BULLDOZERS have moved in on one of Britain’s most iconic seaside amusement parks, but thrillseekers have been thrown a lifeline.
Generations of holidaymakers have flocked to the legendary amusement park for more than a century of candyfloss and white-knuckle rides.
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Coney Beach is being demolished after operating for 107 yearsCredit: Alamy Stock PhotoThe attraction first opened way back in 1918Credit: Alamy
But Coney Beach Amusement Park in Porthcawl, South Wales, is now being reduced to rubble after bosses padlocked the famous gates for the very last time in October.
The park hosted a farewell fireworks display as it bowed out of the UK holiday scene for good.
The beloved attraction first opened way back in 1918 to entertain returning American WW1 troops, taking its legendary name from the iconic pleasure beach in New York.
Now, the massive plot is being completely flattened to make way for a mega-money waterfront regeneration project backed by the Welsh Government.
This sweeping revamp will see the vintage arcades and dodgems replaced by up to 980 new homes, alongside a string of modern cafes and restaurants.
While gutted locals have mourned the loss of a true seaside legend, council chiefs insist the drastic facelift is the only way to secure the resort’s booming economic future.
However, devastated fans of traditional fairground magic won’t be left high and dry when the summerholidays roll around.
A new seasonal funfair is set to pitch up at the nearby Salt Lake site to ensure Porthcawl keeps its crown as a top tourist magnet.
Launching just in time for the Easter break, the brand-new family attraction will boast an epic big wheel, classic rides, and mouth-watering food stalls.
Run by the veteran showmen at Studt’s Events, the fully-stewarded site will even share its prime waterfront spot with the dazzling NoFit State circus this April.
It means that while the historic Coney Beach might be gone forever, the brilliant British tradition of seaside thrills is very much here to stay.
The amusement park had seen millions of visitors on its rides over the yearsCredit: GettyDemolition of Coney Beach amusement park began in JanuaryCredit: Google Maps
IT was in this very column that Delta Goodrem first revealed it was her dream to represent Australia at Eurovision.
Now, nine months later, she has been officially unveiled as the contest’s Aussie entry, with the Lost Without You singer firmly crediting Bizarre with making it happen.
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It was in this very column that Delta Goodrem first revealed it was her dream to represent Australia at EurovisionDelta has been officially unveiled as the contest’s Aussie entry, with the Lost Without You singer firmly crediting Bizarre with making it happenCredit: Supplied
Speaking to our Jack, Delta said: “This is, literally verbatim, all your fault. It is all on you — you and Bizarre started this.
“Your article went back to the Aussies who were like, ‘Do you want to do this?’ So thank you. I have a big job to do.”
Delta will head to Vienna this May to compete with her song Eclipse and it ticks every box, with an infectiously camp chorus and a complex piano bridge.
A beaming Delta explained: “From your article, people started reaching out.
“Then one of the songwriters, Jonas Myrin, who I wrote the song with, took a screengrab of the article and sent it to me saying, ‘Delta, if you ever go to Eurovision, I want to write the song with you’.
“He’s in Sweden. Sure enough he flew to Australia when I said I was doing it. Even the first question I got asked when doing my first Australian interview was, ‘We heard it all started from an article from the UK,’ and yes, it did.”
It’s been three years since Australia last qualified for the live final, which adds to the pressure on Delta, who has sold eight million records worldwide.
“Of course I am nervous, but it’s so joyous and I am so excited to be a part of it,” she said.
“I can’t control what will happen. All I know is that I am honoured to represent Aus.
“I will fly the flag and give my heart and soul.
“Two of my greatest idols, who are part of the reason I am in music, Olivia Newton-John and Celine Dion, did Eurovision.
“I am grateful to be able to step into that.
“What an honour it is to be able to perform anywhere, let alone on the biggest stage in the world. I am excited.”
We Brits can’t vote for our own act, Look Mum No Computer (aka Sam Battle), whose entry Eins Zwei Drei is out on Friday, so Delta is hoping the British jury will give her our 12 points.
Explaining how it all fell into place, she said: “I had always said, ‘Oh, you know, when the time is right’. I always have an open heart to new things and being a coach on The Voice I celebrate all types of music. Then it all came into focus.”
Sam Battle, whose entry Eins Zwei Drei is out on FridayCredit: BBC/PADelta said: ‘Two of my greatest idols, who are part of the reason I am in music, Olivia Newton-John and Celine Dion, did Eurovision’Credit: Getty
Speaking about what people should expect when she competes at the second semi-final on May 14, Delta explained: “The staging is important, but you will have to wait and see.
