Square

NEW YORK — Manhattan was sweltering at 100 degrees and preparing to mark 250 years since the United States declared independence from Great Britain.

But on Friday, the city seemed transfixed by what might be the closest the country gets to a royal wedding: The nuptials of pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Madison Square Garden and its surrounding streets — 31st and 33rd streets toward 6th and 8th avenues — were blocked off as guests arrived for the event. Fans craned their necks for any views they could get from the street.

The world-famous arena is reportedly set to transform into a “massive castle,” surrounded by a garden fit for pop culture’s royal couple, both 36. While the complete event details and guest list have been kept a secret, the Associated Press reportedly obtained a city permit showing Friday’s supposed wedding event is set to start at 5 p.m. Eastern time and could last until 4 a.m.

Secrecy surrounding the event is so tight that the reported venue has been cordoned off with privacy tents, tarps and barricades. But neither those measures nor Friday’s sizzling temperatures stopped fans from gathering in hopes of sneaking a peak at their longtime idol and sending Swift their well wishes.

“I heard we won’t be able to see her either way because the spot that they picked is going to be covered,” said Sarah Shrestha, 21, an Anaheim resident visiting friends in Manhattan.

Madison Square Garden was a good venue for the couple’s nuptials because “in interviews, [Swift] said she wanted to be able to invite everybody to the wedding so it’s still a good venue for that,” she added.

Ellie Kitschke, 13, and her mother, Mymy Nguyen, 38, were visiting New York City from Adelaide, Australia.

Ellie said she thought it was a weird choice for the venue.

“It’s like a stadium. I get that no one can come inside but I think it’s a bit much blocking up the roads,” added Ellie, who attended the Eras tour in Sydney with her mom.

The two said they also thought it was odd Swift didn’t choose a venue or date that included her lucky number, 13, saying it “didn’t add up.”

“If she does get married, we wish her well,” Nguyen said. “We’d love to see her.”

Emma Rasco, 19, was also surprised by the choice in wedding venue.

“When I heard it, I was like, that’s definitely a choice,” Rasco said. “It’s a little unconventional and very forward-facing.”

Swift and Kelce announced their engagement in August after two years of dating, to much fanfare. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” Swift wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.

While the Swift camp didn’t release a guest list, various news organizations staked out local hotels and began counting bold-face names headed to the event. The New York Times obtained a schedule for the wedding, which included a cocktail hour followed by a 5 p.m. wedding and reception. The event was set to end at 2 a.m.

The couple were first linked in July 2023, when Kelce mentioned his desire to meet the pop superstar on his podcast, “New Heights,” and made their relationship public that September. Their coupling instantly captured the attention and hearts of fans around the world, and Swift’s presence at Chiefs games was even credited with bolstering female interest in NFL football.

Kelly, 36, is a longtime Swift fan who said she grew up listening to her music. She came from her apartment on the Upper West Side to 33rd Street to see if she could catch a glimpse of Swift entering the stadium.

“I feel like I was the same peer group growing up with her, and am just so happy that she had her happy ending,” she said. “I want to see what a Royal American wedding looks like.”

Kelly said she admires Swift and Kelce for donating to charity. The couple donated a combined $26 million to 20 local and national charities ahead of their presumed nuptials, Swift’s publicist told Business Insider.

“They really are a positive influence,” she added.

Kelly said Madison Square Garden made sense as a venue for the privacy and security of guests.

“It’s not an ideal wedding venue but they’re both creative and have their own stages in a way,” she added.

By mid-afteroon Friday, dozens of fans clustered near MSG as black SUVs and vans with tinted windows, presumably filled with wedding attendees, turned the corner toward the stadium.

New York Police Department sources told The Times that streets will be blocked off all Friday and should return to normal by Saturday morning.

Back in October, Swift told TV host Graham Norton that she was casting a wide net with the guest list, joking that she would invite “anyone I’ve ever talked to.”

“I shouldn’t have said any of that,” she added.

Pulling off an event of this magnitude — which many described as America’s “royal wedding” — required considerable preparation, with a particular emphasis on privacy. Guests were reportedly required to sign nondisclosure agreements before receiving any event details (although the NDAs were said not to have included any penalties for violating the terms).

While the Swift camp didn’t release a guest list, various news organizations staked out local hotels and Madison Square Garden and began counting bold-face names headed to the event. The New York Times obtained a schedule for the wedding, which included a cocktail hour followed by a 5 p.m. wedding and reception. The event was set to end at 2 a.m.

The couple were also linked to wedding planner Mark Seed, who previously orchestrated the 2023 wedding of Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley and the 2019 wedding of Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney. Seed is known for his elaborate event builds and notable discretion.

On the Tuesday before the event, workers were photographed installing a red carpet outside of MSG, which one individual allegedly said was for “a wedding,” according to Page Six. It was quickly removed that same day.

