to returning to Queensland to defend my title,” Murray continued.

Brisbane International Tournament Director, Cameron Pearson, said 25-year-old Murray will be a strong drawcard for the event.

“Andy is our defending champion, so we are thrilled he has again decided to start his year with us.

“It speaks volumes for Queensland that he values the Brisbane International so highly for his Australian Open preparation.

“His Brisbane win was the start of a stellar year for him, going on to reach the final of Wimbledon and then on to win a memorable Olympic gold medal in front of his home crowd,“ Pearson added.

Throughout his career Murray has captured 22 ATP titles and is currently coached by tennis legend Ivan Lendl.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Jann Stuckey, welcomed the news the Scottish champion was returning.

“It is a great coup to have Andy Murray back to defend his Brisbane title. It is another win for Queensland as it strives to cement itself as a major sporting state,” said Ms Stuckey.

“The Brisbane International is a fantastic start to the year for events. Last year’s matches attracted a record 92,802 attendees.

“The Newman Government is proud to support tournaments like this through Events Queensland, as part of our determined strategy to showcase Queensland as Australia’s number one tourism destination.”

In 2012 the ATP recognised the Brisbane International for the best fan experience of any tournament in the ATP International Group, which includes the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions.

Brisbane International 2013 is presented in association with Events Queensland and will take place at the Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, from December 30, 2012 to January 6, 2013.

Brisbane International 2013 series packages will go on sale at 9:00am (AEST) on Wednesday October 3.

Portrait Of Spain: Masterpieces From The Prado

Masterpieces from the Prado’ has been specially curated for the Queensland Art Gallery by the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (the Prado). It is the largest and most significant international loan the Prado has ever undertaken, and is also the first exhibition from their collection ever to be shown in the Southern Hemisphere. This exhibition features over 100 masterpieces from one of the most revered collections of European painting in the world and tells the story of the evolution of painting in Spain over three and a half centuries. This ‘portrait of Spain’ shows the internal and external factors that contributed to the development of modern Spanish identity, through developments in painting on the Iberian Peninsula. On display are masterpieces by leading painters of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including El Greco, Velázquez, Ribera and Murillo. Foreign artists who worked for the royal court and directly influenced the development of painting in Spain are also well represented, with superb paintings by Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo and Anton Raphael Mengs all featured. Courtly life under the Habsburg (1516–1700) and Bourbon (1700–1808) monarchs will be glimpsed through outstanding paintings from the Royal Collections, which formed the basis of the Prado when it was established in 1819. These include portraits, mythological scenes, devotional paintings and exquisite still lifes that reveal the splendour of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’. The life and times of various levels of Spanish civil society are portrayed in works by noted artists from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Pre-eminent among these was Francisco de Goya, whose work is represented by major paintings and an important selection of prints from his three extraordinary and confronting series, 'Los Caprichos', 'Los Disparates' and 'Los Desastres de la Guerra' (‘The Disasters of War’). The emergence of a fledgling Spanish national identity in the mid nineteenth century is witnessed in a series of landscapes, portraits, religious scenes and nudes by major figures in nineteenth-century Spanish painting such as Federico de Madrazo, Eduardo Rosales, Mariano Fortuny, Aureliano de Beruete and Joaquín Sorolla. These paintings both reflect the emergence of a modern Spain and demonstrate the ways in which the visual arts assisted in its formation. This is an unprecedented opportunity to see extraordinary works of art, created by some of history’s most renowned and revered painters, from one of the most prestigious and unique museum collections in the world. The Museo Nacional del Prado The Museo Nacional del Prado (the Prado), Madrid, is one of the leading museums of the world, recognised for its unparalleled collection of European painting and sculpture, and, in particular, its holdings of Flemish, Italian and Spanish painting. The Prado’s strengths in these areas are due to the tastes of the Spanish monarchs who, from the fifteenth century onwards, avidly collected art and patronised contemporary artists such as Titian, Rubens, Velázquez, Murillo and Tiepolo. Today, the Prado is one of the most visited museums in the world and, through its dynamic exhibition, publishing, conservation and research programs, continues to influence art historical research and contemporary museology. EVENT TIMES Sunday 9am - 5pm Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 5pm

Star Chef To Tantalise At The Ekka

BRILLIANT Ipswich chef David Manz will share his refreshing brand of cooking with Ekka-goers today.

Manz, head chef at Platform 9 Restaurant and Lounge Bar in the Metro Hotel Ipswich International, will demonstrate how to cook a mouth-watering burger at midday.