“There is a high bar out there but I am enjoying the creativity of it. I love the out-of-the-box moments, but I also love past winners Loreen, Alexander Rybak and Mans Zelmerlow.”
This year’s competition has already been rocked by controversy with Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain all pulling out due to Israel being allowed to take part in the contest, amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
But Delta is keen to use the platform to help bring people together and celebrate our common ground.
She said: “I am in music for unity and the healing spirit,” adding that she loves the sense of “togetherness” generated by music and song.
Delta added: “Eurovision has been going for 70 years and there is a reason everyone comes back, united in song.
“I am really looking forward to being united together. At my shows, that is what you want, too.
“My song is about one love and connection.”
You’ve got our votes, Delta.
DECEMBER 10 are playing a free O2 Presents . . . gig at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on April 8.
There will be 767 pairs of tickets available to O2 and Virgin Media broadband customers via a ballot, which will be open from March 9- 23 on the Priority app.
COMPASS TO GO THE COLE MILE
I TIPPED big things for Belfast pair Broken Compass after they released their debut single Storm in October.
Now the duo, Ben Dadidson and Allen Gordon have landed roles in Anything Goes at Belfast’s Grand Opera House.
Belfast pair Broken Compass Ben Dadidson and Allen GordonCredit: Supplied
Running from April 14-18, the show features songs from Cole Porter including I Get A Kick Out Of You.
While Allen has graced the stage at the venue before, it will be the first time for Ben, who previously toured with Westlife in boyband Most Wanted.
Ben told Bizarre: “This has been such a whirlwind, moving to Belfast and joining St Agnes Choral Society.
“Opening myself up to theatre as well as pop has been a dream come true.”
OASIS will feature on the new Help(2) War Child album with a standalone 7in single of Acquiesce, recorded live at Wembley last September, being included in the vinyl edition.
It will be a hidden track on the double CD version, and on streaming, when the charity record is out on Friday.
Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Damon Albarn and Pulp will also feature.
RAYE SETS LIFE BOAT AFLOAT
RAYE will return to dance music on her upcoming album with a belting electro track called Life Boat.
The singer debuted the song at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday night and it features emotional lyrics against a euphoric chorus.
Raye will return to dance music on her upcoming album with a belting electro track called Life BoatCredit: Getty
In the verse, she sang: “Cry yourself an ocean, trying not to drown in it. Lord send me a lifeboat, something I can cling to.”
Then in the chorus she repeated: “I’m not giving up yet.”
Earlier in her career Raye had a string of dance hits including Bed, Prada, You Don’t Know Me and Secrets, so she knows a thing or two about releasing a banger.
And with her album, This Music May Contain Hope, out on March 27, there isn’t long to wait.
OH BUCKET! AL’S FOR HIGH JUMP
IF you thought it was funny watching Alan Carr take part in the challenges on Celebrity Traitors, his next show will see him jumping out of a plane.
He is shooting a travelogue called The F**k It List for Prime Video, which will see him and other comics taking on bucket list experiences, but it sounds like he’s drawn the short straw.
Alan Carr is shooting a travelogue called The F**k It List for Prime VideoCredit: Getty
Alan said: “I was sold this show about a bucket list. I thought I would be on the Orient Express and swimming with dolphins.”
Instead, he admitted on his Bottoms Up podcast: “I’m skydiving, bungee jumping and stroking a tarantula. I hate spiders.”
Thera’s so much promise
SHE’S the vocal powerhouse from Prague who, aged just 18, is already turning heads across Europe.
And as rising star Thera wraps up supporting Jason Derulo on his The Last Dance world tour, she opened up backstage about juggling school with breaking into the industry.
Thera opened up backstage about juggling school with breaking into the industry
The Czech singer, who first toured with Loreen, said: “I’ve gone through a lot that made me mature faster, which is why people are shocked I’m 18. “It doesn’t feel strange to me. Those experiences shaped who I am today and how I handle things and what I do.
“School has really helped me, even though it’s very stressful and chaotic at times.
“It’s almost forced me to be organised and have a system, which I feel has helped me in the music world.”
On tour it was the Les Twins, who also went on the road with Jason, who acted as her “big brothers”.
She added: “They’re role models, but also feel like family.”
Her biggest night yet was Prague’s O2 Arena on Sunday, where her whole family watched alongside 20,000 fans.
VERONA, Italy — In fair Verona, L.A., unofficially, takes the torch.
While the Olympic flag passed from Italy to France at Sunday’s closing ceremony, handing off the Winter Games from Milan-Cortina to the French Alps, the flame will burn next in L.A.