Lin reported from New York; Garcia and Eloise Rollins-Fife from Los Angeles.

WITH thousands of people flocking to the seaside to cool off, beach safety is all the more important.

And there is one phenomenon called “square waves” which are extremely dangerous for anyone in the water.

Also called cross waves, the unusual wave pattern is formed when two different weather systems collide, creating the checkered effect.

This is because of the waves hitting each other as the they come rom different directions.

While they may look pretty, or even not very strong, they actually are much more dangerous than they appear.

They are similar to rip tides which can make it hard for people to get out of the water.

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They can be found both close to the shoreline and far out at sea – which has even resulted in causing shipwrecks, according to the European Space Agency.

Some of the places they have been spotted include La Rochelle in France, where they can seen from above via the lighthouse.

Last year, they were also spotted off the coast of Turkey, in the Aegean Sea.

Lisbon in Portugal and Hawaii are all places where they can occur too.

One person previously wrote on social media: “We were always taught to keep an eye out for the ‘squares’ – the grid can pull you back and fourth for hundreds of feet and make it hard to stay calm.”

If you want to avoid the ocean entirely, we’ve rounded up 10 of the best inland beaches in the UK.

NEW YORK — A 51-year-old man fell to his death from an upper deck of Madison Square Garden during a rock concert Saturday night, police said.

Officers responding to a 911 call around 9:51 p.m. found the man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an “elevated position,” New York City police said. Police did not say how far the man fell, but said he was in Section 300. They declined to release his name.

The man was with his wife, according to police. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The rock band Goose was performing. In a statement on Facebook, the band said it was “deeply saddened and heartbroken to learn of the tragic event that occurred.”

EUROPE’S biggest mini-golf course spans 107,000 square feet – and it’s based in the UK.

With summer just around the corner, finding the best locations for a day out is key.

And it turns out that Europe‘s largest mini-golf course is located in an English town and boasts an epic Australian theme.

Adlington Golf Centre in Macclesfield is home to the huge Australian Golf Adventure experience, complete with an 18-hole course, a giant waterfall and snake statues.

Located around a 45-minute drive from Manchester, it’s the perfect family day out, described as “a fun, themed competition which involves putting a golf ball around challenging themed holes”.

Players can grab their club and tee off to enjoy each hole’s individual Australian-based decor.

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From the Sydney Opera House to countless kangaroos, the course’s design means you don’t have to catch a long flight to get a taste of life Down Under.

The game is played on 1500 square metres of greens based on the impressive 10,000 square metre Cheshire site, while caves, bridges and a 7.5m waterwall add to the thrills.

While players can book before they arrive, spontaneous arrivals are welcome too, with individual tickets priced from £5.

Adult entry to the course will set you back £15 per person and a children’s tickets for 13 years and under is a tenner.

A family of two adults and two kids can go for £44, while spectators and kids aged four and under will cost just £5 each.

It’s even cheaper to book as a group of twelve or more, with adults down to £12, children to £8 and toddlers and spectators for £4.

The on-site café and coffee shops are open all day for refreshments after a long round of golf – serving snacks, hot drinks, hot food and pastries.

For those hoping to get stuck into something more grown-up, the centre also hosts two nine-hole golf courses, a foot golf course and a driving range for a good whack.

There’s good news if you’re riding the padel hype, too. Adlington Golf Centre will soon be home to four brand new, state-of-the-art padel courts, set to open this year.

Football Australia has urged the Victorian government to reverse a ban on World Cup matches being shown on big screens at Melbourne’s Federation Square.

Australia supporters have gathered there to watch tournament matches since 2006.

However, the Melbourne Arts Precinct, which manages the venue, said behaviour in previous years had been “unacceptable and damaging”.

Video of fans celebrating went viral during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Australia advanced to the last 16, but there were incidents involving people being injured by flares and projectiles.

Supporters also stormed barricades during the 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-final between Australia and England, leading to the screening of the Matildas’ third-place play-off being cancelled at the square.

“After careful consideration, we’ve made the decision not to show the World Cup on Fed Square’s Big Screen this year,” said Melbourne Arts Precinct director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick on Wednesday.

“This is due to the behaviour of a small number of people at previous screenings which was simply unacceptable and damaging to Fed Square.”

After my father’s will banned me and my siblings from his funeral, I wrote a novel about some brothers and sisters stealing their dad in his coffin. The emotions were drawn from my painful experiences, but I invented the characters and the tragi-comic narrative in Stealing Dad. Despite growing up in England, I’ve lived in and written about Athens for 25 years, and it came naturally to create several Greek characters. Alekos is a wild sculptor who dies in London, and his daughter Iris (one of seven dispersed half-siblings) lives off Victoria Square – one of Athens’ most fascinating corners.