LONDON 2012: OLYMPICS FOOTBALL TICKETS GO ON SALE

Some 1.5m football tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games are going on sale from 1100 GMT on 29 November.

Remaining tickets for the Paralympics will also be up for grabs on a first-come first-served basis at 1300 on 2 December, organisers Locog say.

Track cycling and wheelchair rugby have sold out, but tickets are available for athletics, wheelchair basketball, swimming and equestrian events.

Tickets range from £10 to £45, while those for children and seniors cost £5.

Some 800,000 Paralympics tickets were allocated to 100,000 people through September's initial public application phase.

Tickets are available on each day of the Paralympics, which run from 29 August to 9 September.

They can be bought online or over the phone on 0844 847 2012. Would-be spectators will have to use a Visa card for any purchase.

'Amazing athletes'

The Olympic football tickets are available to anyone who wants to apply on a first-come-first-served basis.

Olympics matches are taking place at Wembley, Hampden Park in Glasgow, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Manchester United's Old Trafford, St James' Park in Newcastle and the City of Coventry stadium.

The GB Men's team, who are coached by England under-21 manager Stuart Pearce, kick off at Old Trafford on 26 July 2012, before moving on to Wembley Stadium on 29 July and then the Millennium Stadium on 1 August.

Hope Powell is the coach for the Women's team, whose first game is at the Millennium Stadium on 25 July, with a further fixture in Cardiff on 28 July, before the side play at Wembley on 31 July.

The competition schedule starts with group matches and ends with a knockout phase.

The official draw for the Olympic football tournament will take place on 24 April 2012 at Wembley Stadium.
'Amazing athletes'

When international and sponsor sales are taken into account, more than 1m tickets have been sold to next year's Paralympics. Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, said the unprecedented take-up underlined the growing appeal of Paralympic sport.
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Paul Deighton, chief executive of London 2012 organiser Locog, said: "Those lucky enough to get hold of one of these remaining tickets will get the chance to witness amazing athletes and sport like never before."

After the December tranche, further tickets will be released in April.

Ticket allocation for the Olympics earlier this year angered thousands of members of the public who were left empty-handed as the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics and cycling sold out.

Many more people applied than got tickets, leading to disappointment and frustration at a system in which applicants were told money would leave their accounts before they were notified which events they had been allocated.

This led to days of limbo before applicants knew whether they had any tickets, and if so, which ones.

Locog says some 3.5m Olympics tickets have now been sold to 850,000 people, and the majority of events are now sold out.

And Locog estimates that up to 1m more tickets will be made available next year as the exact number of seats becomes clearer from contingency, returns and the fitting out of venues.

I WILL NEVER ACT NUDE FOR ANYTHING - JULIET IBRAHIM

Being a professional actress, a mother, a wife, a beautiful breath-taking goddess and an entrepreneur sounds a lot like a daunting task.

Yet, the young and beautiful Juliet Ibrahim , a top Ghollywood and Nollywood actress is able to carry on without much sweat. In this interview with Florence Amagiya, this diva reveals how she is able to cope with it all. Excerpts:

For the right money, can you act n*de?

Not for anything in the world would I ever act n*de.

How is it like acting with Nigerians?

Nigeria is my second home! I enjoy working in Nigeria as much as I enjoy working in Ghana. Nigerians are very friendly people and they make me feel at home.
 From your complexion,one can decipher that you are a half-cast. Can you tell us about your back ground?

My father is from Lebanon while my mother is a Ghanaian. I am the eldest of three children, two girls and a brother. I grew up in Ivory Coast, Liberia and Lebanon .I can speak French and Spanish.

Your last name is Ibrahim, How did the name Ibrahim come about?

My last name is Ibrahim and it is also my father’s. I am not a Muslim by the way. I am a Christian

For a beautiful woman with a great body, what keeps you in shape?

