Vienna to beam Strauss' iconic Blue Danube waltz into space to mark his 200th birthday
To mark Johann Strauss II's 200th birthday, Vienna is sending his iconic waltz The Blue Danube into space - decades after it was left off the Voyager Golden Record.
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CNN
10 minutes ago
- CNN
Venice is wild with rumors over the secretive Bezos-Sanchez wedding
Plagued by the looming threat of disruptive protests, the upcoming Venetian wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former news anchor and licensed pilot Lauren Sanchez — which is expected to be a lavish, multimillion-dollar affair — may be one of the most anticipated and closely guarded events to be held in the floating city of love. Spokespeople for the couple remain tight-lipped and invited guests have been required to sign NDAs, but a lid cannot be kept on widespread speculation about every detail of the event that is expected to take place this week. At Harry's Bar, a fabled institution that once counted Ernest Hemingway among its customers, the waiters are hoping some of the 200 guests — a mix of A-list celebrities, political dignitaries and powerful business executives — might stop in for one of their famous Bellini cocktails. Whether or not Bezos will bring his yet-unnamed groomsmen there, as George Clooney did when he married Amal Alamuddin in 2014, is anyone's guess. 'We hope so,' one of the waiters told CNN. 'We can't divulge anyone who has made a reservation. We protect the privacy of all of our guests, not just the billionaires.' From the date to the guest list, possible venues and the bridal gown, the rumor mill is spinning at a rapid pace. Proceedings are being overseen by boutique event planners Lanza and Baucina, the Italian duo who transformed Venice's Grand Canal into a red carpet for the Clooneys' glitzy wedding. Protesters believe there's no space for a Bezos wedding in Venice, but the company has insisted that its plans are respectful of the city and the unique set of challenges it faces as one of the most overpopulated tourist sites in Europe. 'Rumors of 'taking over' the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality,' they said in a statement shared with CNN. 'From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city.' The couple is sourcing some 80% of wedding provisions from local vendors, including pastries from the Rosa Salva pastry shop, the oldest in Venice, whose owners told CNN they have been commissioned to create 'about 200 goodie bags.' Murano glassware designer Laguna B also confirmed to CNN that it is creating special party favors. The company declined to share any further details. Veneto regional president Luca Zaia is not concerned about the city's plans to manage the wedding, telling one local paper, 'I repeat, this is a city that handles 150,000 people a day. George Clooney, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, Alexandre Arnault, Elton John and many others got married here.' He also surmised that the President of the United States, who is scheduled to be in Europe this week for the NATO summit, could conceivably be on the guest list, telling Corriere della Sera, 'Of course, Donald Trump could also come to this wedding.' One imagines that Trump's priorities may have shifted considerably over the weekend. With guests sworn to secrecy about their attendance, Sanchez's very public bachelorette party in Paris last month may offer clues as to who will watch on as she and Bezos say 'I do.' Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry, and Eva Longoria all took part in celebrations that included a boat trip along the Seine. Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump have also been invited, according to the Associated Press. As is tradition, Sanchez will be keeping details of her wedding gown, and its designer, under wraps until the big day, but close followers of her fashion will know she is a regular wearer of Dolce & Gabbana. Sanchez sat front and center at the Italian house's Alta Moda show in Sardinia last summer as her son Nikko Gonzalez walked the runway, signaling a close relationship with the brand. Others in the running to dress the bride could be the storied house of Oscar de la Renta. Sanchez did not attend this year's Met Gala, but she did notably wear a custom-made gown by the label for her 2024 debut. Around 30 of the city's elite water taxis, out of 280 total, are also thought to be reserved. One taxi driver told CNN he has been booked from June 25th through the 30th for 'a big wedding,' but declined to say more on the subject. Gondolas have also been put on hold, with the city's gondola association confirming they are ready for the event. The city's nine yacht ports have also been booked for the week leading up to the main event. Bezos' $500 million Koru, which is always tailed by the smaller L'Abeona, are both in the Adriatic Sea already, according to the Marine Traffic website. Venice's airspace is closed to drones and non-authorized traffic, but one source