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Having a snack at the beach always attracts seagulls.
I took plenty of photos of them walking around the grass but thought I'd throw a crumb to get an action shot.
Gatherings of males compete for breeding females with each male displaying his colourful plumage, bobbing and hopping, and making a variety of calls. These displays take place in communal leks, where males gather to challenge rivals and beckon the females. The display turns into a cacophony of bright color and a frenzied activity filling the air with very strange sounds
The Andean cock-of-the-rock eats a diet of fruit, supplemented by insects, amphibians, reptiles, and smaller mice. It is distributed all across the cloud forest of the Andes, having a range of around 260,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi). Even though it is being affected by destruction of its habitat, the Andean cock-of-the-rock is not classified as threatened.
Porsches competing in the 2017 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race for GT and touring car classes, GT3 and GT4 cars.
(1/4) #50B, Synep Racing - Josh Cranston, Adam Cranston, Aaron Steer & James Winslow - Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.
(2/4) #14B, IKAD Racing - Peter Major, Jordan Love & Nick McBride - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, lead #4B, Grove Motorsport - Stephen Grove, Ben Barker & Alexandre Imperatori - Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.
(3/4) #21B, Steven Richards Motorsport - Dean Grant, Dylan O’Keeffe, Xavier West & David Wall - Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.
(4/4) #41C, Brookspeed Australia - Coleby Cowham, Lindsay Kearns & Ashley Jarvis - Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Mount Panorama, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
---
The 15th running of the Bathurst 12 Hour constituted the opening round of the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge Series. For the first time, the winners of the race were awarded the Australian Tourist Trophy
This car competed in the Louis Vuitton 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996. It's the 1955 Maserati 300S of Dudley and Sally Mason-Styrron and was driven in the race by Sally Mason-Styrron. The 300S was produced by Maserati from 1955 to 1959 to contend the World Sportscar Championship and had a straight-6 engine based on the 250F Grand Prix car's 2½ litre unit, but with a longer stroke to bring the capacity up to 2,992cc and this car is chassis 3055.
This car competed in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000. It's the 1956 HWM Jaguar of Stephen Curtis and is powered by a 6-cylinder inline 3,781cc Jaguar D-Type engine. Originally bought from HWM in 1956 by Phil Scragg who, as a Hillclimb specialist, preferred his cars to have cycle wing mudguards for use on the narrow British hills. He had many class victories in SPC 982 and won the sportscar Hillclimb championship with it in 1959.
My niece and nephew competed in a dance competition last weekend and took home 20 medals, 4 ribbons, and several team trophy's. They have been dancing since they were 3 and 4 years old and they are now 11 and 13. It's so fun watching them progress over the years!
This image is of my niece and several of her teammates. They had just finished their dance and were all wearing their medals. There was a little time between dances and costume changes and I snapped this fun shot of them. Yes, I'm a proud Auntie!
- www.kevin-palmer.com - I hiked up into this valley across from Antelope Butte to shoot the colorful aspen trees with fresh snow.
In the 1950s, as a method of competing head on with General Motors, the Ford Motor Company sought to organise itself into a broader range of auto divisions.
Ford vs Chevrolet, the new Edsel Division vs Pontiac, Mercury vs Oldsmobile, Lincoln vs Buick. Atop this series, Continental would be broken out as a marque in its own right.
Continental would compete directly with Cadillac - then undisputed leader in the upper luxury division.
The 'Continental' had previously been a specialist model within the Lincoln hierarchy. It would now have its own staff, its factory and its own, unique vehicle.
Cadillac had made a great number of customers through delivering a vehicle for a new, glorious age. Continental, on the other hand, was intended to create a vehicle in the spirit of the 'Classic Era' - the 1930's. Coachbuilt vehicles of the highest quality. With this in mind numerous layers of quality control and quality design was embedded into every process involved in the creation and manufacture of each car.
This quality came at a cost. Each Continental Mark II was a very expensive machine to purchase - but the process in creating the car was also costly, and time consuming. For this reason, though the car can rightly be called a 20th Century landmark classic, only 1,231 cars found homes in 1955, a further 1,325 in 1956, (and 444 in the 1957 calendar year), It is estimated that Ford lost $1,000 per car (in 1957 money).
Perhaps one part of the problem was that the car was only available as a Hardtop Coupe. Internet research yielded at least one running convertible prototype (now restored - and gorgeous), along with images of a 4-door saloon clay - also a very attractive car.
The restored Continental MkII Convertible is shown here. There is a story from Supercars. net at the end of this text with further history about this model.
The postscript to the story is that the Continental Division was once again merged with Lincoln - the new 1958 Continental Mk III was substantially a modified Lincoln. This may not have been such a problem, but for the fact that the 1958-1960 Lincoln and Continentals are some of the most unattractive cars from the period.
When Lincoln launched their own 'Personal Coupe' for 1969, they named in the Mk III - conveniently ignoring the Mk III, IV and V marketed under the Continental Division a decade earlier. It has been said that the Ford Motor Company has gone to great pains to erase the memory of these car from history, Instead, preferring the 1961 Lincoln Continental - again one of the most attractive cars ever designed, to be the logical descendant of the beautiful Mk II.
-
n 1956, two pre-production Mark II convertibles were created to expand the Continental Division range within Ford. These were finished before the merger with Lincoln which would eventually swallow the name. At the time, a Continental cost $2000 more than a Cadillac, becoming the the ride of choice for many of America’s wealthy including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Howard Johnson.
