ABBA have paid tribute to Olivia Newton-John who died yesterday (August 8) aged 73.The Australian singer and Grease actor passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California, as confirmed by her husband John Easterling in a statement.“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” the message read.Today (August 9), ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (aka Frida) both paid their respects to Newton-John in a post on the Swedish group’s official social media pages.The pair crossed paths with the late star in 1974 when both she and ABBA competed in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton.Newton-John, who was representing the United Kingdom, came in fourth place with her track ‘Long Live Love’. ABBA were crowned overall winners that evening with their hit ‘Waterloo’.Alongside a photo of ABBA and Newton-John on-stage together, Frida wrote: “What do you feel, what do you say when the nice, kindest and most loving woman leaves us to travel somewhere else.“The heart aches to know Olivia’s brave fight against an, in her case, invincible enemy.
"My dad always told me football wasn't for girls - this is what the Lionesses historic Euro win means to me"
02.08.2022 - 09:31 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
When Lucy Abbott was a young girl, all she could think about was football. She would have played and talked about the game every single day - if she'd been allowed to.
Growing up in Wythenshawe during the late 1980s, girls at Lucy's school were banned from playing football in P.E lessons, and were told to play netball instead.
And despite showing a natural talent for the game, the now 37-year-old struggled to find clubs to join as a child and was even dissuaded by her parents - who told her the game wasn't for girls.
READ MORE:Demand for Man City women's tickets shoots up by 3,000pc
At the age of 17 she decided to pave her own way, and joined local women's teams, playing against the likes of former English international Farrah Williams. Lucy retired from the game at the age of 29, and recently re-joined Wythenshawe football initiative Happy Somedays - which encourages players of all genders, ages and abilities to get involved with the game.
She has described the Lionesses defeat against Germany to win the Euro 2022 final as a "brilliant" moment, and questions where her football career could have gone if she'd had the same support being shown for the women's game now.
"I have played football since I was a child - as long as I can remember really. But it was quite difficult as a girl. In P.E the girls weren't even allowed to play football," she said.
"We had to play netball instead which was a sore subject for quite a lot of us as only the lads were allowed to play. I wasn't allowed to play football in the school tournaments, not even to play mixed either.
"Outside of school the women's game just wasn't known back then. I played for a couple of teams but again the funding just wasn't there for it. Even my own parents
Tilda Swinton To Chair Jury For BFI & Chanel Filmmaker Awards
For the launch of its new Filmmaker Awards: Celebrating Creative Audacity, the BFI is partnering with Chanel and has set Tilda Swinton as jury chair. Three prizes of £20,000 each will be given to emerging UK film creatives who demonstrate originality and risk taking and want to explore a new dynamic to their work, the BFI said today.
Spice Girls’ Geri Horner told Liz Truss to “go for” role of Prime Minister
Geri Horner is said to have told Liz Truss to “go for” the role of Conservative leader amid criticism she faced for hugging MP Nadine Dorries at the Women’s Euro 2022 final.The Spice Girls singer was pictured with the Culture Secretary as the Lionesses led England to victory against Germany on Sunday evening (July 31). “Girl power radiating from Wembley tonight,” Dorries captioned the image on Twitter.Many fans subsequently pointed out Dorries’ history of voting against gay marriage and “only recently demonising the trans community”.A photo has since emerged of Horner with Truss, who is currently going up against Rishi Sunak to become the next UK Prime Minister.Speaking to MailPlus about meeting the Spice Girls star, Truss explained: “[Horner] said ‘go for it’, she was very positive.” See the photo below.How long before Geri Halliwell is the next Culture Secretary pic.twitter.com/5NLGs8kTJ7— dominic dyer (@domdyer70) August 1, 2022While some fans expressed their disappointment with Horner (née Halliwell), others said that they weren’t surprised because the singer had previously described Margaret Thatcher as the “original Spice Girl”.Horner also paid tribute to the late PM following her death in 2013, writing: “Thinking of our 1st Lady of girl power, Margaret Thatcher, a green grocer’s daughter who taught me any thing is possible…x.”The final result of the Tory leadership contest will be announced on September 5.
Nicola Sturgeon accused of 'always moaning' by Jacob Rees-Mogg as Tories step up attacks on First Minister
Tory toff Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused Nicola Sturgeon of "always moaning" as Liz Truss and her supporters ramp up attacks on the First Minister.
Gary Lineker deletes his Lionesses tweet after backlash following Euro 2022 win
Gary Lineker was forced to delete a contentious tweet in the aftermath of the Lioness' Euro 2022 victory.
Spice Girls send moving messages to Lionesses after Euro 2022 win as Mel C and Geri Horner show support from stands
England's women's football team made history on Sunday night with a 2-1 win over Germany in the Euro 2022 final. The Lionesses not only won the first ever major women's championship but it was also the country’s first international success since the men’s team won the World Cup back in 1966.
Essex celebrities rush to congratulate 'unreal' Lionesses on historic Euro 2022 triumph
READ: New restaurant Brickhouse confirmed for opening in former Mangetout site in SouthendAs the team brought it home in front of the largest crowd in the history of a men's or women's Euros - scenes of celebration broke out across the country. Essex's own celebrities weighed in on the historic occasion as they supported the Lionesses. Sir Geoff Hurst spent most of his childhood in Essex and is the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, when England beat West Germany.
Spice Girls fans criticise Geri for hugging Nadine Dorries at Euro final: “She really slammed it to the left”
Spice Girls fans have expressed their disappointment after Geri Halliwell was pictured hugging Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries at the Euro 2022 final.It comes after the Tory MP posted a picture showing Halliwell with her arms around Dorries in celebration after the Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.“Girl power radiating from Wembley tonight,” Dorries wrote.Many fans pointed out the Culture Secretary’s history of voting against gay marriage and “only recently demonising the trans community”.Girl power radiating from Wembley tonight
Demand for Manchester City women's tickets shoots up by 3,000% after Lionesses historic Euro win
Demand for tickets in the Women's Super League (WSL) have skyrocketed after the Lionesses historic Euro win at Wembley last night - as searches for Manchester City games surged by over 3000pc.