Budget hotel chain Travelodge has reported a slight increase in bookings around events such as Wimbledon and Justin Timberlake concerts, despite lower room prices impacting its sales. The company posted revenues of £786m for the nine months to the end of September, a marginal 0.5% increase from the £782m reported during the same period last…
Applications are now open for non-Europeans to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) which will cost travellers £10 each. The UK Government is introducing ETA for millions of visitors who pass through the UK border every year, including six million from the USA, Canada and Australia. From Wednesday, all eligible non-European visitors can apply…
CNN
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Convincing her husband to take early retirement and leave behind their lives in San Diego, California to travel the world back in 2018 was no easy undertaking for Kimberly Walker, originally from the Golden State.
The former landscape designer explains that Mark, who worked for a weight loss and nutrition company, was resistant at first, but eventually came around to the idea.
“It’s one of those life-changing things,” Kimberly tells CNN Travel. “Once you quit your job and you retire. You can’t get it back if you made a mistake.
“So I think he was pretty nervous about it. And I told him, ‘Look, no matter what happens, we’re going to wish we started earlier… There’s just no other way to look at it.’
“And I’m so glad he listened to that, and we did it.”
Life-changing moment
Kimberly Walker and her husband Mark left the US to travel the world together back in 2018.
Courtesy Kimberly Walker
The couple, who married in 1997, “traveled as nomads” for four years, visiting countries like Poland, Montenegro and Australia, before settling in Portugal in March 2021.
According to Kimberly, her husband, a keen cyclist, “loved to be able to count on clear, warmish days,” while living in the European country and took to life there immensely.
While she thought they’d have many more years of such days together, everything changed in an instant eight months ago, when Mark passed away suddenly.
Now Kimberly is having to navigate her way through life without her beloved husband, while residing in the destination that they chose to start afresh in.
“Even if you do have to contemplate as a woman, probably being a widow, you don’t contemplate it now,” she says. “We just had the world by the tail. I mean, we were crushing it.”
Reflecting on the motivation behind their decision to leave the US six years ago, Kimberly stresses that their main goal was to see more of the world together.
“A lot of people are running away from the United States, that really wasn’t our thing,” she says.
“We just wanted to travel. We liked Europe, and Southern California is so far away from Europe. That flight… I just didn’t want to do it. I wanted to come over and stay.”
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Once they were finally ready to make their move, the couple sold off most of their possessions, opting to keep their house in San Diego, found “good homes” for their two dogs and bid their friends and family farewell.
“Our whole neighborhood had a big send off for us,” Kimberly recalls. “They had a pool on when we’d be back. And nobody had more than six months, but we settled into that lifestyle and we really liked it.”
Over the next few years, Kimberly and Mark jetted to destinations like Amsterdam, Denmark, Brussels, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, often house sitting for other couples. They chronicled their travels in an online blog.
After getting “stuck” in New Zealand for 18 months during the global Covid-19 pandemic, the couple “finally got tired of carrying 100 pounds of stuff around,” and decided that they wanted to stay in one place.
They traveled to Portugal, a destination they’d previously discussed moving to, for a house-sitting gig in early 2021, and felt that it was the right place for them to put down roots.
“We thought, ‘OK, we like this. We can do this.’” Kimberly recalls. “And we started doing what we needed to do to get residency. That was about three years ago.”
The couple were granted a D7 Visa, which permits non-EU citizens with a steady passive income to reside in the country.
Kimberly and Mark rented a home in Vilamoura, a resort in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, and focused their energies on becoming familiar with their new surroundings.
Putting down roots
In 2021, the couple visited Portugal and decided to settle there.
Courtesy Kimberly Walker
As they’d spent a lot of time traveling to different European countries, Kimberly and Mark had a good understanding of some of the cultural differences beforehand. However, they were still struck by the laid-back approach to life in the country.
“The really super patience of the Portuguese people is so funny,” says Kimberly. “We would be stopped behind a car… And there’s several cars holding you back. You figure there’s a (traffic) light.