What most people don’t know is that the Mark II was originally conceived as a convertible in 1953 from drawnings by Charley Phaneuf. These would later inspire the modifications to the Mark II Convertibles.
Hess & Eisenhardt, of Kennedy limousine fame, had a long history with Ford Motor Company. The Chicago district of Ford marketing ordered two prototype convertibles from them in September of 1955. Hess & Eisenhardt took a stock black 1956 Continental Mark II began the long process.
The stock Continental cowbelly frame was designed with a convertible body in mind. In fact, a third cross-member was removed for the 1957 frame when plans for a production convertible were scrapped. To further enhance the chassis, Hess & Eisenhardt used 1/4 inch plate steel, artfully cutting and stitch-welding it to the existing frame. There are tubular cross-braces welded in an X to further support the A and B pillars. A substantial sub-structure was fabricated to support the convertible top. Hess & Eisenhardt fitted a power top mechanism that was driven by a power pack in the trunk.
The first black car was C5681126 and it was shipped to a distributor in Chicago. It resided in a dealership showroom as a demonstrator to show wealthy clients in the Chicago area what a convertible would look and drive like.
A second convertible was finished by Derham almost a year later for the Texas State Fair in October of 1956. That car was originally white at Ford but was eventually painted Honolulu Blue, a favorite color of William Clay Ford and was driven by his wife as a daily driver. Paul Wagner, whose job it became to dispose of cars like this, fought for the car with other Ford executives. He kept the car for a few years before it was sold.
Eventually an owner in Georgia fitted an original H & E top and envisioned a sleeker design to the fabric boot that covered the convertible top when stowed. Possibly he was inspired by the Charley Phaneuf drawings and fashioned a crude mechanism that flipped the new metal boot backward, just like the Mercedes SL. The top was extended rearward and a fastening system identical to the period SL was installed. This changed the roofline to closely match that of the original Continental convertible. The finishing touch was added in the restoration that took place in �93. The beautiful fiberglass bow covers replaced the fabric snap on covers installed in ?69. This Mark II convertible most closely duplicates the original design penned in 1953.
Featured is the Derham Continental Convertible which has been kindly shown by it?s at all the prominent concours. We would like to thank him for allowing us to use his story and share his unique car.
Story By Barry W. & Supercars.Net
Craig competed at his first Paralympic Games as tandem pilot to Anthony Kappes. In their second event, the B sprint, the pair beat Paralympics GB team-mates Neil Fachie and Barney Storey to take gold on the last day of action in the Velodrome. In the 2013 New Year's Honours, Craig was awarded a MBE. Very difficult to get a good shot of the box because of where it is. It seems a fitting tribute that Royal Mail are going to leave these boxes golden so that we remember in years to come some of these great achievements.
The BTCC Race Weekend featured a variety of events at Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife, August 2024.
This image shows Number 9, entered by Oli Schlup, competing in the Legends Cars Elite Cup, cornering, in wet conditions.
Press "L" to view large.
On the left a Qube Logistics intermodal service heads around the eastern leg of the triangle at Sandgate behind RL302/1103, bound for the Mountain Industries terminal at Kooragang Island. On the right, Pacific National's TT104 leads two classmates on a loaded coal train from the Hunter Valley waiting for access (half an hour in fact) to one of the export terminals on Kooragang Island - 4 July 2012.
Great Britain,
Competed in first, 6hr race, at Pukekohe,
1st in price index,
2nd overall,
Ave speed 63 mph,
For my video; youtu.be/Zkuqey9xONY
Southward Car Museum, Paraparaumu, New Zealand
September 2011.
All over the capital, the Arirang adverts (« Grand mass gymnastic and artistic performance », « Welcome to Pyongyang » and so on) warn the profane…Between August and October, takes place one of the biggest and most impressive performances in the world. The tone is set : even the Beijing Olympics ceremony can’t compete with the mass games organized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The show is held several times a week and welcomes tourists from all over the World, including the US, in one of the most isolated and despised country on earth. The well-called « mass games » are designed to emphasize group dynamics rather than individual performances as the supreme emblem of communism. Prepared by hundred of thousands performers all along the year, after their classes for the youngest of them, they are entirely dedicated to the NK’s leader Kim Jong Il and his deceased father Kim Il Sung, considered as the « Eternal president » and « sun of the 21st century »…
In the surroundings of Pyongyang's May Day giant Stadium, two girls are running to perform for the Arirang show. They are already dressed in their gymnastic outfits, as well as some 100,000 others who participate to the performance. They all come to honour their self-proclaimed « dear leader » Kim Jong Il, after a very hard and gruelling training, since their earliest age. Yet, it has been many years that Kim Jong Il has not shown up, formally for business reasons. But officials now admit the western medias’ assertions of illness. Anyways, Kim Jong Il or not, the mass games are held every year in Pyongyang, as a means for the regime to show to the entire world the country’s strength and good shape. To reach this sole purpose, not less than 100,000 people are involved in a choreographed show of simultaneous dancing and gymnastics. Many symbols are displayed by thousands of trained athlets, whether they are adults or even children. Hand over their heart, the young pupils sing in chorus "We are the happiest children in the world", one of the famous propaganda songs in North Korea. Many dancers make movements either with ribbons or colourful flowers named « kimjonglias » after the leader Kim Jong Il. All along the show, a live band plays a ceremonious music.
