Shakira joined forces with Ukraine’s President, Viktor Yanukovych, to inaugurate a 70,000-seater stadium in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev that will host the final of Euro 2012 football championships. The Colombian pop star was joined by hundreds of performers in an elaborate ceremony at the opening.

The reconstruction of the Soviet-era stadium is seen as a milestone on Ukraine’s path to hosting the tournament, despite having concerns that key facilities would not be ready in time. “The reconstruction and opening of the stadium demonstrates to the whole world that we can have business in the Ukraine,” the BBC quoted Yanukovych as saying.

Read the rest of this entry »

Colombian pop sensation Shakira joined forces with Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych and 60,000 spectators as the covers came off Kiev's troubled Euro 2012 Olympiysky stadium on Saturday in a politically-tinged opening.

"With this stadium, Ukraine will organise a worthy Euro 2012," said Yanukovych of a ground which will host five matches, including the July 1 final, at the championships being co-hosted with Poland, but which has been dogged by construction delays and accusations of corruption. Yanukovych, whose popularity ratings have plummeted, was jeered as he spoke while the festivities were also held up by three naked female demonstrators who ran onto the pitch to demand a "Euro 2012 without prostitution."

The FEMEN pressure group believe that the tournament will encourage sex tourism in the financially struggling country. Shakira, who also featured at the opening of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,  performed for 40 minutes, singing the official song from last year's football showpiece, "Waka Waka". Against a background of fireworks, more than 2,000 artists put on a show with Ukraine folklore at its heart.

The stadium was scheduled to be completed in June, but work on the 585 million euro renovations was delayed, a factor which caused UEFA to air their concerns to local organisers. There were even threats to strip Ukraine of its hosting rights. "If there is no stadium in Kiev, there is no Euro in Ukraine," said UEFA president Michel Platini during a visit to the former Soviet republic in April 2010.

But by September 26 this year, Platini had altered his opinion, claiming he was "completely reassured" by the state of preparations in the country's four host cities -- Kiev, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lviv. The stadium was built in 1923, briefly carrying the name of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, before he fell from grace and was assassinated on Stalin's orders in 1940. Kiev's ground was later dedicated to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and also hosted matches in the 1980 Olympics' football tournament. Work on the ground for Euro 2012 began three years ago with around 2,000 workers employed on the site.

But it has continued to be a source of controversy with opposition figures in the country claiming a lack of transparency in financial arrangements and that the costs were too high. The government has rejected all accusations of impropriety. "The stadium cost 20 to 25 percent less than similar installations elsewhere in the world," said vice-Prime Minister Boris Kolesnikov, who is in local charge of Euro 2012. Ukraine will play Germany on November 11 in what will be the first game in the new arena.

Read the rest of this entry »

Colombian singer Shakira made her debut on the commission to advise President Barack Obama on Hispanic education in hopes of contributing new ways to improve pre-schools.

On her first day with the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Shakira said she was "delighted" to share the lessons learned in the 15 years that have passed since she created the first of three foundations that aid poor children in Colombia, the United States and Haiti, among other countries.

"There is no better investment than investment in our kids, especially when they are very little," she said Thursday at the White House. "I am convinced that early childhood development strategies, promoting those strategies and initiatives, is the way to ensure that our kids, our Latino kids especially, will stick to their secondary education," the 34-year-old superstar said.

Asked about her interest in getting involved in education in the United States, Shakira - who has a home in Miami - said that this country "matters" to her. The multiple-Grammy-winning singer, a Unicef goodwill ambassador since 2003, has had close relations with the Obama administration since her performance at the inauguration ceremony in January 2009.

At the beginning of 2010, the artist had a private meeting with the president, in which they discussed educational subjects and which, she recalled Thursday, gave her the idea of organizing a national summit focused on programs of pre-school teaching. Shakira later attended a session at the U.S. Capitol to be formally sworn-in as a presidential adviser.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pop star Shakira said early childhood development was key to improving education for US Hispanics, as she began work on a new commission created by US President Barack Obama.

"There is no better investment than investment in our kids, especially when they are very little," Shakira said at the White House on Thursday. "I can share a little bit of what I learned in the past 15 years working with Latino kids in Colombia and Latin America," the Grammy award-winning Colombian diva said.