Aspiring cooks can learn the secrets to making the perfect burger.

Manz said he was looking forward to putting a fresh twist on an Ekka-season favourite.
"I decided to cook a dish in keeping with the Ekka theme, and also to bring a professional edge to a dish that can be cooked at home," he said.

"This burger's a bit different because it's Asian-inspired."

Manz said spices such as cardamom and cumin, combined with gourmet beef, made the dish a treat for tastebuds.

"The mince is made from eye fillet, and there's lettuce, tomato and bacon on the bun," he said.
Manz said today's demonstration would be his first.

"It's exciting, I've worked hard since I start my apprenticeship at 21 so it's great to be invited to do this nine years on," Manz said.

His experience includes working at Brisbane's Ecco Bistro, and a year at Platform 9.

Manz completed his apprenticeship in Ipswich and was happy to have returned.

"My future goal is to own and run my own restaurant, and I'd like to do it locally," he added.

Celebrity chef Dominique Rizzo will host Manz's demo, as well as others at the show.

GOURMET STYLE

• Manz will prepare a beef burger on a sourdough bun with sweet lychee chilli sauce, hand-cut chips and lime and ginger aioli.
• He said fresh ingredients, including meat minced at home and mixed with duck fat, made for a great burger.

Pisasale is Realistic on G-20 Meet (Ipswich to Host Pre-G20 Meeting)

MAYORS around Queensland are vying for the chance to host a major pre-G-20 Summit meeting in their city, but Ipswich's Paul Pisasale is playing it cool.

"We're talking about a very important meeting of leaders, and the cheapest and safest option would be Ipswich," Cr Pisasale said.

Cr Pisasale said he hoped the city would be considered alongside regional centres such as Townsville and Cairns as a possible site for the G-20 Finance Meeting in 2014.

"Our Safe City cameras would keep the finance ministers safe, and we've got the RAAF Base here, too."

"I believe we have the infrastructure; the ministers could use the plane and helicopter facilities at Amberley," he said.

"It's not a tourism thing, the city would have to be placed on red alert and we would keep the ministers completely safe.

"It's not our decision to make, but I'm happy to put up my hand."

Metro Hotel Ipswich International manager Ted Matthews said hosting the meeting in Ipswich would only add to the benefit of the summit.

"We're already very excited, and we certainly would see Ipswich benefiting from the summit," Mr Matthews said.

"I don't know that we have the infrastructure to host the pre-meeting, but I would like to see this hotel used as a base for a delegation or even a media group.

"The NBN should be up and running by then, so we could act as a great hub.

"We already have a close relationship with Brisbane Marketing, and we've already started looking to talk to people."

G-20 SUMMITS

• The G-20 a group of 19 countries and the European Union.
• It is aimed at "promoting international economic co-operation", the Australian Government states.
• Leaders, finance ministers and reserve banks from countries including China, Russia, the US, UK and India will attend.
• Australia will host the ninth annual G-20 Summit in 2014.
• Russia will host the 2013 Summit.

Plan to Bring Red Bull Air Race to Gold Coast

THE Queensland Government and Red Bull Air Race supremos are in talks to lure the lucrative event to the Gold Coast, The Gold Coast Bulletin reports. 
 
The event, which features displays of high-speed aeronautical acrobatics, has long been coveted by the city's events and tourism officials because it attracts an international television audience of millions of people.

The Broadwater has been discussed as the site for a potential race due to its picturesque nature and the Surfers Paradise skyline in the background.

Government officials travelled to Sydney in March for talks with air race organisers, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

A senior council source confirmed the Gold Coast had been involved in bidding for the event.


But he said  Premier Campbell Newman's tight rein on the budget had put the process on hold.

"It would be a good event to snare. It's been watched by millions of people around the world," he said.

There is tough competition to host the Australian leg of the event, with Perth, Sydney and Melbourne all believed to have rival bids in place.

It had previously been held in Perth from 2006 to 2010, but there was no event in 2011 or this year as the series is being revamped.

According to figures from the WA Government, more than 300,000 people attended the inaugural Perth air race in 2006, which pumped $14 million into the local economy.

A spokeswoman for Queensland's Tourism and Major Events Minister Jann Stuckey said Events Queensland was not involved in a bid for the 2014 air race, but could not rule out other years.

"The Newman Government is committed to major events on the Gold Coast as part of our plan to make Queensland Tourism number one again," she said.

"The budget outlining our funding commitment to events will be handed down next month."

Pilots in the event fly through a track of inflatable air gates and reach speeds of up to 370km/h.