On the background, some 20,000 young koreans sit on the terraces, facing the spectators. They flip coloured cards at a high speed to form a fresco of animated and detailed images, changing from one to another. Each time they turn the page to create a new giant picture, they cry out. It creates a awe-inspiring atmosphere, as the shout is mixed with the noise of thousands of pages turned at the same moment. The figures are stunning : to compose these images, 2000 children are needed to make only one soldier, 20,000 for a north korean flag. Hiding a much more grim reality, the panels represent Pyongyang enlightened by night, wheat fields ready for harvest, scientists at work, atoms as symbols of the nuclear bomb and others for the reunification of two Koreas. One of the North Korea’s myths (history according to them) is recounted by the means of a huge image made by thousands of children. It represents the two pistols reportedly used by Kim Il Sung, when he founded the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army in 1932. When the pistols appear, the audience applauses loudly. Among them, many soldiers attend the show as the ultimate award after years of good and faithful service.The thousands and thousands of boys and girls involved create a giant mass movement in the stadium which leaves the public stunned. These talented performers are used to that kind of performance: in North Korea they have to dance, sing, jump and spin around as many times as there are celebrations, always in praise of their leaders.
The show continues in the same way for one hour. Thereafter, the thousands of people present vanish in the dark and silent streets of Pyongyang, which contrast with the flood of lights and music in the stadium. Within the space of a few hours, it gives us a a strange feeling, between the real and unreal, of another universe both terrifying and fantastic.
Dans toute la ville, les publicités d’Arirang (« Grande représentation gymnastique et artistique de masse », « Bienvenue à Pyongyang » etc.) mettent le profane en garde …Entre août et octobre, a lieu l’une des plus grandes et impressionnantes représentations au monde. Le ton est donné : pas même la cérémonie des Jeux de Pékin ne peut rivaliser avec les mass games organisés par la République Démocratique Populaire de Corée (RDPC). Le spectacle se tient plusieurs fois par semaine et accueille des touristes du monde entier, y compris des Etats-Unis, dans l’un des pays les plus isolés et méprisés sur terre. Les biens nommés mass games (« mouvements de masse») sont conçus pour mettre en avant les dynamiques de groupe plutôt que les performances individuelles comme emblème suprême du communisme. Préparés par des centaines de milliers d’artistes tout au long de l’année, après les cours pour les plus jeunes d’entre eux, les jeux sont entièrement dédiés au leader de la Corée du Nord, Kim Jong Il, et feu son père Kim Il Sung, considéré comme l’ « Eternel président » et « soleil du 21ème siècle »…
Aux environs du Stade géant May Day de Pyongyang, deux filles courent pour participer au spectacle de Arirang. Elles sont déjà en costume de gymnastique, tout comme quelque 100 000 autres qui participent à la représentation. Tous viennent pour honorer leur autoproclamé « cher leader » Kim Jong Il, après un très difficile et éprouvant entraînement, depuis leur plus jeune âge. Pourtant, cela fait plusieurs années que Kim Jong Il ne s’est pas montré, formellement pour des raisons professionnelles. Mais des officiels admettent les assertions des médias occidentaux sur sa maladie. Quoi qu’il en soit, Kim Jong Il ou pas, les jeux de masse ont lieu chaque année à Pyongyang, comme moyen pour le régime de montrer au monde entier la puissance et bonne santé du pays. Pour atteindre ce seul but, pas moins de 100 000 personnes sont engagées dans une chorégraphie de danses et gymnastiques synchronisées. De nombreux symboles sont affichés par des milliers d’athlètes entraînés, qu’il s’agisse d’adultes ou même d’enfants. Main sur le cœur, les jeunes élèves chantent en chœur « Nous sommes les enfants les plus heureux du monde », l’une des chansons de propagande les plus connues en Corée du Nord. De nombreux danseurs font des mouvements avec des rubans ou avec des fleurs colorées appelées « kimjonglias », du nom du leader Kim Jong Il. Tout le long du spectacle, un orchestre joue une musique solennelle.
À l’arrière-plan, quelque 20 000 jeunes coréens sont assis sur les gradins, faisant face aux spectateurs. Ils retournent des cartes colorées à une grande vitesse pour former une fresque d’images animées et détaillées, changeant de l’une à l’autre. Chaque fois qu’ils tournent la page pour créer une nouvelle illustration, ils crient. Cela crée une atmosphère impressionnante, le cri étant mêlé avec le bruit de milliers de pages tournées au même moment. Les chiffres sont stupéfiants : pour composer ces images, 2000 enfants sont nécessaires pour faire un seul soldat, 20 000 pour un drapeau de la Corée du Nord. Cachant une réalité bien plus dure, les panneaux représentent Pyongyang éclairée la nuit, des champs de blé prêt à être récolté, des scientifiques au travail, des atomes comme symboles de la bombe nucléaire et d’autres pour la réunification des deux Corées. L’un des mythes de Corée du Nord (ou histoire selon eux) est relaté au moyen d’une image gigantesque faite par des milliers d’enfants. Elle représente les deux pistolets que Kim Il Sung aurait utilisés quand il a fondé l’armée de guérilla populaire anti-japonaise en 1932. Lorsque les deux pistolets apparaissent, le public applaudit bruyamment. Parmi eux, de nombreux soldats assistent au spectacle comme récompense ultime après des années de bons et loyaux services. Les milliers et milliers de garçons et de filles participant créent un mouvement de masse géant dans le stade, qui laisse le public ébahi. Ces artistes talentueux sont coutumiers de ce type de représentation : en Corée du Nord ils doivent danser, chanter, sauter et virevolter autant de fois qu’il y a de célébrations, toujours à la gloire de leurs chefs.