"I am convinced that early childhood development strategies, promoting those strategies and initiatives, is the way to ensure that our kids, our Latino kids especially, will stick to their secondary education."

Shakira was among four people named to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, a committee created by Obama last year that aims to expand access to high quality education for Hispanics. Last year, the singer of "Whenever, Wherever" and "Hips Don't Lie" joined the World Bank to set up a program to push education and development programs for children in Latin America.

The singer, songwriter and producer also established the "Barefoot Foundation," which has set up schools and education projects in Colombia, South Africa and Haiti. The Hispanic community, a growing voting demographic which usually leans Democratic, will play a key role in Obama's campaign to win a second term next year, especially in crucial swing states like Florida and Colorado.

Read the rest of this entry »

WELCOME TO Kimo’s Vegas ... the Player’s Edge! THE LATIN GRAMMYS will honor seven-time winner Shakira as Person of the Year for her artistic and philanthropic contributions. The 12th annual gala happens Nov. 9 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Past recipients include Placido Domingo, Carlos Santana, Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias and Ricky Martin.

LADY ANTEBELLUM launches its OWN THE NIGHT 2011 TOUR Nov. 18 at The Joint in the Hard Rock. GOING PINK for National Breast Cancer Month ... The Tropicana will light its entire exterior the color of the Dianthus flower and offer pink room packages, menus and events. Planet Hollywood will show its support by coloring the water in its Miracle Miles fountains pink and donating all the money from them to the Susan G. Komen foundation. The Hard Rock hosts Pinktober, a Rock ‘n’ Roll Fashion Show. The Forum Shops at Caesars is offering a special VIP shopping booklet to shoppers wearing pink this month and is donating an additional dollar for each Simon giftcard purchased.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shakira has helped launch a partnership to promote childhood development in Brazil. The Whenever, Wherever singer is a representative for the ALAS Foundation and met some of the young children at the launch in Rio de Janeiro.

Shakira met and played with kindergarten and primary school pupils before giving a speech alongside representatives of the Brazilian government including the Minister of Human Rights and the Governor of Rio de Janeiro.

The Brazilian singer said: "Both ALAS and I are proud to be part of a programme that provides the children of Brazil with education, health and nutrition, the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty and inequality.

"The first six years of a child's life represent the most important stage of development. It is in these years when their brains and capacities, their functions and basic skills are developed. Therefore, I am convinced that investing in Early Childhood Development represents an investment in the future of our countries.

"I hope that programmes like the one we are launching today in Brazil are replicated in all of Latin American. The possibility to end poverty and marginalisation is at our fingertips.

"Let's keep working together so our children may paint a better future for themselves and for us all."The programme aims to enable children reach their full potential and break the cycle of poverty by helping them all gain access to health care, nutrition and education.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shakira is already at the center of a bidding war by record labels as her contract with Epic expires. The Colombian superstar is getting interest from many major labels, including Warner and Island Def Jam, as she becomes a free agent. The singer, who has a 10-year touring deal with Live Nation valued at up to $100 million and has delivered the three albums to Epic under their contract, is expected to start discussions with record execs early next year.

But a source told us, “While there has been a lot interest from major labels, it is too early to start the formal discussions. Shakira and her team will sit down in the new year to discuss her options. Her deal with Live Nation continues, so her next move will be worked out in partnership with Live Nation.” It is not certain if she will sign again with Sony-owned record label Epic, now headed up by “The X Factor” judge LA Reid. Sources tell us that due to her commitment to her world tour, Shakira has “not yet had the chance to meet with LA Reid since he took over in June.” A rep for Shakira declined to comment.

Read the rest of this entry »

No one can even come close to imitating Shakira’s hip-shaking moves, which she turned on at Rock in Rio for a music festival that adores her and fans that idolize her.

Coming onstage after rock star Lenny Kravitz in the cool air of Rio before dawn, the Colombian diva had only to burst into her first number and begin moving that pelvis for her legion of fans, exhausted by hours of partying, to let the good times roll once more. “Tonight I’m all yours,” the Barranquilla native cried out to the audience to wake up their rocker spirit.

