During the curtain call for the closing performance of Verdi’s Il trovatore at the Royal Opera House on 19 July, one of the cast, Danni Perry, took their bow holding a Palestinian flag. The moment, filmed by several people in the audience, went viral, with videos showing someone appearing from the wings and trying to wrest the flag from Perry’s hands.
England celebrate their victory over Spain in the Euro 2025 final in Basel, Switzerland (Harriet Lander / FA / Getty)
Compared to 2022, when England was the host nation, there has been a distinct lack of interest in this summer’s Euros. After England beat Italy last Tuesday to qualify for the final, I texted my nearest and dearest to say I would see them on Sunday. I hoped this loosely veiled threat would pay off. Does it matter if we don’t show our support for the women competing? If you follow football but have ignored this tournament, it matters.
Israel’s allies are still buying time for Israel to change course or come to a deal with Hamas over how many trucks to allow in, as though food were a legitimate bargaining chip. Gazans cannot afford to wait for either. Every day that foreign governments stand by, devastating starvation becomes harder to avert.
Preliminary data published in 2021 strongly suggested that testing positive for Covid was linked to a traumatic stress response during pregnancy and childbirth. According to a study from 2022, ‘pregnant mothers reported fear of infection, fear of vertical transmission, fear of poor birth and child outcomes, social isolation, uncertainty about their partner’s presence during medical appointments and delivery, increased domestic abuse, and other collateral damage, including vaccine hesitancy.’ During the first two years of the pandemic, maternal mortality rose in the United States (especially among Black and Hispanic communities), Japan, Australia and the Netherlands.
Malak Musleh, who was among those killed in the bombing of al-Baqaa Café in Gaza City on 29 June
Trauma centres in Gaza are recording the questions that children are asking: when it rains will we drown in the tent? When they bomb the tent, will we burn? Why do they always bomb us? I don’t want to die in pieces. Will the dogs that ate the dead bodies of the martyrs turn into humans? Do children who have their legs amputated grow new legs? Do the Israeli pilots who bomb children have children?
Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz, 13 July 2025 (Daisuke Urakami/AP)
Sinner often seems engaged in a battle to keep a certain flailing inelegance in check. That he does so successfully is one of the marvels of his game.
When tickets for Euro 2025 went on sale last year, UEFA made the usual noises about igniting passion, inspiring the next generation and celebrating progress – platitudes that have been repeated in much of the coverage. The game needs more than slogans and anthems, as a series of announcements from clubs last summer made clear. Thornaby FC announced they would be axing their women’s and girls’ teams. (Following protests, the decision was reversed and nine months later Thornaby won the North-East Regional Women’s League.) Reading FC withdrew from the FA Women’s Championship, citing lack of funding. Blackburn Rovers announced that their women players would receive only minimum wage. The Lionesses’ captain, Leah Williamson, who has been with Arsenal since she was nine years old, told the Times she wasn’t ‘earning enough to retire’.