Le spectacle continue de cette façon pendant une heure. Ensuite, les milliers de personnes présentes disparaissent dans les rues sombres et silencieuses de Pyongyang, ce qui contraste avec le déluge de lumières et de musique dans le stade. En l’espace de quelques heures, cela nous donne un étrange sentiment, entre le réel et l’irréel, d’un autre univers à la fois terrifiant et fantastique.
© Eric Lafforgue
Competing hobbies have really gotten me behind in my photography but I finally made a little progress getting through the backlog; here's one of the shots that I quite liked, with the blinding lights of Jafar's snake eyes lighting up Mickey.
Wigan Coachways Volvo B10M / Alexander PS N216TDU passes Pennington Park, Leigh whilst operating service 600 back to its home town. The 600 is operated by Stagecoach Wigan with this operator only having a couple of trips a day, no doubt to keep a driver busy in between schools. The bus was new to Stagecoach Midland Red.
With the series, I successfully competed this year at the Darmstadt University
for the Department of Communication Design & Photography.
Its about two portraits of the same person who wear two different personalities in themselves daily.
It was important for me not to denounce them, but wanted to show them in an open,
straightforward style to see the curiosity for the diversity of life.
www.facebook.com/pages/Zinografie/118015878328722
Zino_peterek@web.de
All over the capital, the Arirang adverts (« Grand mass gymnastic and artistic performance », « Welcome to Pyongyang » and so on) warn the profane…Between August and October, takes place one of the biggest and most impressive performances in the world. The tone is set : even the Beijing Olympics ceremony can’t compete with the mass games organized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The show is held several times a week and welcomes tourists from all over the World, including the US, in one of the most isolated and despised country on earth. The well-called « mass games » are designed to emphasize group dynamics rather than individual performances as the supreme emblem of communism. Prepared by hundred of thousands performers all along the year, after their classes for the youngest of them, they are entirely dedicated to the NK’s leader Kim Jong Il and his deceased father Kim Il Sung, considered as the « Eternal president » and « sun of the 21st century »…
In the surroundings of Pyongyang's May Day giant Stadium, two girls are running to perform for the Arirang show. They are already dressed in their gymnastic outfits, as well as some 100,000 others who participate to the performance. They all come to honour their self-proclaimed « dear leader » Kim Jong Il, after a very hard and gruelling training, since their earliest age. Yet, it has been many years that Kim Jong Il has not shown up, formally for business reasons. But officials now admit the western medias’ assertions of illness. Anyways, Kim Jong Il or not, the mass games are held every year in Pyongyang, as a means for the regime to show to the entire world the country’s strength and good shape. To reach this sole purpose, not less than 100,000 people are involved in a choreographed show of simultaneous dancing and gymnastics. Many symbols are displayed by thousands of trained athlets, whether they are adults or even children. Hand over their heart, the young pupils sing in chorus "We are the happiest children in the world", one of the famous propaganda songs in North Korea. Many dancers make movements either with ribbons or colourful flowers named « kimjonglias » after the leader Kim Jong Il. All along the show, a live band plays a ceremonious music.
On the background, some 20,000 young koreans sit on the terraces, facing the spectators. They flip coloured cards at a high speed to form a fresco of animated and detailed images, changing from one to another. Each time they turn the page to create a new giant picture, they cry out. It creates a awe-inspiring atmosphere, as the shout is mixed with the noise of thousands of pages turned at the same moment. The figures are stunning : to compose these images, 2000 children are needed to make only one soldier, 20,000 for a north korean flag. Hiding a much more grim reality, the panels represent Pyongyang enlightened by night, wheat fields ready for harvest, scientists at work, atoms as symbols of the nuclear bomb and others for the reunification of two Koreas. One of the North Korea’s myths (history according to them) is recounted by the means of a huge image made by thousands of children. It represents the two pistols reportedly used by Kim Il Sung, when he founded the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army in 1932. When the pistols appear, the audience applauses loudly. Among them, many soldiers attend the show as the ultimate award after years of good and faithful service.The thousands and thousands of boys and girls involved create a giant mass movement in the stadium which leaves the public stunned. These talented performers are used to that kind of performance: in North Korea they have to dance, sing, jump and spin around as many times as there are celebrations, always in praise of their leaders. There are mainly two sorts of shows. The first one is the classical artistic show, named "Arirang" after the famous korean folk song (whose story sometimes changes, but most often recounts the legend of a disappointed woman who hopes that her lover will return to her –metaphor of the break-up with South Korea). The second one is a more political show, which was untitled in 2008 "Prosper our country" and intended to show the country’s greatest achievements and its struggle against the foreign oppressors.
The show continues in the same way for one hour. Thereafter, the thousands of people present vanish in the dark and silent streets of Pyongyang, which contrast with the flood of lights and music in the stadium. Within the space of a few hours, it gives us a a strange feeling, between the real and unreal, of another universe both terrifying and fantastic.
