ENTERTAINMENT (MSM)

Vienna turns on the gay lights ahead of Eurovision

From gay-themed traffic lights to singing sewers, Vienna is getting spruced up as it prepares to host one of the world’s most popular music competitions, the 60th Eurovision Song Contest. With less than a week to go before the first semi-final, the Austrian capital has launched a series of original initiatives to celebrate the ESC’s anniversary edition. Lights at 120 pedestrian crossings are receiving a quirky makeover: instead of the

Berlin Philharmonic holds secret vote on new conductor

The Berlin Philharmonic’s members cloistered themselves for hours in a church building Monday to elect their next chief conductor, one of the most prestigious jobs in classical music. The orchestra’s 124 permanent musicians, who have been sworn to absolute secrecy and had to leave their mobile phones and any recording devices outside, were to democratically choose their next maestro to replace Britain’s Sir Simon Rattle in 2018. The global community