Ipswich to 'turn pink' for Ed Sheeran Portman Road concerts
A town will celebrate Ed Sheeran's series of homecoming gigs by turning pink.Earlier this month Sheeran announced a run of shows at Ipswich Town Football Club's home stadium Portman Road on 11, 12 and 13 July.Ipswich Central Business Improvement District (BID) and Ipswich Borough Council announced they would decorate the town with bunting in the same shade of pink as Sheeran's new album, Play, to welcome him home.Lee Walker, chief executive of the BID, said it was "a chance for the whole town to celebrate".
"When we heard that global superstar, dedicated Ipswich Town fan and local lad Ed Sheeran was coming home to perform in Ipswich this summer, and bringing 90,000 fans with him, we knew we had to celebrate," Mr Walker said. "As we 'Welcome Home Ed' it's a chance for the whole town to celebrate as the eyes of the world fall on the town."Mr Walker added that Ipswich was "the only town getting this opportunity this summer" and it was an opportunity to welcome home one of its "successful sons".Sheeran went to school in Framlingham and is also has a minority share in Ipswich Town Football Club.
During July, street entertainment including live music from local talent will be organised and on Sheeran's concert days there will be a fan zone of music, merchandise, food and drink stalls on Cornhill.Venues with a connection to Sheeran are due to be highlighted on a walking tour hosted on the All About Ipswich website.Ipswich Central has also launched a Sheeran-themed window dressing competition.Labour leader of the council, Neil MacDonald, added he believed "plenty of people" would be on board with painting the town pink."We're very happy to welcome him back, and the whole area will benefit from the boost to the local economy," he added.
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Jersey firm offering a charity £10k solar power for free
An energy provider in Jersey is giving local charities and community groups the chance to switch to solar power for based in St Helier, said it had launched its Solar Giveaway to provide an installation worth £10,000 to one charity or community Spencer-Newman, surveyor at Sunworks, said the company wanted to make a "meaningful difference" to a local group and decided to set up the giveaway to hear from people who might be St Helier-based company said the deadline for applications was 30 June and any interested parties should visit its website for more information. Mr Spencer-Newman added: "We found identifying the right project quite difficult, so we thought 'why don't we open it up to the public?'."
The Sun
37 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘Couldn't make it up,' say Wolves fans as they find Matheus Cunha on club calendar for June – the day he joins Man Utd
PINCH, punch, WORST of the month! Wolves fans can't believe it after turning the page in the club calendar to find Matheus Cunha is the face of June - on the day he joined Manchester United. 2 The Red Devils confirmed the Brazilian attacker is incoming on a five-year deal, with Wolves receiving a club record fee of £62.5million. But never in a month of Sundays did Molineux supporters think losing their main man would come with such a Devilish twist. Cunha's smile beams out in a photo that dominates the club's page for June. Just to underline the point, the 26-year-old's name and No 10 shirt number are also printed. Cunha even clenches his fist in the snap - as if celebrating. But as it turned out, when the date arrived in real life he was rejoicing for an entirely different reason. One fan posted a pic of his calendar's latest offering and simply wrote: "Happy June the 1st." Another supporter replied: "You honestly couldn't make it up." "A third wrote: "Lmaooooo you've gotta be joking." But others tried to see the funny side. Matheus Cunha gifts Wolves team-mates Joao Gomes and Andre a Rolex ahead of Man Utd transfer One said: "Mate I've had to laugh at that sorry." And there was also room for conspiracy theories. One fan commented: "I have the same calendar, it's almost as if they knew he'd be going." Another observer noted that Liverpool had adopted a different approach over Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk. He wrote: "I noticed that TAA was in the February section of the Liverpool calendar. Salah and VVD were the next ones. Thinking ahead to avoid this exact thing if they left". In the event, Alexander-Arnold has moved to Real Madrid - while the other two, arguably the Prem champions' best players, are staying at Anfield with new contracts.
