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Actress Sarah Jessica Parker has joined the judging panel for next year’s Booker Prize.

The Sex And The City star, 59, will help decide who wins the £50,000 literary award, which recognises the best work of fiction written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

Booker Prize-longlisted authors Ayobami Adebayo and Kiley Reid, broadcaster and literary critic Chris Power, and Irish writer Roddy Doyle – who won the award in 1993 – will join Parker on the judging panel.

The actress, an avid reader who has won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards for her roles on screen, has had her own literary imprint publisher for several years called SJP Lit.

She has also served as honorary chair of the American Library Association’s online reading resource platform Central Book Club, and as a board member of the US-based charity United for Libraries.

In 2016, the actress announced she would bring out a line of books under the name SJP for publishers Hogarth.

Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, said it is the first year to have three Booker authors – Adebayo, Reid and Doyle – on the panel.

Mentioning Parker, Ms Wood said she has enjoyed “sharing book recommendations” with the actress in the past few months, adding that she has “passionately supported contemporary fiction for many years”.

The prize was won this year by British author Samantha Harvey. She became the first woman since 2019 to win with her book Orbital, which is about astronauts looking down at Earth.

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Chairing next year’s panel, Doyle, who won the award for his book Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, said: “For more than 40 years, I’ve been writing novels, or editing novels, or thinking about the next novel.

“For longer still – since my mother taught me how to read – I’ve filled hours of every day with novels, reading them, re-reading them, just gazing at them.

“To have licence to do little else but read the year’s best novels, to find the familiar in the unfamiliar, to examine the remarkable, unique things that great writers can do with the shared language, English – I can’t wait.

“I’m looking forward to working with a great panel of judges. I’ve never been in a book club before, but I think I’m probably joining a good one.”

The longlist of 12 to 13 books will be announced next July, with the shortlist of six books to follow in September.

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Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin

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Tomorrowland: 'Devastating' blaze destroys main stage at major festival - two days before it was due to begin

A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.

Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.

Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.

fire destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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The fire gutted the main stage


 fire which destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control

The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.

It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.

Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.

A fire destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky


The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.

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The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.

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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.

“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen who said fire destroyed the main stage at the Tomorrowland festival site in Belgium
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Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’

Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.

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Robin Kaye: American Idol TV executive and her husband shot dead inside their Los Angeles home

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Robin Kaye: American Idol TV executive and her husband shot dead inside their Los Angeles home

An American Idol TV executive and her husband have been found dead in their LA home.

Robin Kaye was a music supervisor on the long-running reality TV series.

The bodies of the 70-year-old and her husband Thomas were discovered after officers conducted a welfare check at their home.

Both had died from gunshot wounds.

Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas. Pic: Facebook
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Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas. Pic: Facebook

Detectives say Raymond Boodarian has been arrested in connection with their deaths.

It is alleged the 22-year-old had burgled their property while they were away on 10 July – killing the couple upon their return.

According to Los Angeles Police, there were “no signs of forced entry or trouble” at the property.

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Ms Kaye was an industry veteran – and had previously worked on shows including Lip Sync Battle and The Singing Bee, as well as several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.

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Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles
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Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles

In a statement, an American Idol spokesperson said: “Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.

“Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”

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Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week’s shows in Manchester

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Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week's shows in Manchester

Huge steel fences have been erected to prevent ticketless fans from watching the Oasis reunion tour in Manchester.

Liam and Noel Gallagher will resume their sold-out run of shows – their first since 2009 – with a performance at Heaton Park tonight, and two more on Saturday and Sunday.

While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis’s first two shows last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance – in an area dubbed “Gallagher Hill” by some on social media.

People walk past a temporary security fence erected ahead of concerts by Oasis in Heaton Park on 1 July. File pic: Reuters
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People walk past a temporary security fence erected ahead of concerts by Oasis in Heaton Park on 1 July. Reuters file pic

Manchester City Council has now said more steel fences have been erected around parts of the park to prevent ticketless fans from watching the gigs, and to protect nature in the park.

“After taking stock of how the first two nights went, additional measures have now been deemed necessary and will be in place for the next three concerts,” it said.

“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there.

“The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”

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Friday: Excited fans at Oasis homecoming gig

The fences will cover a large area of the hill within the park’s cattle field, which is being developed as a new woodland area with around 300 young trees planted.

The council added that there would be no facilities for people without a ticket, and said the event area is “double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round”.

More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will also be on duty around the site “to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticket-holders and that only those who have tickets access the concert”, it said.

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John Hacking, the council’s executive member for employment, skills and leisure, also said in a statement that “unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place”.

He added: “Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead.

“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time.

“We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”

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