A Clubbing Holiday To-Do List

If you’ve just left school or university and are in need of a week-long getaway in the sun with your friends and don’t want to spend much money, it’s likely you may choose to go on an 18-30s holiday to one of Europe’s top clubbing destinations.

Now you’ve seen ‘Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents’, ‘The Magaluf Weekender’ and ‘What Happens In Kavos’, it’s time to jump on a cheap flight to Magaluf, Kavos, Zante, Ibiza, Kos, Malia, Ayia Napa or Faliraki to experience a holiday like no other.

Before the summer is up, there’s still time to book a last-minute trip to one of these destinations before the resorts shut down in late October.

Whether you want to enjoy a week in the sun and a few cocktails with friends or stay out all-night-every-night, this list compiles eight of the top itinerary fillers that you need to add to your holiday to-do list, ensuring it’s a fun-filled, exciting and memorable week that you’ll never forget!

8 – Visit a Karaoke Bar

Every resort has a handful of great karaoke bars, but do some research and talk to your holiday-rep to find out which is best. These bars are always a great spot to start your night with a bang and often supply some of the greatest and funniest moments of your holiday. Pick a song, gather your friends and sing your heart out!

7 – Buy a fish-bowl

Every hotel, bar and restaurant will have a cocktail list complete with ‘Sex On The Beach’, ‘Woo Woo’ and all of your favourite holiday drinks. Upgrade your glass to a bowl and share with friends! If you’re heading to Zante, start your night at the centre of the strip at ‘Fish-Bowl’, one of the busiest bars in Laganas, overflowing with groups gathered in circles to share their favourite cocktails on a rather large scale.

6 – Book a trip to the waterpark

No holiday is complete without a dip in the pool, so why not shoot into it after a ride on a flume or rubber-ring slide! Speak to your holiday-rep to find out when trips run and be sure to check that your excursion includes your travel. One top tip: if you have a choice, try to go to the waterpark towards the end of your holiday so that your skin is used to the sun; it’s very easy to burn at the waterpark whilst queuing for attractions and your sun-cream has washed off in the water.

5 – Jump on a Booze Cruise

If you like boats and you like booze, this is the perfect trip for you. Pay before you go and enjoy a free bar all day! These trips are often the most popular so be sure to get your tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

4 – Silent Disco

You can guarantee that there will be no stranger moment on your holiday than walking into one of the busiest clubs on the strip to find everybody in silence! Put on a pair of wireless headphones and dance the night away.

3 – Celebrity DJ Night

Every resort has their fair share of celebrity-endorsed club nights, complete with Radio 1 DJs, chart-toppers and TV stars. If you’re booking your trip last minute, you have the opportunity to co-ordinate your travels around the stars you wish to see. If you’re heading to Zante, head to Plus Club, where Radio 1’s Scott Mills, Danny Howard and Vernon Kay are regulars year-upon-year. Ibiza Rocks, Mallorca Rocks and BCM in Magaluf have been host to the likes of Example, Rizzle Kicks and Calvin Harris this year so try to book tickets as soon as possible so you don’t miss out!

Vernon Kay at Plus Club in Zante 2013

2 – Foam Party

So you’re probably thinking ‘been there, done that’… but you would be wrong. Foam parties in your local UK clubs are nothing compared to these European party resorts, where you’ll find yourself knee-deep or even to your neck in foam! If you’re slightly concerned about the smell, as many tourists sometimes are, don’t hesitate as this will truly be one of the funniest and most memorable nights in your stay.

1 – UV Paint Party

Wherever you’re heading this summer, be sure to find out where the weekly UV paint party is held – you do not want to miss out! As part of ticket price, you should receive glow sticks and a T-Shirt, so don’t concern yourself with having no old clothes to wear. Throw on your new tee, customise it and head on out to one of the messiest, busiest and craziest club nights you will ever experience. Paint is fired at you from all angles, so don’t expect to come out without glowing from head-to-toe!