Dans toute la ville, les publicités d’Arirang (« Grande représentation gymnastique et artistique de masse », « Bienvenue à Pyongyang » etc.) mettent le profane en garde …Entre août et octobre, a lieu l’une des plus grandes et impressionnantes représentations au monde. Le ton est donné : pas même la cérémonie des Jeux de Pékin ne peut rivaliser avec les mass games organisés par la République Démocratique Populaire de Corée (RDPC). Le spectacle se tient plusieurs fois par semaine et accueille des touristes du monde entier, y compris des Etats-Unis, dans l’un des pays les plus isolés et méprisés sur terre. Les biens nommés mass games (« mouvements de masse») sont conçus pour mettre en avant les dynamiques de groupe plutôt que les performances individuelles comme emblème suprême du communisme. Préparés par des centaines de milliers d’artistes tout au long de l’année, après les cours pour les plus jeunes d’entre eux, les jeux sont entièrement dédiés au leader de la Corée du Nord, Kim Jong Il, et feu son père Kim Il Sung, considéré comme l’ « Eternel président » et « soleil du 21ème siècle »…
Aux environs du Stade géant May Day de Pyongyang, deux filles courent pour participer au spectacle de Arirang. Elles sont déjà en costume de gymnastique, tout comme quelque 100 000 autres qui participent à la représentation. Tous viennent pour honorer leur autoproclamé « cher leader » Kim Jong Il, après un très difficile et éprouvant entraînement, depuis leur plus jeune âge. Pourtant, cela fait plusieurs années que Kim Jong Il ne s’est pas montré, formellement pour des raisons professionnelles. Mais des officiels admettent les assertions des médias occidentaux sur sa maladie. Quoi qu’il en soit, Kim Jong Il ou pas, les jeux de masse ont lieu chaque année à Pyongyang, comme moyen pour le régime de montrer au monde entier la puissance et bonne santé du pays. Pour atteindre ce seul but, pas moins de 100 000 personnes sont engagées dans une chorégraphie de danses et gymnastiques synchronisées. De nombreux symboles sont affichés par des milliers d’athlètes entraînés, qu’il s’agisse d’adultes ou même d’enfants. Main sur le cœur, les jeunes élèves chantent en chœur « Nous sommes les enfants les plus heureux du monde », l’une des chansons de propagande les plus connues en Corée du Nord. De nombreux danseurs font des mouvements avec des rubans ou avec des fleurs colorées appelées « kimjonglias », du nom du leader Kim Jong Il. Tout le long du spectacle, un orchestre joue une musique solennelle.
À l’arrière-plan, quelque 20 000 jeunes coréens sont assis sur les gradins, faisant face aux spectateurs. Ils retournent des cartes colorées à une grande vitesse pour former une fresque d’images animées et détaillées, changeant de l’une à l’autre. Chaque fois qu’ils tournent la page pour créer une nouvelle illustration, ils crient. Cela crée une atmosphère impressionnante, le cri étant mêlé avec le bruit de milliers de pages tournées au même moment. Les chiffres sont stupéfiants : pour composer ces images, 2000 enfants sont nécessaires pour faire un seul soldat, 20 000 pour un drapeau de la Corée du Nord. Cachant une réalité bien plus dure, les panneaux représentent Pyongyang éclairée la nuit, des champs de blé prêt à être récolté, des scientifiques au travail, des atomes comme symboles de la bombe nucléaire et d’autres pour la réunification des deux Corées. L’un des mythes de Corée du Nord (ou histoire selon eux) est relaté au moyen d’une image gigantesque faite par des milliers d’enfants. Elle représente les deux pistolets que Kim Il Sung aurait utilisés quand il a fondé l’armée de guérilla populaire anti-japonaise en 1932. Lorsque les deux pistolets apparaissent, le public applaudit bruyamment. Parmi eux, de nombreux soldats assistent au spectacle comme récompense ultime après des années de bons et loyaux services. Les milliers et milliers de garçons et de filles participant créent un mouvement de masse géant dans le stade, qui laisse le public ébahi. Ces artistes talentueux sont coutumiers de ce type de représentation : en Corée du Nord ils doivent danser, chanter, sauter et virevolter autant de fois qu’il y a de célébrations, toujours à la gloire de leurs chefs. Il existe principalement deux sortes de spectacles. Le premier est le spectacle classique artistique, appelé « Arirang » d’après la célèbre chanson folklorique coréenne (dont l’histoire quelques fois change, mais qui raconte le plus souvent la légende d’une femme déçue qui espère que son amant lui reviendra –métaphore de la séparation avec la Corée du Sud). Le second est un spectacle plus politique, qui était intitulé en 2008 « Que prospère notre pays » et qui tentait de montrer les plus grandes réalisations du pays et sa lutte contre les oppresseurs étrangers.
Le spectacle continue de cette façon pendant une heure. Ensuite, les milliers de personnes présentes disparaissent dans les rues sombres et silencieuses de Pyongyang, ce qui contraste avec le déluge de lumières et de musique dans le stade. En l’espace de quelques heures, cela nous donne un étrange sentiment, entre le réel et l’irréel, d’un autre univers à la fois terrifiant et fantastique.
© Eric Lafforgue
The biggest Fiat in the early 70s. It didn't sell that well, it couldn't compete with other big 6 cylinder German cars.
3235cc 6 cylinder engine,
1576 kg.
Production years 130 Berlina: March 1969-1976. The up-graded 130B was presented in 1971.
Only15.093 items were produced.
Imported from Italy.
I found this car, together with other Fiats and related brands, in the showroom of the former Smit Fiat garage. An employee of the belonging petrol station told me the owner kept this collection pure as a private hobby. He didn't want to receive any visitors in his former garage. So I was forced to catch his unique collection of 1960s and 1970s Fiats through the shop window.
W.W. Smit was a Fiat-dealer from the late 50s till 1977.
Now for sale at Fiat specialist Marin Willems for € 19.500: www.martinwillems.nl/auto-voorraad (July 2020).