In a bare-bones concert totally lacking in complicated stagecraft, Shakira, who opened the night with “Estoy Aqui” (Here I Am), got 100,000 fans on their feet and shaking their hips with a repertoire of hits that was all she needed to keep her love affair with Rock in Rio going for another year after her performances in the Lisbon and Madrid editions.

Perhaps to make up with Madrid fans, the singer, now the muse of all that is Barcelona, chose “Te Dejo Madrid” (I Leave You Madrid) as one of the numbers in a show that relied heavily on her classics of years gone by rather than numbers from “Sale el Sol” (Sunrise), her latest disc.

With the audience entranced by that body in perpetual motion, the Colombian grabbed her guitar to sing “Inevitable.”Either because soccer in Brazil is considered a religion or because her boyfriend Gerard Pique is a soccer player for FC Barcelona, Shakira wrapped up her performance combining music and soccer with “Waka Waka,” the official song of the the 2010 World Cup of soccer in South Africa, in a scene of wild euphoria.

Along the way, the Colombian singer brought out her big guns to show her power with hits like “Gypsy”, “Loba” (She-Wolf), “Las de la Intuicion” (Matters of Intuition), “Loca” and “My Hips Don’t Lie”, with which she put the public in her pocket. There’s little doubt that going onstage before the Colombian diva dimmed Lenny Kravitz’s aura of stardom at the festival. He gave a good but unremarkable concert marked in part by songs from this latest disc, which were received without great enthusiasm.

The American singer did give his fans what they were waiting for with three of his best-known numbers: “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over”, “American Woman” and “Fly Away.”

Kravitz finished up his performance with “Let Love Rule”, moving among the crowd, turning on the sex appeal and carrying the Brazilian flag on one shoulder, which won him cheers and applause as he left the stage.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pop star Shakira denied reports Thursday that she had been booked to perform at a birthday celebration for the leader of the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. "Contrary to any misreporting, Shakira is not performing nor was she ever booked to perform a gig for the Chechen president or government," according to a Twitter message by the Colombian singer confirmed as authentic by her spokeswoman Shoshanna Stone.

Last week, sources in Russia's war-ravaged Chechnya region in the North Caucasus said Shakira would be attending the leader's 35th birthday celebration with other notables such as US film stars Kevin Costner, Hilary Swank and Eva Mendes, along with British violinist Vanessa-Mae.

Kadyrov, who has ruled the war-torn region since 2007 and was reappointed to the post earlier this year, has overseen several grandiose projects and events in Grozny aimed at boosting his political clout. But rights groups have long accused him of presiding over a personal militia that they say has carried out serial rights violations, torture and even murder.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shakira and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters have bought a Caribbean island together. The Colombian singer - who is currently dating Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique - has joined forces with the musician to purchase the $16 million site of Bonds Cay, north of the Bahamas, in order to build a resort which will cater for millionaire holidaymakers.

Shakira, 34, and Roger, 68, are reportedly hoping to "reinvent the concept of tourism" by building both a set of luxury holiday homes which will also include private beaches and a number of hotels with plans to sell prime seaside property on the island.

Bonds Cay has five beaches and three bays, along with a number of waterfalls and Shakira and Roger have also made plans to build an artists' retreat which will house a series of artists-in-residence, galleries populated with up-and-comers' works and a programme offering semester-long sabbaticals.

Arturo Rubinstein, a Miami-based investor involved in the project, said: "It's not about having 200 speedboats and an 18-hole golf course. I would say it is an explosion of the senses. It's a concept more related to art and culture."

Shakira's former boyfriend Antonio De La Rua and New York City financial services firm Guggenheim Capital were also involved in the purchase when it was first proposed in 2006 but it is unclear if this is still the case.

John Christie, vice president of Caribbean real estate brokerage H.G. Christie told Bahamas4u.com: "It's a beautiful island. It's got some height to it, which means as you build up, you get better views. There is the ocean to the east of it so you've got reefs and views of turquoise water. On the other side of the island is limey, light turquoise water because it is shallow. It's a great fishing area."

Read the rest of this entry »