“After five or 10 minutes, you wonder, ‘Why are we still stopped?’ And somebody has just gotten out of their car and gone into the pharmacy or something, and none of the other cars mind.
“And as Americans, that won’t do. But I am getting more and more like that.”
After living in Portugal for a while, Kimberly found that her outlook on many things was changing, and she felt completely removed from the “materialism in America” that she’d grown accustomed to.
Courtesy Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo
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“That’s one of those things you don’t notice until you leave,” she says. “Everybody I know in the US would be offended by me saying that, because they don’t know what they don’t know.”
Kimberly goes on to explain that there isn’t the same “depth of stuff” over there, and she’s quite happy to do without.
“If everybody’s going to have the same set of dishes, you don’t have to worry about your dishes,” she says.
When it came to learning Portuguese, Kimberly says it wasn’t an easy process for her and she’s still “far from fluent.” However, she’s always been able to get by.
“It’s hard to learn Portuguese, because Portuguese people want to practice their English,” she says. “And they’re way better at it.”
Although Vilamoura, which is filled with international residents, isn’t necessarily the place that Kimberly would have chosen for them to stay long term, she says it was the people, particularly the local cycling community, that kept her and Mark there.
“Basically, if you live here, you either have a boat or you golf,” she says. “And we didn’t have a boat, and neither of us golfed.
“But Mark did meet fantastic cycling buddies, and he had a really good group of riders here.”
Tragic turn
The couple, pictured in Ireland in 2019, were visiting Spain when Mark passed away suddenly.
Courtesy Kimberly Walker
Although adjusting to life in a new country came with its challenges, Kimberly says that she and Mark were happily finding their way.
“We were solid,” she says. “We were very good. We were together all the time. Had been for 37 years.”
The couple were in Spain visiting a friend in March when Mark suffered a heart attack and died.
“It was terrible,” Kimberly says. “It just shouldn’t have happened… But it did. I still haven’t quite accepted it. It’s been eight months, but it seems like eight days.”
While the thought of returning to the US did cross her mind momentarily, she ultimately decided to stay put.
“A lot of people assumed that I would come home,” she says. “But it’s not home anymore. I think I’ve been gone long enough and (I) was willing to leave in the first place.”
After making the appropriate arrangements and dealing with the logistics of the situation, Kimberly made her way back to Portugal alone.
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She’d been dreading “that four-and-a-half-hour drive with his bicycle on the roof (of the car) to an empty apartment” and found the journey incredibly difficult.
Once she’d made it back to Vilamoura, Kimberly found herself alone and unsure of what to do next.
She decided to adopt a dog, named Honey, so that she’d have a “companion” and set about dealing with the paperwork that comes with the death of a spouse.
Kimberly says she was touched by the support she received from the local community, who rallied round her.
“I kind of figured out I had more friends here than I thought,” she says. “As people have come to my aid. And you need that right now.”
Although she’s unsure of how long she’ll remain in the resort town, Kimberly certainly isn’t ready to make any big moves just yet.
“I really don’t want to start over,” she says, adding that she’s not ready to move Mark’s stuff anywhere. “I’m staying right here in the same apartment for another year so I can take my time sorting things out.”
Inescapable grief
Kimberly with her dog Honey, who she adopted from a shelter after Mark’s death earlier this year.
Kimberly Walker
According to Kimberly, her family back home have been hugely supportive, but no one has been able to make the trip over to see her in Portugal as yet.
“I have two sisters, and they both talked about jumping on a plane and coming out to be with me,” she says. “But they’re typical Americans, neither of them have passports.”
While she finds being alone incredibly tough, Kimberly feels it would have been worse if she’d gone back to the United States.
“Not every single thing I do (here) is a memory without my husband,” she says, explaining that “every single thing hurts” when she returns to San Diego.
But while Portugal may not be filled with decades of memories of Mark, her grief remains inescapable regardless.
“I’m experiencing a loss that is hard to come to grips with,” she says. “But half of all people in my situation, half of all married people have to do this… I’m not that unique.