Today, Sept. 4, 2020, I saw that this former garage was completely empty. I found out that the old Mr. Smit has passed away eight months ago, so early 2020. His heirs have decided to sell this unique collection. That is the irrevocable end of the so beloved Fiat collection of the old Mr. W W Smit.
Amstelveen, Sportlaan, March 6, 2015.
© 2015 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong of T1 competes at the League of Legends - Mid-Season Invitational Bracket Stage on May 13 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
By Sithu Pictures Corner
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Pictured is an HMS Racing-entered Alfa Romeo Giulietta that competed in the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
After four years running Speedworks Motorsport-prepared Toyotas HMS Racing (formerly Handy Motorsport) decided to go their own way in 2018 with an all new car to the BTCC.
Although not a factory effort the project gained the blessing of Alfa Romeo and the Giulietta was chosen as the preferred model, built to NGTC (Next Generation Touring Car) sepecification.
It also saw the Alfa Romeo name return to the BTCC for the first time since a trio of privateer 156s competed back in 2007.
Undoubtedly the most attractive car on the 2018 grid the white and green machine was driven by BTCC stalwart and race winner Rob Austin, staying with the team for a third successive season.
The car got off to a strong start during the opening weekend of the season. Although retiring from the opening race the car scored points for the first time by finishing sixth in the second race of the day.
The third race of the day (Round 3) saw the car claim it's maiden podium with Austin bringing the Giulietta home in third, the first podium finish for an Alfa Romeo since former BTCC Champion Tim Harvey brought a privateer 147 home third at Oulton Park in 2001.
That stand out result probably raised expectations prematurely. Although generally reliable the car could usually be found fighting in the middle of the pack collecting the minor points on offer.
Austin would finish seventh at Oulton Park, sixth at Snetterton and fifth at Silverstone later in the season but it was very much a learning year for the team.
There was some reward for the team at the end of the year with Austin taking another podium finish for third position in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch that would see the popular Englishman finish fourteenth overall in the standings.
Sadly, the team took the decision to sit out the 2019 season with a view to developing the car for a return to the championship in 2020.
The team did run during the official BTCC tests in 2019 with Austin at the wheel but the expected return to action in 2020 never materialized.
Pictured in January 2019 at the Autosport International show at the NEC in Birmingham.
This car competed in the HGPCA Pre '52 GP Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996. It's the 1937 Maserati 6CM of Peter Hannan ad is chassis 1547. Grand Prix racing in the 1930s was dominated by the German teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, and to a lesser extent the Italian Alfa Romeo team. Smaller manufacturers like Maserati built their cars for the Voiturette (or 'small car') class which was for cars with a maximum capacity of 1½ litres. The 4-cylinder Maserati 4CM introduced in 1932 had considerable success, but when these cars started to be outclassed by the British ERA cars Maserati produced the 6CM with a 6-cylinder 1½ litre supercharged engine which then became the car to beat.
Athletes compete in swimming during the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, June 20, 2016. DoD photo by Roger Wollenberg
Origins
1938 Talbot-Lago T-150 CSS. Body by Carrosserie Marcel Pourtout, designer Georges Paulin
1937 Talbot Lago T150 SS. Teardrop Coupe bodywork by Figoni & Falaschi
Launched at the 1937 Paris Motor Show, the 13 CV Talbot Minor broadened the range, taking Talbot into four-cylinder territory where the 2323 cc Minor competed with equivalent models from Hotchkiss and Salmson.
The Anglo-French STD (Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq) combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by Venetian-born engineer Antonio Lago (1893–1960) and after that, the "Talbot-Lago" name was used internationally. On the home market the cars still bore the Talbot badge that they had carried since 1922, which was when, in France, the "Talbot-Darracq" name had given way to "Talbot".
At the same time, the British interests of Talbot were taken over by the Rootes Group and the parallel use of the Talbot brand in France and Britain ended. Talbot-Lago cars sold in Britain were now to be badged as Darracqs.
Reorganisation under Tony Lago
For 1935, the existing range continued in production but from 1936 these were steadily replaced with cars designed by Walter Becchia, featuring transverse leaf sprung independent suspension. These included the 4-cylinder 2323 cc (13CV) Talbot Type T4 "Minor", a surprise introduction at the 1937 Paris Motor Show, and the 6-cylinder 2,696 cc (15CV) Talbot "Cadette-15", along with and the 6-cylinder 2,996 cc or 3,996 cc (17 or 23CV) Talbot "Major" and its long-wheelbase version, the Talbot "Master": these were classified as Touring cars (voitures de tourisme).[1]
There was also in the second half of the 1930s a range of Sporting cars (voitures de sport) which started with the Talbot "Baby-15", mechanically the same as the "Cadette-15" but using a shorter slightly lighter chassis. The Sporting Cars range centred on the 6-cylinder 2,996 cc or 3,996 cc (17 or 23CV) Talbot "Baby" and also included the 3,996 cc (23CV) 23 and sporting Lago-Spéciale and Lago-SS models, respectively with two and three carburettors, and corresponding increases in power and performance.[1] The most frequently specified body for the Lago-SS was built by Figoni et Falaschi and featured a particularly eye-catching aerodynamic form.[2]
Lago was an excellent engineer who developed the existing six-cylinder engine into a high-performance 4-litre one. The sporting six-cylinder models had a great racing history. The bodies—such as of T150 coupé—were made by excellent coachbuilders such as Figoni et Falaschi or Saoutchik.