I drink a lot of water and l also eat healthy. I don’t do any form of exercise to be honest. I am careful not to eat anything heavy after 6pm. I also try to avoid starchy food.
If you are given the chance, who would you date in the industry?

I cannot date anyone because l am a happily married woman.

Can you stand a cheating husband?

Hell no! There is no second chance for someone who cheats! I believe that for every mistake we make, we are given a minute to think twice before making it.

Was the rumour about you dating Majid Mitchel in 2005 founded?

There’s nothing between Majid and I except a working relationship.

STAR ACTRESS EMPRESS NJAMAH BLACKBERRY-CRAZED

Na true talk say education does not cure ignorance, it only suppress it.

Star actress, Empress Njamah was spotted in london on her way to primark a few months back.

The actress was so engrossed with her blackberry phone that she didn’t notice when an onlooker fan took pictures of her.

Na dis kain act Faze call kolomental.

TV/RADIO PERSONALITY IK OSAKIODUWA AND WELCOME BABY GIRL

Popular radio OAP, TV personality and BBA host, IK Osakioduwa, formerly known as Wildchild, and his beautiful wife Olohi, just welcomed their second child, a beautiful baby girl. The young couple also have a young son. Big congrats to them.

NAETO C SET TO WED

Storm Records rapper, Naeto C is reportedly getting set to wed his long time model girlfriend and sweet heart, Nicole Chukwueke.

The couples, who have enjoyed a rather controversy-free relationship for the past one-year now, have been a regular at award shows and events and it was learnt that formal introductions had already been done by the prospective groom to the model’s parents sometime in October, 2011.

The ‘Kini Big Deal’ rapper, who refused to divulge further details on the wedding when prodded by pressmen on the issue, however confirmed that the wedding was definitely billed to take place early next year.

Naeto is the son of former Aviation Minister and now ambassador of Nigeria to Ireland Kema Chikwe, while Nicole Chukwueke is the daughter of Germaine Motors owner, Chief Chukwueke.

2011 SOUL TRAIN AWARD WINNERS

Like its pop counterpart “American Bandstand”, the R&B show “Soul Train” began as a local dance show. In 1971 the “Soul Train” went national with a syndicated program that ran for over 30 years with Don Cornelius as show host and executive producer. The hit dance show featured the best in R&B and soul music, super star guest performers, the latest dance moves, and the creation of the Soul Train. The show no longer airs on a weekly basis but lives on in the annual Soul Train Awards; this year the awards were held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and along with performances from 2010 Soul Train New Artist Melanie Fiona, Common, Cee-Lo Green, Joe, Robin Thicke, Lalah Hathaway, Lloyd, Miguel, Anthony Hamilton, Mindless Behavior, the Original 7ven, Marsha Ambrosius, BeBe Winans, Chrisette Michele, Natalie Cole, Kenny Lattimore, Keith Sweat, Musiq Soulchild, Tamar Braxton, Boney James, Mary Mary, Zap Mama, Stokley Williams, Ramsey Lewis, Robert Randolph, Freddie Jackson, Dave Hollister, and Eric Benet; the Soul Train Awards paid tribute to fallen rapper Heavy D including Naughty by Nature, Doug E Fresh, Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy Kane, and Whodini,

Winners of the 2011 Soul Train Awards are…

Best New Artist: Miguel

Centric Award: Raphael Saadiq

Best Male R&B or Soul Artist: Cee-Lo Green

Best Female R&B or Soul Artist: Jill Scott

Song of the Year: “Motivation” by Kelly Rowland with Lil Wayne

Album of the Year: “F.A.M.E.” by Chris Brown

Best Gospel Performance: “Walking” by Mary Mary

Best Caribbean Performance: “Man Down” by Rihanna

Best Hip-Hop song of the Year: “Moment for Life” by Nicki Minaj with Drake

Record of the Year for Songwriting: “Far Away” by Marsha Ambrosius

Best Dance Performance: “Run the World” by Beyonce

Best Soul Site: Necole Bitchie

Best Traditional Jazz: “Silver Pony” by Cassandra Wilson

Best Contemporary Jazz: “Hello Tomorrow” by Dave Koz

CONTROVERSY TRAILS STAR ACTRESS CHIOMA CHUKWUKA

Sultry actress,Chioma Chukwuka is well-loved by all and this because of her charming personae and decent roles in movies.