told CNN that permission has been granted for private helicopters, particularly for anyone needing special security, such as heads of state. The Marco Polo airport, no stranger to private jet traffic, already has a secluded area with direct access to private water taxis, making it easy for stars to slip into the city unseen. The wedding date itself, by far the most protected detail, still remains unconfirmed and the couple seem hellbent on keeping everyone guessing up until the last minute. A person close to Venice City Hall told CNN that the wedding planners secured a variety of venues over a period of days and will decide what happens where and when based on the most uncontrollable factors — weather and protesters. The wedding is expected to use a small handful of hotels in the city to accommodate guests or host events. One of the most talked-about possible venues is the Cini Foundation on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which has hosted everything from G7 events to private concerts. The sculpted gardens and monastery, where monks still pray, sit across the lagoon from the famous Piazza San Marco and would provide an intimate setting ideal for a dinner. Building work being carried out in mid-June looked suspiciously like a set being built — perhaps for a wedding concert? The Aman hotel on the Grand Canal, where the Clooneys chose to wed, has also been mentioned as a potential location. Another top contender is the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a 16th-century armory that would be perfect for the ceremony itself — although it is more vulnerable to protesters, who have already threatened to block the canals if the wedding party tries to reach the venue. Interestingly, a rather wedding-esque gazebo has been erected next to the Excelsior Hotel on the Venice Lido, a stone's throw from where the Venice Film Festival is held each year. But, as with the rest of the venues, nothing is confirmed.
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
Venice is wild with rumors over the secretive Bezos-Sanchez wedding
Plagued by the looming threat of disruptive protests, the upcoming Venetian wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former news anchor and licensed pilot Lauren Sanchez — which is expected to be a lavish, multimillion-dollar affair — may be one of the most anticipated and closely guarded events to be held in the floating city of love. Spokespeople for the couple remain tight-lipped and invited guests have been required to sign NDAs, but a lid cannot be kept on widespread speculation about every detail of the event that is expected to take place this week. At Harry's Bar, a fabled institution that once counted Ernest Hemingway among its customers, the waiters are hoping some of the 200 guests — a mix of A-list celebrities, political dignitaries and powerful business executives — might stop in for one of their famous Bellini cocktails. Whether or not Bezos will bring his yet-unnamed groomsmen there, as George Clooney did when he married Amal Alamuddin in 2014, is anyone's guess. 'We hope so,' one of the waiters told CNN. 'We can't divulge anyone who has made a reservation. We protect the privacy of all of our guests, not just the billionaires.' From the date to the guest list, possible venues and the bridal gown, the rumor mill is spinning at a rapid pace. Proceedings are being overseen by boutique event planners Lanza and Baucina, the Italian duo who transformed Venice's Grand Canal into a red carpet for the Clooneys' glitzy wedding. Protesters believe there's no space for a Bezos wedding in Venice, but the company has insisted that its plans are respectful of the city and the unique set of challenges it faces as one of the most overpopulated tourist sites in Europe. 'Rumors of 'taking over' the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality,' they said in a statement shared with CNN. 'From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city.' The couple is sourcing some 80% of wedding provisions from local vendors, including pastries from the Rosa Salva pastry shop, the oldest in Venice, whose owners told CNN they have been commissioned to create 'about 200 goodie bags.' Murano glassware designer Laguna B also confirmed to CNN that it is creating special party favors. The company declined to share any further details. Veneto regional president Luca Zaia is not concerned about the city's plans to manage the wedding, telling one local paper, 'I repeat, this is a city that handles 150,000 people a day. George Clooney, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, Alexandre Arnault, Elton John and many others got married here.' He also surmised that the President of the United States, who is scheduled to be in Europe this week for the NATO summit, could conceivably be on the guest list, telling Corriere della Sera, 'Of course, Donald Trump could also come to this wedding.' One imagines that Trump's priorities may have shifted considerably over the weekend. With guests sworn to secrecy about their attendance, Sanchez's very public bachelorette party in Paris last month may offer clues as to who will watch on as she and Bezos say 'I do.' Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry, and Eva Longoria all took part in celebrations that included a boat trip along the Seine. Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump have also been invited, according to the Associated Press. As is tradition, Sanchez will be keeping details of her wedding gown, and its designer, under wraps until the big day, but close followers of her fashion will know she is a regular wearer of Dolce & Gabbana. Sanchez sat front and center at the Italian house's Alta Moda show in Sardinia last summer as her son Nikko Gonzalez walked the runway, signaling a close relationship with the brand. Others in the running to dress the bride could be the storied house of Oscar de la Renta. Sanchez did not attend this year's Met Gala, but she did notably wear a custom-made gown by the label for her 2024 debut. Around 30 of the city's elite water taxis, out of 280 total, are also thought to be reserved. One taxi driver told CNN he has been booked from June 25th through the 30th for 'a big wedding,' but declined to say more on the subject. Gondolas have also been put on hold, with the city's gondola association confirming they are ready for the event. The city's nine yacht ports have also been booked for the week leading up to the main event. Bezos' $500 million Koru, which is always tailed by the smaller L'Abeona, are both in the Adriatic Sea already, according to the Marine Traffic website. Venice's airspace is closed to drones and non-authorized traffic, but one source told CNN that permission has been granted for private helicopters, particularly for anyone needing special security, such as heads of state. The Marco Polo airport, no stranger to private jet traffic, already has a secluded area with direct access to private water taxis, making it easy for stars to slip into the city unseen. The wedding date itself, by far the most protected detail, still remains unconfirmed and the couple seem hellbent on keeping everyone guessing up until the last minute. A person close to Venice City Hall told CNN that the wedding planners secured a variety of venues over a period of days and will decide what happens where and when based on the most uncontrollable factors — weather and protesters. The wedding is expected to use a small handful of hotels in the city to accommodate guests or host events. One of the most talked-about possible venues is the Cini Foundation on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which has hosted everything from G7 events to private concerts. The sculpted gardens and monastery, where monks still pray, sit across the lagoon from the famous Piazza San Marco and would provide an intimate setting ideal for a dinner. Building work being carried out in mid-June looked suspiciously like a set being built — perhaps for a wedding concert? The Aman hotel on the Grand Canal, where the Clooneys chose to wed, has also been mentioned as a potential location. Another top contender is the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a 16th-century armory that would be perfect for the ceremony itself — although it is more vulnerable to protesters, who have already threatened to block the canals if the wedding party tries to reach the venue. Interestingly, a rather wedding-esque gazebo has been erected next to the Excelsior Hotel on the Venice Lido, a stone's throw from where the Venice Film Festival is held each year. But, as with the rest of the venues, nothing is confirmed.
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
How ‘Subway Surfers' has dominated mobile gaming for over a decade
For 13 years, Subway Surfers ' download rate has been consistent: about one million new installs every single day. Half of those downloads come from users upgrading to new devices. The other half comes from children aging into phone usage, and users in less developed countries reaching a level of affluence that allows them to purchase their first smartphones. This steady influx of players has made Subway Surfers the most downloaded mobile game of all time, with 4.5 billion lifetime downloads. Recently, however, Subway Surfers' traffic has arrived in more dramatic waves. In 2020, the app saw a surge of new users after TikTokers discovered a way to 'hack' the game. In 2022, a 10th anniversary social media campaign—combined with a TikTok-viral 'no coin' challenge—once again sent downloads soaring. Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO of Subway Surfers' parent company SYBO, understands the vital role social media plays in the game's continued growth. Many of its early competitors have vanished: Draw Something and Zombie Farm are no longer on the app store, and Temple Run (which once inspired Subway Surfers) has stagnated. Through TikTok, though, Subway Surfers has kept its edge. 'The fact that TikTok loves us means we're also being rewarded by Apple and Google, because their algorithms see what trends on other platforms,' Nørvig says. 