- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
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- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
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- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
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- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
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- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
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- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
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- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Montreux Jazz Festival gets back into the swing
The Montreux Jazz Festival is to return this summer promising a "dizzying panorama of sound" after two years muted by the pandemic, with Diana Ross, Bjork, Stormzy and Herbie Hancock in the line-up unveiled on Wednesday.
The 56th festival, from July 1 to 16 in the idyllic town on Lake Geneva, is turning to old friends and some new faces from the world of pop, rap, jazz and rock to get the show back up and running.
"After two editions of enforced silence, the two emblematic halls of the festival will finally be able to give the public and the artists the thrill of live performance again," organisers said.
For more than half a century, Montreux has been a magnet for big names in the music business, as well as for rising stars. It has retained its jazz label despite dramatically expanding its repertoire since the first edition in 1967.
The 2020 festival was cancelled outright due to Covid-19, while the 2021 event was dramatically scaled down, featuring a small stage 25 metres (80 feet) out on the lake, opposite a grandstand holding 500 spectators.
The 2022 programme, "dense and bursting with colour, once again combines the timeless with the spirit of the times," organisers said.
- Legend in the line-up -
Norwegian synth-pop trio a-ha are the opening night's act in the 4,000-capacity Auditorium Stravinski, with the first weekend also featuring Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds followed by Icelandic songstress Bjork with the Sinfonietta de Lausanne.
John Legend, Paolo Nutini, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Diana Ross, the Alan Parsons Live Project, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Van Morrison Jeff Beck and Eurovision-winning Italian rockers Maneskin are also set to star on the main stage.
Meanwhile, the all-standing 2,000-capacity Montreux Jazz Lab will feature The Smile -- a new project by Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood -- and British rapper Stormzy.
The festival will be closed by jazz piano great Hancock, 82, and Jamie Cullum.
Motown idol Ross is making her Montreux debut at 78, while Bjork is returning for the first time in 24 years as she releases her 10th album.
"This 2022 edition has a special flavour. First of all because, like the world of culture in general, it is a sign that life is getting back on track," said the festival's chief executive Mathieu Jaton.
"We are all emerging from this crisis in different ways; some bruised, some stronger, some weakened, some hardened. But let us not forget that a festival is above all a moment of sharing and celebration."
B.Finley--AMWN