The happily married actress is one of the very few scandal-free thespians the industry boasts of and has remained so over time until very recently when the jacket of a movie she featured in,made its way into the movie market.

In the movie,the dark-skinned act was adorned in a 2 piece set of clothing,one was used to cover her b**bs while the other was wrapped around her waist,leaving her stomach and back bare.

Hardly had the movie hit the shelves that reactions started emanating from all angles over what many termed her new indecent dressing which isn’t akin to her lifestyle.Needless to say the poster took all by surprise,especially those who have known the actress and have fallen in love with her dexterity in acting,since her debut in movies.

However,the situation took another dimension when veteran actor,Chinwetalu Agu tongue-lashed the female act who is also an ambassador to some reputable brands in Nigeria,in an interview he granted recently criticizing nudity in Nollywood movies which is fast becoming a norm.

In his words: An instance is the recent poster of a movie I saw in Asaba where the so-called very good girl,Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha,was half-clad.To my greatest shock,she was wearing only pant and bra in the poster.Chioma really went bizarre,I must admit.I don’t know if her husband actually approved of that posture

This situations has elicited different reactions from fans of both the movie stars,while some are in support of the veteran for his words,others are of the opinion that he went too far with it.

However,the actress in question has kept mum over the issue but her agency reacted to the story,alleging that the only part that belongs to Chioma in the jacket is her face which was photoshopped into another person’s body and have promised to take legal action against the producers of the movie titled”Lost Angels”.

STAR ACTRESS OGE OKOYE BOUNCES BACK WITH NEW HOLLYWOOD MOVIE

Delectable actress and mother of 2 lovely kids,Oge Okoye may have been off the movie for a long while now but the good news is that she is back with a bang.

The talented actress who has been in the news consistently over her alleged troubled marriage to her Holland-based hubby has braced up to take her career to another level,especially after having to take a break to make a family.

She was delivered of a baby lately and that is part of the reasons she went off the scene,but she has staged a comeback with her remarkable role in the Hollywood movie titled Turning Point,a movie which parades both Hollywood and Nollywood stars.

It was shot in USA and is set to be released soon.

STAR ACTOR YUL EDOCHIE'S WIFE SURVIVES AUTO-CRASH

The family of Nollywood celebrated actor,Yul Edochie is presently full of thanksgiving at the moment;this is following the actor’s wife,Mary’s survival of a fatal auto-crash penultimate week.

She was involved in a severe auto-crash that wrecked her Honda Baby Boy ride and the incident which had her hospitalized for a while occurred at the Lekki Epe Express way, on her way to their Lekki home situated around that axis.

She has since been discharged and back to health at the moment. Although her car is wrecked,recall her husband got her an Armanda Jeep few months back for her birthday.

LAGOS BIG BOY, MC OLUOMO SPLASHES N10M ON 2 ACTRESSES

As you read this,two top actresses,Madam Saje and ex drug convict Yetunde Wunmi are back in the country from Saudi Arabia where they went to perform this year’s Hajj.

What you don’t know about their holy pilgrimage however,is that they were sponsored by the super big boy of National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW),Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya popularly called MC Oluomo.
The top philanthropist,is said to have spent over N10 million to help the two actresses and a couple of his men,to perform the holy rites in Mecca and Medina.

So when next you see Madam Saje don’t forget to add the title “Alhaja”.Same also goes for repentant courier cum top actress Yetunde Wunmi whom we hear used the occasion to dedicate her life to the service of God.