“It’s a little sooner than I wanted to and obviously, quick and abrupt…”
Kimberly and Mark had planned various trips together before his death, and she was keen to go ahead with at least one of them this year.
After struggling to find another travel companion, she decided to go on the trip that they planned to Norway alone in July.
“The tour was fantastic…” she recounts. “It was a lot of other single people… Everybody was very welcoming to me.
“And I can travel by myself. I’ve traveled alone. I know I can travel by myself, but traveling without Mark was a bar too high.”
While she hopes to continue to see the world, Kimberly stresses that she doesn’t want to travel alone again and is “going to need companions.”
“So if you know anybody who wants to travel?” she adds.
In August, Kimberly returned to the US and was finally reunited with her family for the first time since Mark’s death.
She explains that she made a point of getting her first trip back “out of the way” so that it wouldn’t clash with the wedding of her niece a few months later.
“I knew the wedding was happening,” she says. “And I decided that I wanted my first trip home not to coincide with the joy of the wedding.
“I wanted to get that out of the way so the bride could have her joyous time, and I wouldn’t have to be a big downer.”
She was recently back in California for the wedding, which she describes as “sweet.”
“Weddings are going to be hard for me,” she says. “So it was good to have a lot of that out of the way.”
This year, Kimberly is facing both her first Thanksgiving and Christmas since her husband’s death.
She says she’s planning a “regular day” for the first, and will be traveling to the United Kingdom for the latter.
Kimberly had initially intended to stay in Portugal for Christmas, but says her loved ones have convinced her to spend the festive period in Oxfordshire, northwest of London, with friends she met while house sitting.
“Christmas is one day,” she says. “So it’s really not insurmountable to deal with.”
As for the future, Kimberly says she isn’t “closing any doors on anything,” but wants to give herself time to move on and embrace whatever life has in store for her next.
“I could end up back in the US,” she says. “Right now, I think I’m pretty fine right here.
“And to do the necessary work I need to do to move through this process, here is probably the best place to do it.”
She currently has a temporary residence permit, which she’s in the process of renewing, and will be able to apply for either a permanent resident permit or Portuguese citizenship in the future.
Kimberly says she now feels that she’s become more European than American in some ways, and is continuing to study Portuguese.
“I seem to lose it faster than I learn,” she admits, before explaining that she’ll eventually need to pass a Portuguese language proficiency test if she moves forward with her plans to seek permanent residency.
Although she hadn’t envisioned entering this chapter of her life on her own, Kimberly is determined to keep moving forward, despite the undeniable sadness she now carries with her.
She feels incredibly lucky to have been able to have so many incredible adventures with Mark by her side and plans to go on plenty more, when the time is right.
“There’s a happy person in me that’s trying to come out every once a while, so I will get it back…” she says.
“I want to honor my husband, and being sad is part of that. So as hard as it hurts, it’s really important to do it.”
Looking back, has there ever been a bigger or better summer of sport than the one we’ve just had? Kicking off big time with the Euros then continuing apace with the cricket world cup, Wimbledon, the Paris Olympics and finally the Paralympic Games, for big-ticket sports fans summer 2024 was one for the books.And that mega line-up of sporting events has seen millions of spectators embrace a closely related travel trend: sports-tripping. Whether it was legions of choreographed Dutch fans swarming streets in Germany at the Euros or raucous multinational support for athletics at Paris’s Stade de France, travelling sports fans have been front and centre of the summer’s events.
This year sports-tripping took off in a big way – even if you didn’t jet off to Berlin for the Euros final or pop over the Channel to the Olympics and Paralympics, chances are you know someone that did. And the data backs that up. According to Booking.com, demand for accommodation in Paris increased over the Olympic period by 165 percent for couples and 98 percent for solo travellers. In Berlin, during the final of the Euros, accommodation searches increased by a whopping 43,000 percent. Forty-three thousand.
Photograph: katatonia82 / Shutterstock.com
That surge in demand wasn’t limited to one-off tournaments and events, either. The final of Wimbledon 2024, for instance, saw searches for accom in Wimbledon itself rocket by 157 percent compared to the same period last year, while neighbouring areas Fulham and New Malden also saw higher demand. According to eDreams ODIGEO’s Year in Travel report, sports tourism was responsible for 10 percent of global tourism in 2024.