Talbot-Lago models 1935–1940
Although the proliferation of cars types and model names that followed Lago's acquisition of the business is at first glance bewildering, it actually involved only four standard chassis lengths as follows:
Short Châssis (2,950 mm (116.1 in) wheelbase):
Minor T4 (4 cylinders, 2323 cc)
Junior 11
Baby-15 (6 cylinders, 2696 cc)
Baby 3 litres (6 cylinders, 2996 cc)
T150 3 litres (6 cylinders, 2996 cc)
Baby 4 litres (6 cylinders, 3996 cc)
Lago Spécial (6 cylinders, 3996 cc with twin or triple carbs)
Extra short Châssis (2,650 mm (104.3 in) wheelbase):
Lago SS (6 cylinders, 3996 cc with triple carbs)
Normal Châssis (3,200 mm (126.0 in) wheelbase):
Cadette-15 (6 cylinders, 2696 cc)
Major 3 litres (6 cylinders, 2996 cc)
Major 4 litres (6 cylinders, 3996 cc)
Long (7-seater) Châssis (3,450 mm (135.8 in) wheelbase):
Master 3 litres (6 cylinders, 2996 cc)
Master 4 litres (6 cylinders, 3996 cc)
During the early years of the war the Walter Becchia left Talbot to work for Citroen, but Lago was joined in 1942 by another exceptional engineer, Carlo Machetti, and from then the two of them were working on the twin camshaft 4483 cc six-cylinder unit that would lie at the heart of the 1946 Talbot T26.
After World War II
After the war, the company continued to be known both for successful high-performance racing cars and for large luxurious passenger cars, with extensive sharing of chassis and engine components between the two. Nevertheless, the period was one of economic stagnation and financial stringency. The company had difficulty finding customers, and its finances were stretched.[3]
In 1946, the company began production of a new engine design, based on earlier units but with a new cylinder head featuring a twin overhead camshaft. This engine, designed under the leadership of Carlo Marchetti,[4] was in many respects a new engine. A 4483 cc six-cylinder in-line engine was developed for the Talbot Lago Record (1946–1952) and for the Talbot Grand Sport 26CV (1947–1954). These cars were priced against large luxurious cars from the likes of Delahaye, Delage, Hotchkiss and Salmson. Talbot would remain in the auto-making business for longer than any of these others, and the Talbot name had the further dubious distinction of a resurrection in the early 1980s.[4]
Talbot Lago Record T26
Talbot-Lago T26 "Record" ca. 1948
Main article: Talbot Lago Record
The Talbot Lago Record T26 was a large car with a fiscal horsepower of 26 CV and a claimed actual power output of 170 hp, delivered to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gear box, with the option at extra cost of a Wilson pre-selector gear box, and supporting a claimed top speed of 170 km/h (105 mph). The car was commonly sold as a stylish four-door sedan, but a two-door cabriolet was also offered. There were also coachbuilt specials with bodywork by traditionalist firms such as Graber.[4]
Talbot Lago Grand Sport T26
1950 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport, coachwork by Jacques Saoutchik, Paris
The T26 Grand Sport (GS) was first displayed in public in October 1947 as a shortened chassis,[5] and only 12 were made during 1948 which was the models's first full year of production.[6] The car was noted for its speed. The engine which produced 170 hp in the Lago Record was adapted to provide 190 bhp (140 kW) or, later, 195 bhp (145 kW) in the GS, and a top speed of around 200 km/h (124 mph) was claimed, depending on the body that was fitted.[4] The car was built for either racing or luxury and benefited directly from Talbot's successful T26C Grand Prix car. As such it was expensive, rare and helped Louis Rosier with his son to win the LeMans 24 Hour race in 1950. The GS replaced the Lago-Record chassis which was named for its remarkable top speed. The GS was one of the world's most powerful production cars at the time. It had several special features from the T26 Grand Prix cars, such as a 4.5-litre inline-6 aluminum cylinder head, a hollowed camshaft, multiport exhaust system and triple carburetors.[7] Chassis details were similar to the Grand Prix cars, but it was longer and wider. It came it two wheelbase lengths -104 and 110 inches (2,800 mm).
Almost all the Talbots sold during the late 1940s came with Talbot bodies, constructed in the manufacturer's extensive workshops. The T26 Grand Sport (GS) was the exception, however, and cars were delivered only as bare chassis, requiring customers to choose bespoke bodywork from a specialist coachbuilder.[6] The GS was a star turn in a dull world and coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, Franay, Oblin, and Figoni et Falaschi competed to trump Talbot's own designers with elaborately elegant bodies.[4]
Talbot Lago Baby
Main article: Talbot Baby
The Talbot Lago Baby (1948–1951) marked the return of a pre-war Talbot model name and was the third model presented by the company during the 1940s. The car was commonly sold as a four-door sedan, but a two-door cabriolet was also offered. Its engine comprised only four cylinders, but the twin overhead camshaft with cylinder valves on both sides of the engine block was again featured:[4] at 2690 cc the engine capacity equated to a fiscal horsepower of 15 CV[3] which was enough to attract the punitive levels of car tax applied by the French government to large cars. The power output was initially 110 bhp (82 kW), which in 1949 was increased to 120 bhp (89 kW).[4] Although the postwar Baby sedan closely resembled the more powerful Record on a brief glance, the Baby's 2,950 mm wheelbase was slightly shorter than the 3130 mm wheelbase of the Record, and the overall length was correspondingly 200 mm shorter, reflecting the shortened 4-cylinder engine block.[4] Additionally the cheaper car sat on a simplified suspension set-up. Baby customers could specify as an option a Wilson pre-selector gear box.[4]
Talbot Lago manufactured three special made seven-seater presidential cars one for the President of France, one for the President of Tunisia and one for the Royal family in Saudi.