UV Paint Party at Rescue Club, Zante

A Fantastic Night of Entertainment at the BRIT Awards 2012

Tuesday night saw the biggest artists from the UK, as well as from across the pond, come together to celebrate a fantastic year of music at the BRIT Awards. Not only were the guests at the O2 Arena in London rejoicing in the British talent, but so were the 6.2 million viewers watching at home.

This year has been hugely successful for British artists, who have been producing hit-after-hit not only in the UK, but across the world. Possibly the most successful artist worldwide through 2011 was Adele, whose album ‘21’ topped the chart in 27 countries. It seemed just by all viewers of the ITV awards ceremony that Adele’s record-breaking album should win the show’s cult award ‘Mastercard British Album of the Year’. As the night drew to a close and the prestigious award was announced, the predictions of the public were correct and Adele beat Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Florence & The Machine, as well as Mercury Music Prize winner PJ Harvey, to the accolade.

Every year at the BRITs, the tradition of controversy is normally upheld, whereby a star will collect an award in a drunken manner and swear, or in the case of Liam Gallagher, throw their award into the crowd. As the ceremony neared its end, the annual controversy reared its ugly head as host, James Corden, was forced to interrupt Adele’s acceptance speech to prevent the night from over-running any further. ITV have had to follow the incident with a formal apology to the songstress, who wished to thank her fans for their continued loyalty.

The preceding awards all ran rather smoothly, with the show beginning with the award for Best British Female, which saw Essex’s very own Jessie J pitted against Florence & The Machine, Kate Bush, last year’s winner Laura Marling, and Adele. Adele was tipped for the top, and beat Romford’s Jessica Cornish to the prize. Jessie, who appeared in a revealing, lacy, red gown, was seen humbly applauding and cheering for the star.

Jessie J was later nominated in the British Breakthrough Artist category, which was won by Ed Sheeran, who seemed to be the most unassuming artist on the bill, performing later in just jeans and a T-Shirt. Ed, who was nominated for the most awards with four, also won Best British Male, taking his BRIT-tally to two in just his first year of the ceremony.

Following on from Jessie’s win in 2011, this year saw the Critics Choice award given to upcoming Scottish singer, Emeli Sandé.

After one of the most spectacular opening performances that the BRITs have ever seen with their song Charlie Brown, complete with lights and lasers, Coldplay topped one of the toughest categories of the ceremony – Best British Group, beating Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys, Chase & Status and Elbow to the prize.
One of the few awards voted for by the public, Best British Single, is always a sought after award, with 10 of the year’s biggest tracks fighting out for the prize.

With three of Essex’s biggest artists, up for the award, Jessie J’s ‘Price Tag’, Pixie Lott’s ‘All About Tonight’, as well as Olly Murs with ‘Heart Skips A Beat’, it would have been fantastic for one of these artists to take the prize. However, teen-favourite’s One Direction triumphed with their debut single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’.

Despite not winning in his category, Olly Murs was flying the flag for Essex as he took to the stage to perform his Number One hit single, ‘Heart Skips A Beat’. After jumping onto the stage to the first beats of the song, the electrifying performance was completed with 70 backing dancers, as well as pop-duo Rizzle Kicks who feature on the song.

Other performances came from Florence & The Machine, Noel Gallagher, as well as Adele, whose performance was highly anticipated following her sensational performance of ‘Someone Like You’ the previous year.

All the way from the US, Bruno Mars and Rihanna appeared, both with tremendous performances. The pair both took the awards for Best International Male and Best International Female respectively. Best International Breakthrough Act went to Lana del Rey, with rockers Foo Fighters winning International Group.

The final prize of the night, for Outstanding Contribution to Music, saw Essex celebrating a win at the ceremony, as 90’s Britpop group Blur were awarded. Essex boy, Damon Albarn, and his fellow band members, last appeared at the awards in 1995 when they performed hit single ‘Boys & Girls’.