It is watched by millions of people in more than 100 countries.

In 2010, former Events Queensland boss John O'Sullivan confirmed luring the famed race to the Sunshine State was on the agenda.

"We are looking at a number of events, not just for the Gold Coast but also for Queensland and certainly the Red Bull Air Race is one of those we are looking at," he said.

Relax Visa Rules For Tourists From Developing Countries, Says UN

AUSTRALIA needs to relax its strict visa requirements for visitors from developing countries if it wants to boost tourism and effectively target the emerging giants of China and India. 

UN World Tourism Organisation secretary-general Taleb Rifai yesterday said there was no evidence that tough entry conditions on tourists were necessary to protect security, and Australia and other developed countries needed to ease their regimes.

"Visas are becoming a real nightmare," Mr Rifai told a tourism conference in Melbourne.

"It is not reasonable to still see long lines, very cumbersome, uneasy, complicated, lengthy, overpriced entry formalities all over the world, particularly facing nationals from countries that are rising and countries that are providing the base for future incoming tourists.

"There is no evidence to establish that there are close and very strong links between visas and security issues."

Chinese and Indian visitors have provided the greatest annual growth to tourism numbers over the past decade but face a number of bureaucratic hurdles to come here.

Those travelling to Australia for the first time must provide bank statements or other financial information, as well as a letter from their employer showing their position and salary, length of employment and approval for leave, or evidence of enrolment for students.

If visiting relatives or friends, a letter of invitation from the relative or friend in Australia may also be required.

While the tourism industry has bemoaned the high Australian dollar for making Australia less competitive as a destination, Mr Rifai told The Australian visa requirements and easier international travel should be seen as a greater priorities.

"The cost is not the major factor here, it's the ease of reaching here, cost of travel and cost and complications of entry," said the former Jordanian government minister.

"Cost is a very important element in competitiveness but it should not be too much of an obsession.
"Some of the most attractive destinations in the world are some of the most expensive destinations in the world as well."

UNESCO has threatened to declare the Great Barrier Reef "in danger" if conservation efforts are not improved, but Mr Rifai said Australia should be congratulated for setting itself high environmental targets.

"The fact that Australia has these very valuable reefs places more responsibility on Australia, but I think all in all you should be satisfied with what you're doing so far," he said. "On environmental counts, Australia is doing very, very well."

Brisbane Tourism News: G20 'Terrific' for Brisbane Tourism

HOSTING the G20 forum will be the perfect opportunity to show Brisbane off to the world, the head of Queensland's Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) says. 

Brisbane will host the 2014 meeting of the world's 20 largest economies, bringing about 4000 delegates and 3000 media to the city, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan announced on Wednesday.
QTIC chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the event was terrific news for the state's ever-important tourism sector.

"It's very exciting for the city to be put in the spotlight, and hopefully it'll be not as controversial as some G20 events in the past," he told AAP.

"I'm sure it'll deliver a boost for businesses in the lead-up and afterwards as well."

Mr Gschwind said Brisbane now had the infrastructure to host a major international summit.
"There are some fantastic facilities here with the Convention Centre, which was significantly expanded this year," he said.

 "We have an entertainment precinct on South Bank with excellent cultural establishments, so the events and business side of Brisbane travel has done exceptionally well in recent years and will continue to do so."

Brisbane's Airport Link reveals patronage figures for first week

Operating company Brisconnections has released a daily average for the first seven days since last Wednesday.

In that time, an average 77,320 vehicles a day went through the tunnel - a long way from the 135,000 vehicles a day BrisConnections hopes to achieve by the end of the three month toll free period.

The tunnel has experienced some teething problems including issues with traffic light sequences at exits and entrances and complaints about signage.

CEO Dr Ray Wilson said the first week had seen "solid traffic numbers and positive feedback from motorists about the road and time savings achieved".

"Motorists are quickly realising the value of this important new asset, with BrisConnections having received reports of time savings of up to 20 minutes to the airport as projected and considerably less traffic on suburban streets," Dr Wilson said.

"We have now witnessed the way AirportlinkM7 has revolutionised traffic movement around the city with its vital connections to the CBD, Airport, northern suburbs, Inner City Bypass, and Clem7 straight through to the Pacific Motorway."

He said the daily average was expected to grow as people adjust their travel patterns.

"Feedback has been positive with many motorists being surprised and delighted at the time savings they have achieved on their daily commutes," Dr Wilson said.

He said BrisConnections was working with the road authorities to refine some minor signage issues and traffic light sequencing on the surrounding road network.