COVENTRY’S CITY OF CULTURE YEAR KICKS OFF

Postponed for more than five months thanks to the killjoy pandemic, Coventry’s City of Culture celebrations finally kicked off in June, the first event of scale to be held in the UK since Covid-19 ruined everyone’s fun.

The celebrations began with a major all-day performance. With more than 500 people involved, a total of 43 performances reached all 18 city wards, thanks to 50 heritage Coventry-made cars in cavalcades accompanied by Bhangra, Ska and Irish dancers.

Three custom artist-made trikes led 20 miles of cycle and walking processions, supported by electric taxis, support and production vehicles. Performances were amplified through 120 battery-powered speakers.

Coventry City of Culture celebrations run throughout the year. Previous hosts of the government-sponsored City of Culture celebrations, including Derry/Londonderry and Hull, saw major boosts in tourism and increased business investment following their year in the spotlight.

The worms will be housed in culture bags inside 24 matchboxsized experiment containers, each containing three bags. Once on board the International Space Station, the containers will be placed into the incubator in the station’s Columbus Module. The experiment will take place over a week.

David Zolesi, Kayser Space Managing Director, said: “This launch is the second of a series of three life science payloads developed by Kayser Space to fly to the International Space Station within three years.”