Closing the ceremony with 5 of their hit songs, many of the artists and stars at the event were seen dancing around their tables, clearly enjoying the performance and a fantastic night of entertainment.

Sport Relief Returns for 2012...

It's that time of year again when the greatest heads at the BBC are put together to create one of the greatest fundraising events of the year.

The event that alternates with Red Nose Day, or Comic Relief, every year, is back on Friday 23rd March, where the tele-marathon will begin. This will be succeeded by the Sport Relief mile on Sunday 25th March, whereby events will be held up and down the country, with the public being able to run 1, 3 or 6 miles to raise money for the charity. Essex's very own Olly Murs is one of the many celebrities taking part.

This isn't the only Sport Relief event that Murs will be contributing to...

24th March will see a special Sport Relief matinee show being held at London's O2 Arena, headlined by JLS. Olly Murs and Rizzle Kicks. Tickets are still available and all proceeds will go to Sport Relief.

Olly's hat-trick of Sport Relief events will be completed when he takes part in Lets Dance for Sport Relief. The BBC1 show returns this year on 18th February and will see Mr Murs performing alongside Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills. Another Essex appearance will also be made when TOWIE stars and cousins Amy Childs and Harry Derbidge perform. Other dancers will include Ulrika Jonnson & Angelos Epithemiou from Shooting Stars, DJ Tony Blackburn, comedian Omid Djalili and many more.

The show will also include performances from some of the biggest names in music including LMFAO, Tinchy Stryder, Will Young, JLS, as well as Brentwood's Pixie Lott.

To find out how to apply to take part in the Sport Relief Mile, please follow the link. Best of luck!

Bringing the X Factor back to Essex

This week saw the announcement of an exciting gig coming to Essex in the summer!

Organised by the Heart Essex radio station, June 16th will see many stars coming to Hylands Park in Chelmsford for a special summer concert.

Following on from the success of 2011's summer concerts in Hylands Park, Heart have invited Olly Murs back to his home county to headline the show. 2011 saw JLS headlining the two-night concert, with Olly, Alexis Jordan and upcoming boyband The Kixx also performing.

After a hugely successful end to 2011 and fantastic start to 2012, Murs was the perfect choice to headline the shows. Other acts and guests are still set to be announced, with fellow Essex star, Pixie Lott, being rumoured to appear. Duo Rizzle Kicks, who are featured on Olly's #1 hit single 'Heart Skips A Beat', are another name who have been discussed to be in with a chance of performing.

Olly Murs, who shot to fame after placing second in the 2009 series of The X Factor, will not necessarily be the only act from the show performing. Another act rumoured to appear at the event are Little Mix, current holders of The X Factor title. Jesy Nelson, ¼ of Little Mix, a former barmaid from Romford, would be more than thrilled to take part in her first gig in her home county.

Tickets were released yesterday (Friday 27th January) at 10am, with many more tickets still available.

Watch this space for more news and announcements about the June 16th concert!

Olly at the Heart Essex summer concert last year

Olly previously performed at Hylands in July 2011 supporting JLS

2011 Essex Round-Up!

As we draw close to the end of 2011, reflecting upon the year, Essex has played a bigger role in the media than ever before.

With the continuous influence of The Only Way is Essex in the media, or TOWIE as it is better known, Essex has been finding common ground in day-to-day life across the country. ‘Shuuut-Up’, ‘well jel’, and who could forget Joey Essex’s signature word ‘reem’ have all been widely recognised not just in Essex but throughout England and the UK. It’s difficult to watch the television for one week and not see one of the TOWIE characters popping up on chat shows or game shows. Some of our favourite TOWIE characters have even left the show to appear on reality TV, with Amy Childs appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, placing fourth, and of course Mark Wright just losing out to McFly’s Dougie in the I’m A Celebrity final.