In 2025, the trend shows no sign of slowing down – according to SkyScanner, nearly a third of 25-to-35-year-olds are planning trips around sports events next year. So, why has sports tourism taken off so wildly, and what’s the appeal?
What is sports-tripping?
Sports-tripping (or sportourism, if you will) is pretty much what it says on the tin: tourism tied to sporting events. While it can apply to actually taking part in sports – like travelling for competitions such as marathons – it also refers to spectators travelling for events.
Front and centre, a clear reason 2024 has been such a huge year for sports-tripping is because it’s been a huge year for sport, full stop. Several big-ticket events have joined the usual roster of annual tournaments, offering wall-to-wall entertainment for all kinds of fans.
Photograph: Franck Legros / Shutterstock.com
But the Olympics and Euros collide every four years – why so much hype in 2024? Crucial to this year’s Euros, Olympics and Paralympics is that they’ve been held in places that are, by and large, accessible and (comparatively) affordable for fans – particularly those in Europe. Compared to the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, and in contrast with recent major football events in Qatar and Russia, attending this summer’s tournaments has involved visiting familiar, comfortable, well-connected places that aren’t massively expensive to get to.
Sure, the pandemic hampered some of the prior events’ crowd sizes (and may well have boosted the popularity of this year’s post-pandemic competitions), but there’s no denying that the locations of France and Germany, both at the heart of Europe with countless affordable rail and flight connections, have led to greater willingness to travel. In other words, events and locations aligned for a summer ripe for sports-tripping.
The new gig-tripping
While sports-tripping may have been in the spotlight this summer, the phenomenon isn’t new. In fact, one study reckons that sports tourism dates all the way back to at least Ancient Greece, when spectators would travel to watch the Olympic Games. Another study says that sports and tourism have been ‘intertwined’ since modern incarnations of both emerged in the 1800s.
2024 has just been a bigger year than most for travelling for sport. The appeal for doing so might seem obvious, but let’s lay out a few of the many reasons you might want to travel as a sporting spectator.
The most obvious draw to sports-tripping as a spectator is that it combines two of life’s greatest things: watching and soaking up all the atmosphere and excitement of spectator sport, and the wonder and intrigue of travel.
Sports-tripping combines two of life’s greatest things: soaking up the excitement of spectator sport and the wonder of travel
Travelling for sports shares the appeal of gig-tripping in that it gives you that kick up the backside to actually get out there and travel, while combining that trip with a big event. In fact, ‘event-cations’ are one of the biggest trends driving tourism in recent years, according to The Tour Guy.
Unlike gig-tripping, however, huge sporting events enable travellers to experience a familiar destination in a new light – and to see a place at its most patriotic. Take Paris during this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics. Anyone who ventured to the French capital this summer will have noticed that the city had extra sheen, its citizens were chirpier and Olympic (and Paralympic) fever was palpable in the atmosphere and mood of the City of Light. Events even took place at or in the shadow of Paris’ most majestic landmarks – it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the city.
Photograph: Vitalii Vitleo / Shutterstock.com
Exploring the unfamiliar
Travelling for an event – particularly a sporting event, where a match or race is a one-time-only occurrence – means a reversal of the destination-first travel booking process: you go where the event is, which could lead you to a place you might not’ve previously considered visiting.
Take Stuttgart, for example. The capital of the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, Stuttgart certainly has some tourist appeal – best known for its car museums (it’s the ‘cradle of the automobile’, after all) and historic Schwaben palaces – but it wouldn’t ordinarily be on most travellers’ radar. Put plainly, from Berlin and Munich to Cologne and Hamburg, there are at least half a dozen other German cities higher on most travellers’ bucket lists.