In just over two years, the United States will host the country’s first Summer Games since 1996, welcoming an Olympic movement that is surging in popularity but unsteady in a changing world, as the Games return to Los Angeles for the third time.
The Milan-Cortina Olympics are expected to rake in record TV numbers for NBC. They already produced the most-watched women’s hockey game on record when an average of 5.3 million viewers took in the United States’ thrilling overtime win over Canada. The rivalry game contributed to the largest weekday audience for a Winter Games since 2014 with an average of 26.7 million viewers who also watched U.S. star Alysa Liu win the country’s first Olympic gold medal for women’s singles figure skating in 24 years.
The smiling 20-year-old with horizontal stripes in her hair became a sensation in Milan just as 41-year-old mother of two Elana Meyers Taylor did in Cortina d’Ampezzo after the five-time Olympian won her first gold medal in bobsled, jumping into the arms of her nanny and, through tears, signing to her deaf children, “Mommy won.”
No matter protests, politics or planning hurdles, the Olympics sought to remain a stage for those athletes to shine.
“You showed us what excellence, respect and friendship look like in a world that sometimes forgets these values,” International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said to the Olympians in her speech while standing on a platform in the stands placed in front of the Italian delegation. “You showed us that the Olympic Games are a place for everyone. A place where sport brings us together.”
After record numbers from the 2024 Paris Summer Games, the Milan-Cortina Games sold 1.3 million tickets, which, accounting for 80% of the expected tickets, was “beyond our expectations,” Milano Cortina 2026 chief executive officer Andrea Varnier said at a news conference. Of the 63% of international fans who attended the Games, the United States, at 14%, bought the second-most tickets.
Fans filled arenas that were finished just in time in Milan. They withstood snowstorms in Livigno, cheered the debut of ski mountaineering in Bormio and held their breath while multiple skiers got airlifted off the downhill course in Cortina.
The most widespread Games in history created distinct pockets of Olympic spirit separated by hours on trains and miles of winding mountain roads. The Olympics that preached harmony finally united in a single city known for love, beauty and grudges. The Milan-Cortina Games represented seemingly every Shakespearean theme.
Athletes got engaged. Sponsors organized hair and makeup sessions in the Olympic villages, which went through an average of 365 kilograms of pasta and 10,000 eggs a day. A cheating scandal rocked curling.
The closing ceremony set at the Roman amphitheater at the heart of the city that inspired “Romeo and Juliet” celebrated the Games as “beauty in action.” But beneath the glittering gold medals, there was pain.
Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn suffered a horrific crash and has already undergone four surgeries on her broken leg. Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified when he refused to compete without his helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes who’ve been killed in the war with Russia.
Artists perform during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Verona, Italy.
(Bernat Armangue / Associated Press)
Already holding the weight of their personal dreams, U.S. athletes faced additional pressure answering questions about the country’s political landscape. After freestyle skier Hunter Hess he said he had “mixed emotions” representing the United States at the Olympics, President Trump called the 27-year-old “a real loser” on social media.
Two weeks later, Hess held his thumb and forefinger in the shape of an “L” to his forehead after his first qualifying run.
Athletes pleaded for assistance navigating an onslaught of social media threats as the Olympic spotlight grows with every Games. Coventry said at a news conference last week that the IOC has a safeguarding unit that monitors the organization’s social media platforms for hateful messages. More than 10,000 such comments were taken down during the Paris Games, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said. The number for the Milan-Cortina Games hadn’t been finalized.
With the largest delegation of any country at the Games, the United States won the second-most medals with 33, including 12 golds, the most Olympic titles for the country at any single Winter Games. The total gold medals surpassed the 10 won in Salt Lake City in 2002, the last time the United States hosted an Olympic Games.
After more than two decades away, the Games will return to the United States twice in the next eight years. L.A. will host the 2028 Games and Utah will have the 2034 Winter Games.
Approaching the final stretch of an 11-year planning period, the L.A. Games confronted another challenge this month when a growing number of local politicians called for LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman’s resignation after racy emails he exchanged with Ghislaine Maxwell were revealed in the Epstein files. After initial hesitation, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other leaders joined the chorus calling for Wasserman’s dismissal.
But LA28 doubled down on his role. The executive committee of the LA28 board stood by Wasserman after a review from an outside legal firm found that the Hollywood mogul’s relationship with Maxwell “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.”
As with his 2026 organizing committee counterpart Giovanni Malago, Wasserman would be expected to deliver speeches in 2028.