Dougie’s bandmate Harry Judd, born in Chelmsford, had a very successful 2011 as he lifted the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball this month. Alongside dance partner Aliona Vilani, he fought off competition from Waterloo Road’s Chelsee Healey and Jason Donovan to claim the top spot.

This year has seen the country fall further in love with Essex boy Olly Murs as he jumps from one success to the next. Starting off the year by trekking across the Kaisut desert in Kenya for Comic Relief alongside 8 other celebrities, including fellow Essex boy Dermot O’Leary, Murs’ year began with a bang. The sound of the summer was Olly’s ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ featuring Rizzle Kicks, which reached the number 1 spot in August. Olly’s third number 1 single came in December with ‘Dance With Me Tonight’, which he also performed on The X Factor this year. One of Olly’s biggest successes this year would be his weekly role on ITV2’s ‘The Xtra Factor’ alongside Caroline Flack. The pair have been heavily praised by the media for what many people would argue has been the best series of Xtra Factor to date. 2012 should be an even bigger year for Witham’s Murs as he starts his first ever Arena tour in February, which kicks off in Cardiff before moving to The O2 Arena.

Another huge success story from Essex in 2011 has come from Romford, birthplace of popstar Jessie J. After starting the year as BBC Sound of 2011 and as the Brits Critic’s Choice, big things were predicted for Jessie J. With 4 Mobo awards and a #1 single in ‘Price Tag’, these predictions were very true. It has been recently announced that Price Tag was in the Top 3 of the most downloaded songs of the year. It was also announced this year that Jessie J would star as a judge on new BBC One talent show ‘The Voice’, where she will star alongside Tom Jones, Will.I.Am and Danny O’Donoghue in the new year.

Other Essex singers who have been successful this year include Pixie Lott, whose single ‘All About Tonight’ entered the chart at #1. Also, Matt Cardle has had a successful year following winning the X Factor in 2010, with The Guardian calling his album ‘Letters’ the best of 2011. 

Each year the X Factor gives us a fantastic contestant from Essex, with Matt Cardle, Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon coming to mind, and this year has been no exception with one quarter of winners Little Mix coming from Essex. Jesy Nelson, from Romford, was put together with Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade at bootcamp and was mentored by Tulisa.

2012 is set to be an even bigger year for Braintree’s Louie Spence, who was this year announced to be a judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. The new series is set to begin in January.

Lets hope that this time next year, there will be even more news about these Essex stars and many more new faces who will appear across 2012. Happy New Year to everyone in Essex and beyond!

Success for Mr Murs

Olly Murs must be constantly grinning ear-to-ear at the moment!

Following on from the success of Olly's self-titled debut album and sell-out theatre tour, Olly is practising a new talent in presenting. Olly's mentor from the X Factor, Simon Cowell, recruited Olly to co-host the Xtra Factor on ITV2 with Caroline Flack. After only 3 episodes of the Xtra Factor so far, Olly has received great reviews for his natural presenting ability, as well as for having a great on-air relationship with Caroline.

But it doesn't stop here!...

Last week, Olly was celebrating his 2nd #1 single with 'Heart Skips A Beat', which also features upcoming band, Rizzle Kicks, who have been very popular at festivals this year with BBC Introducing. Olly's first #1 Single came just a year ago with his debut single, Please Don't Let Me Go'. This year, Olly had to fight off stiff competition from Will Young and Calvin Harris to reach the top spot, which he celebrated in style on the Official Chart show with Scott Mills on Radio 1. Olly's X Factor companion Joe McElderry also reached #2 in the album chart with his second album 'Classic'.

Even before Olly has released his yet untitled second album, which is due out on November 28th, tickets for Olly's second tour have nearly sold out! Olly will be taking Album 2 on an arena tour across the country, visiting The O2 Arena and Wembley Arena in London, The LG Arena in Birmingham, Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, MEN Arena in Manchester, as well as many more!

Tickets are becoming very limited so make sure you head to Ticketmaster soon to get your tickets for February and March.