Add this summer’s UEFA European Championship to the equation, however, and everything changes. I visited the city for the Euro 2024 quarter-final this summer, Germany vs Spain, at its MHPArena. It was so easy to get swept up in the fiery atmosphere of watching Germany on home turf, experiencing a different, more inclusive and positive football culture, and getting stuck-in amongst the city’s football shirt-filled streets buzzing with chanting and drinking. I’d love to have celebrated on those streets, too… alas, the locals lost.
Writer Ed Cunningham at the UEFA quarter-final in Stuttgart | Photograph: Ed Cunningham
Beyond football, I found that Stuttgart’s the perfect example of somewhere you might not think to go to but, given the opportunity, really shines. Within a few days centred around the match, I learned that the city was the birthplace of sports car manufacturer Porsche and legendary philosopher Hegel. I was taken by the city’s marvellously lush greenery, pretty palaces and rich, critically celebrated food scene.
Would I recommend Stuttgart as a tourist destination? Honestly, Germany has many more interesting places. But as a sports-tripping destination, with its two major arenas and pedigree in football, handball, ice hockey, volleyball and much more, it’s entirely worth booking a trip around.
2025 and beyond
While this summer was a particularly monumental one for sport, sports tourism is only getting more popular. According to eDreams ODIGEO’s Year in Travel report, searches for destinations with major sports events next year are already spiking. The Women’s Rugby World Cup in the UK has encouraged global searches for travel to tournament cities to rise by 74 percent year-on-year, while searches for travel to Harbin, China, during the Asian Winter Games have risen by a whopping 245 percent year-on-year.And it’s not only tournaments and games people will be travelling for next year. Only a few months after the UEFA final this summer, footie legend Eric Cantona launched a series of football-themed city breaks, bookable up to May 2025. On them, a small group of football-obsessed travellers will be accompanied by legendary players including Nuno Gomes, Javier Zanetti and Cantona himself.
Fast forward three years and there’s Euro 2028, which is taking place across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, while the Olympics and Paralympics will come around the same year. Will it all be even bigger and better in four years’ time, at the next sporting equivalent of a super blue moon? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Ed travelled to Stuttgart as a guest with booking.com. Our reviews and recommendations have been editorially independent since 1968. For more, see our editorial guidelines.
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NEW rules being rolled out for tourists across Spain have been slammed by the country’s leading hotel association.From December 2, Brits heading anywhere in Spain will be required to give hotels and accommodation a number of extra personal details.New rules are being rolled out across Spain next week – which will make family holidays more complicatedCredit: AlamyThis includes 31 new pieces of information such as home addresses, email addresses and phone numbers.Families will also be asked their relationship to any children travelling with them, as well as their group size.The new rule have been introduced by the Spanish government in a bid to “crackdown on organised crime”.However Spain’s leading hotel association CEHAT has slammed the rules, after their request to dial down the details given was denied.Read more on SpainCEHAT Secretary General Ramón Estalella previously described the new rules as “Big Brother” and warned it will also massively delay busy check in times.They told the Telegraph: “Spain is already the only country in the EU where hotels must send guests’ ID info to the police, while in other countries they just have to keep that data for a period.“Not only could it violate fundamental privacy rights, but it also threatens to complicate and hinder the experience of millions of visitors who choose Spain as a destination.” They also said that many hotels do not have the correct technology to follow the new rules, nor to provide adequate data protection.Most read in News TravelThey added: “It is impossible to automate the process and it would involve additional and disproportionate manual work for establishments and a considerable increase in errors.”The new rules have already been delayed a number of times since January 2023 when they were meant to be introduced.Inside Spain’s ‘best all-inclusive’ resortAny hotel organisation that does not comply with the rules faces fines up to €30,000 (£25,000).A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry previously said: “It is justified for the general interest for the security of citizens against the threat of terrorism and other serious offences committed by criminal organisations.”Furious tourists have slammed the new rules with one saying: “They are off my holiday list.”Another said: “That’s a shame so much for that holiday in Spain. I am sure another country will be happy to take my money.”Tourists are already asked a number of other questions when entering