The Sun
37 minutes ago
- The Sun
Exercise boosts cancer recovery and slashes risk of death or relapse by a third, major study finds
EXERCISE is 'better than a drug' at stopping cancer coming back, a landmark trial suggests. Top doctors say recovering patients should be prescribed personal trainers to boost survival. 1 A Cancer Research UK study showed it could slash bowel cancer patients' risk of death or relapse. Following an exercise programme after treatment reduced their risk of dying within eight years by 37 per cent. And it reduced the chance of a patient's cancer growing back within five years by 28 per cent. Physical activity also appeared to cut the risk for breast and prostate cancers, the two most common types. 'Drugs are approved for less' Dr Julie Gralow, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said: 'This is the same magnitude of benefit as many drugs. 'Drugs get approved for less than that and they're expensive and toxic, so I would say it's better than a drug.' Dr Pamela Kunz, of Yale University in the US, said prescribing it was a 'no-brainer'. The world-first trial involved 889 people from Canada and Australia who had received surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer, the most common form of bowel cancer. It affects around 32,000 people per year in the UK and develops in the large intestine. Half of the participants were given basic exercise advice and the other half were assigned personal trainers and given tailored exercise programmes for three years. The plan added the equivalent of three to four hours of walking on top of patients' normal daily activity. At the end of the 15-year trial, people in the personal trainer group were significantly less likely to have relapsed or died. Study author Dr Christopher Booth, from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada, said: 'These results are clear: an exercise program that includes a personal trainer will reduce the risk of recurrent or new cancer, make you feel better and help you live longer. 'Most patients chose a walking program and could reach their targets by going for a walk of 45 to 60 minutes three to four times per week. 'The benefit was substantial and in some cases exceeded the benefit of many of our very good medical therapies. 'This sets a new standard of care for colon cancer.' He said that one life was saved for every 14 patients who enlisted in the exercise programme. It cost an estimated £2,500 per patient over three years and the Canadian government is now looking at including it in hospital care. Dr Gralow added: 'If you start exercising after you get through your treatment you absolutely still get the benefits – it's not too late. 'Three decades ago it was still the era of doctors being gentle and saying don't overdo it, but we've reversed that and had a major shift in understanding the importance of physical activity. 'We should be doing all we can to help patients be active.' How much exercise should you do and when? There are guidelines issued by the NHS and the Government regarding how much exercise people should do each day. People should be active daily, and avoid sitting for long periods. The NHS recommends an adults – those aged 19 to 64 – should aim for 150 minutes of 'moderate intensity activity' a week. This works out to 21 minutes a day, or 30 minutes five days a week. Or, they could do 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, which could be less than 11 minutes per day or 25 minutes three days a week. Adults should also aim to do strength exercises twice a week, at least. Examples of moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike, dancing, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower, hiking or rollerblading. Examples of vigorous activities include running, swimming, riding a bike fast or on hills, walking up the stairs, sports, like football, rugby, netball and hockey, skipping, aerobics, gymnastics or martial arts. Things like lifting heavy weights, sprinting up hills, spin classes or circuit training are considered very vigorous. What time should you exercise? Getting exercise into your day, no matter what time is a good idea. But you may want to be more selective depending on your goal. A 2023 US study on 5,285 middle-aged adults showed exercising between 7 and 9 am was the best time if you're looking to lose weight. Researchers found that early-bird gym goers had a lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference than those working out later. A 2022 study led by Prof Paul J Arciero, Skidmore College, New York, found that the optimal time of day to get your kit on might differ according to your gender. Prof Arciero said women wanting to lose fat around their belly and hips would do better to hit the gym in the morning, but those seeking to gain upper body strength or simply improve their mood might see more results from evening exercise. The results were the opposite for men. If you struggle to get to sleep, it's been found that exercise in the morning may help, but exercise in the evening may help you to stay asleep. Exercise, generally, can improve sleep quality.