'It's a flywheel of activation.' Subway Surfers ' social media dominance TikTok is crowded with so-called ' brain rot ' content. These posts typically layer two unrelated videos: one showing a TV show or narrated Reddit post, the other featuring a video game. Also called 'sludge content,' the videos lull the doomscrolling brain into a passive state, watching and listening as the parallel feeds play. It's like 'Cocomelon' for teenagers. Nørvig takes a much sunnier view of these videos, saying they 'give you a moment of zen.' They also frequently feature Subway Surfers, repeatedly bringing TikTok users back to SYBO's IP. There's no clear evidence that these 'brain rot' videos drive viewers to the App Store, but they certainly do keep Subway Surfers in the conversation. '[TikTokers] know we're not going to go after them for posting our content,' Nørvig says. 'We have a very different approach from other companies, where they do a lot more policing of social media.' Subway Surfers' in-house social media channels are led by Celia Zimmermann, SYBO's head of player experience. While the company produces plenty of its own content across platforms, the team also spends considerable time supporting the flow of organically created content. Zimmermann describes the game's openness as 'brave,' noting that many community managers at other gaming companies don't have the same speed for green-lighting. 'We have IP that we're able to be quite flexible with,' she says. This social momentum is especially important for Subway Surfers' young audience. Many tween players gather on platforms like TikTok. SYBO does not track younger players directly, but Nørvig estimates anecdotally that about half of the game's players are under 18. That figure does not account for the many kids playing on adult devices, which could push the percentage even higher. Of course, not all social media trends are positive. In New York City, a TikTok challenge recently encouraged some young people to try hopping between subway cars. At least six people died in 2024 attempting the stunt. Nørvig calls the trend 'unfortunate' and says SYBO would never repost or amplify dangerous content, though the company ultimately decided not to issue a public statement. 'Train surfing has been a thing that people are doing in New York, thankfully very seldom, but we haven't seen with our downloads that people think of it as something they can do in real life,' Nørvig says. 'It's clearly a game, and a silly game at that, and therefore we don't have any direct connection to it.' Can TikTok keep a 13-year-old game on top? Nørvig sees Subway Surfers as part of a standout group of Scandinavian mobile games. There's Angry Birds, launched in 2009, and Candy Crush, which debuted in 2012. Both remain strong performers, though Subway Surfers ' download rate now outpaces them by a sizable margin, according to analysts. It also stands out as the only game in the group embracing such a deeply TikTok-driven strategy—though it remains hard to say whether virality and revenue always go hand in hand. While SYBO declined to share exact revenue figures, Nørvig notes that 80 to 85% of the company's revenue comes from advertising, with the rest generated through in-app purchases. Monthly active users remain relatively steady—aside from viral spikes—at 100 to 150 million. With such a stable user base, revenue shifts at SYBO tend to follow fluctuations in the ad market. Analysts are split on Subway Surfers' future. Samuel Aune, a gaming insights analyst at Sensor Tower, supports Nørvig's view of long-term stability. He describes the game's 10-year download curve as 'really consistent,' especially when compared to its peers. 'Not a lot of games have lived 10-plus years,' he tells Fast Company. Ariel Michaeli, CEO of Appfigures, takes a more skeptical stance. Mobile game downloads have declined across the board on both the App Store and Google Play. 'But Subway Surfers has dropped a little bit more than everyone else,' he says, citing the company's internal tracking. 'It used to be number one for a very long time. Over the last few months, it started slowly going down [the ranking] . . . Subway Surfers has been around for so long that there's fatigue.' And what if TikTok disappeared? That seems unlikely in the U.S. for now, with President Donald Trump having extended the TikTok ban deadline for a third time. But in India, where TikTok is banned, Subway Surfers had to pivot. 'Facebook is their go-to, and so is YouTube, so that's the place where we go to engage with them,' Zimmermann says. For now, Subway Surfers holds its lead. Nørvig argues that among today's top-ranked mobile games, it is the only one growing organically. Its steady stream of downloads continues, driven by strong, recognizable IP and smart social media strategy—not by less transparent forces. 'We're still the most downloaded viral game,' Nørvig says. 'Everyone else has paid for their traffic to get on that list.'