the country.For example, arrivals must be able to show evidence of enough funds while in the country, with at least €100 (£85) for each day in Spain.Spain has a number of strict rules in place across the country.Smoking is banned on a number of beaches in Barcelona and the Canary islands, with fines up to £1,700.Some restaurants in Majorca ban any tourists who are wearing football shirts.READ MORE SUN STORIESEverything you need to know about visiting SpainBrits must have at least three months left on their passport from the day they plan to leave the country.Tourists do not need a visa if visiting for up to 90 days in an 180-day period.Make sure your passport is stamped on entry and exit.Travellers may be asked to show hotel booking confirmations and that they have enough money for their stay at the border.Spain is one hour ahead of the UK.The country uses the euro with around €10 working out to £8.55.Flights to Spain from the UK take between 2-4 hours depending on the destination.And alcohol limits are in place on destinations such as Magaluf and Ibiza.Tourists at all-inclusive resorts will only be allowed to have three drinks in the day and three in the evening.All hotels will have to follow the new rules or risk thousands of pounds in finesCredit: Alamy
A book launch by a Hong Kong travel writer and democracy supporter has attracted a protest by a small group accusing him of secretly “spreading poison” two weeks after an earlier literary event by the writer was also disrupted.The independent bookshop Talentum in November, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Speaking to HKFP on Thursday, Pazu said five people were standing downstairs from the independent bookshop Talentum, which is on the first floor of a commercial building in Yau Me Tei, at around 6.30pm on Wednesday – one hour before the book launch began.According to photos he shared, one woman in a green hoodie displayed a sheet of A4 paper with a Chinese-language message reading: “Under the guise of a book club, spreading poison in the dark, sneaky and covert.”@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 320px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}}@media ( min-width: 780px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}
Pazu’s new title, a reflection of his travel experiences over the past few years, is launched in early November, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “When I approached them and asked what they were doing here and what the poison was, none of them answered questions. They quickly put on their masks when I tried to take pictures of them and one of them even tried to take my camera off me,” Pazu said in Cantonese.“They didn’t seem to recognise me… I don’t think they went there voluntarily, but rather, they were sent by other people, who probably want to create a chilling effect for cultural events.”The writer often comments on Hong Kong’s current affairs and is an influencer who supports democracy. He recently published a new title Wandering Manuscript, a reflection of his travel experiences over the past few years, and has been hosting book launch events since early November. The one at Talentum Bookshop was the 10th.A group of people protest outside of the independent bookshop Talentum on the evening of November 27, 2024 when the travel writer hosts a book launch event. Photo: Pazu. A group of people protest outside of the independent bookshop Talentum on the evening of November 27, 2024 when the travel writer hosts a book launch event. Photo: Pazu. An earlier book launch on the evening of November 15 at independent bookshop Have a Nice Stay was disrupted by a group of people who came to the venue. They caused a disturbance, and insisted on joining the private event.They later went downstairs and harassed people on their way in, Pazu said. As seen from photos taken at the scene, two men and four women, all wearing masks, held up A4-size sheets of paper with messages reading: “Pazu, poisoning the readers.”A group of people wearing masks and holding signs accusing Hong Kong writer Pazu of “poisoning” readers outside the bookstore Have a Nice Stay on November 15, 2024. Photo: Pazu, via Facebook.Have a Nice Stay reported the incident to police and the group left immediately after officers arrived. In response to HKFP, the police said the case was classified as a “dispute.”On Wednesday night, Pazu said the group did not enter the bookshop. “They were not the same people who harassed us two weeks ago. But the way they did things, the A4-size paper with similar slogans… I believe they were sent by the same force, but I didn’t know who are behind those people.”Pazu said the latest book launch went smoothly. “Some participants said they felt frightened that the group was protesting there, but some just laughed if off.” He said he planned to report Wednesday’s incident to police.The writer said he had no clue why he was targeted. “I thought about what happened over the past two weeks… what triggered their harassment and I found no clues… Actually I think we can’t figure out the reasons, and we should continue to do what we are meant to do.”Space for independent bookstoresHong Kong’s independent bookstores have faced mounting pressure over the past two years.
According to reports from local media outlets, independent outlet Hunter Bookstore, was inspected by staff from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department during a book launch in July.The department accused the bookstore of hosting a public event when it was not licensed to do so but did not levy a fine.Supporters for Hong Kong independent bookstore Mount Zero linger outside the shop despite a drizzle on the evening of March 31, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A series of titles showcased by independent bookstores and publishers at Hong Kong’s annual book fair were removed from sale in July. The event organiser, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said it had reminded exhibitors to obey the fair’s regulations and national security laws.In April, independent bookstore Mount Zero bid farewell to its readers. It cited a string of inspections by authorities following anonymous complaints in late 2023 as the reason for closing.Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | AppsHelp safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
Fred Hechinger is only 24, but in his short career he’s already displayed acting chops that would make Hollywood heavyweights green with envy. In just a few years, Hechinger has played a socially awkward teenager, a loner seeking to rid his town of outsiders and a young boy harbouring dark secrets.Now he’s ready to step into the limelight thanks to a tour-de-force performance in director Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated sequel to his 2000 film, Gladiator. In the just-released Gladiator II, Hechinger plays an “unhinged” Emperor Caracalla and goes toe-to-toe with bona fide stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.So who is Fred Hechinger, the man who’s quickly become one of the most sought-after young actors in Hollywood?Hechinger is one in a line of writersFred Hechinger at the Los Angeles premiere of Gladiator II this month. Photo: AFPAdvertisementBorn in New York on December 2, 1999, Fred Hechinger comes from a creative family. His mother is an award-winning photographer, his father works in broadcast and online journalism and his grandfather, Fred M. Hechinger, was an education editor at The New York Times.He followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, starting as a Scholastic News Kids reporter. In that role, he interviewed figures such as news anchor Brian Williams, Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney and Spider-Man himself, Andrew Garfield.How did he get into acting?Fred Hechinger, Emperor Caracalla in Gladiator II, arrives for the film’s Los Angeles premiere. Photo: APEverything began to shift for Hechinger after he was invited to a performance of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv show Asssscat, during his bar mitzvah. At 13 years old, he was enthralled. He went back the next night, sitting on the floor of the theatre by the side of the stage and decided, “That’s the coolest thing ever. I want to do what they’re doing.”Inspired, he began acting in school productions. At 18, he landed his first Hollywood role as Trevor in Bo Burnham’s 2018 film Eighth Grade. Though a small role, it was a formative experience. Watching comedian Burnham make his directorial debut taught Hechinger that approaching anything fearlessly can produce great results.He continued to audition and in 2021 landed his first major role: awkward, tech-addicted teen Quinn Mossbacher, who visits Hawaii with his family in The White Lotus season one.“It was the first time I would walk outside and people would want to talk to me about [something I was in],” he said about his breakthrough part.He already has a stacked filmography
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SriLankan Airlines has been recognized as the ‘Best Airline Partner’ by Tamil Nadu Tourism, as announced on Thursday.
This prestigious award highlights the airline’s pivotal role in enhancing the region’s tourism.
An official statement from SriLankan Airlines emphasized their contribution, stating that the airline operates 35 weekly flights connecting Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, and Madurai in Tamil Nadu with Colombo.
This schedule supports a variety of travelers, ranging from shoppers and pilgrims to those seeking medical treatment.
Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Worldwide Sales and Distribution, expressed pride in receiving this accolade, underscoring the airline’s steadfast dedication to providing excellent service and regional connectivity.
He noted the potential for Tamil Nadu to evolve into a leading travel destination, further expanding SriLankan Airlines’ influence in the area.
“We are deeply honoured to receive the ‘Best Airline Partner’ award at the Tamil Nadu Tourism Awards Night. This recognition underpins our unwavering commitment to excellence in service and connectivity in the region, and we will continue to scale up our footprint in Tamil Nadu, which has immense potential to become one of the most preferred travel destinations in this part of the world.”
The Tamil Nadu Tourism Awards celebrates airlines that have made a substantial impact on the state’s tourism sector.
–Agencies
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