Talbot-Lago T26C
1948 Talbot-Lago T26C
The T26C was a single-seater racing car with a box section chassis, an unsupercharged 4.5 litre straight six engine and a four speed Wilson preselector gearbox.[8] Chassis and gearbox were derived from the company's 1930s racing cars and were similar to those used on their post-war road cars.[8]
The T26C made its racing debut in the 1948 Monaco Grand Prix, finishing second in the hands of Louis Chiron.[8] Grand Prix victories were achieved the following year with Louis Rosier winning the 1949 Belgian Grand Prix [9] and Louis Chiron winning the 1949 French Grand Prix.[10] A modified two-seat version won the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans driven by Louis Rosier and Jean-Louis Rosier.[8]
New bodies for 1952
In 1951, as rumours of the company’s financial difficulties intensified, a new Ponton format body appeared for the Talbot Baby and Record.[4] The wheelbases were carried over from the earlier models. Although in many ways strikingly modern, the new car featured a two piece front windscreen in place of the single flat screen of its predecessor, presumably reflecting the difficulties at the time of combining the strength of a windscreen with curved glass at an acceptable price and quality. The new car’s large rear window was itself replaced by a larger three-piece “panoramic” wrap around back window as part of the car’s first face-lift, which took place in time for the 1952 Paris Motor Show.[3] The engine specification of the four-cylinder unit was unchanged as was the claimed performance even though the new body was some 100 kg heavier than the old. A new development with the Ponton-bodied cars body was the availability of the larger six-cylinder unit from the Talbot Record in the top of the line Talbot Baby, which in this form was called the Talbot Baby/6 Luxe, and had the slightly longer wheel-base and overall length enforced by the greater length of the six-cylinder engine.[4]
T14 LS engine / Talbot Lago Sport
Main article: Talbot Lago Sport
1956 Talbot-Lago T14 LS
At the 1954 Salon de L'Automobile de Paris, Talbot-Lago presented their last new engine: the new four-cylinder still had the typical twin laterally mounted camshafts, although it was upgraded to five main bearings. The new 120 PS (88 kW) 2,491 cc engine was called the T14 LS, but it did not have a car to go in until May 1955 when the Talbot-Lago 2500 Coupé T14 LS was finally presented.[11] The first car had all-aluminium bodywork, but later cars used more steel. 54 of these coupés were built, but they proved hard to sell - the stylish bodywork couldn't quite hide the thirties' underpinnings, and the rough engine offered little elasticity nor longevity.[12]
Lacking the resources to engineer the necessary improvements, for 1957 Talbot-Lago had to resort to buying in an engine. They chose the V8 2580 cc made available by BMW, albeit with the bore diameter slightly reduced, to 72.5 mm, which gave rise to a 2476 cc engine displacement, positioning the car (just) within the 14CV car tax band.[13] Reflecting the company's export plans, Talbot now rebranded the car as the "Talbot Lago America" and (finally) came into line with other French automakers by placing the driver on the left side of the car.[13] Unfortunately market response remained lukewarm, however, and only about a dozen of the BMW powered Talbot Lago Americas were produced.[13] It was now, in the early summer of 1958, that Tony Lago decided to accept an offer from Simca president, Henri Pigozzi, for the sale of the Talbot brand to Simca.[13] The sale of the business went ahead in 1959.[14]
With the sale of the business to Simca, the new owners found themselves with a handful of the final Talbot Lago Americas which were awaiting engines.[15] There was now no question of Simca being permitted, or wishing, to produce cars with BMW engines, and the only solution available was to fit the last batch of cars with Simca's own 2351 cc V8.[4] This engine had its roots in 1930s Detroit, and was originally provided by Ford to give the (then) Ford Vedette produced by their French subsidiary a flavor of the driving experience offered by an unstressed US style V8 sedan.[15] It was by no stretch of the imagination an engine for a sports car, and even with a second carburetor produced only 95 bhp (71 kW), as against the 138 bhp (103 kW) of the BMW-engined cars from the previous year's production.[15] Claimed top speed was now 165 km/h (103 mph) in place of the 200 km/h (124 mph) listed the previous year.[15] At the 1959 Paris Motor Show a stand had been booked for what was by now the Simca-Talbot brand, but a late decision was taken not to exhibit a Lago America and the stand was instead given up to a hastily constructed "motorshow special" prototype of which, after the motor show, nothing more would be heard.[15]
Commercial and financial
Sales data by model were kept confidential, possibly in connection with the company’s financial difficulties, but the overall totals for the early 1950s tell a dire story. The Suresnes plant produced 155 cars in 1947, an output which increased by 23 in 1948.[6] 433 cars were produced in 1950, but this then fell to 80 in 1951 and to 34 in 1952. In 1953 it is thought that the company turned out just 13 of the 26CV Record model and 4 of the 15 CV Babys.[3] During the rest of the decade volumes did not recover significantly; no more than 54 of the T14 LS were built in 1955 and 1956.[12]
As the company’s commercial trajectory implies, the years following the end of the war were marked by the slow financial collapse of Anthony Lago’s Talbot company. Other luxury automakers whose glory years had been the 1930s fared no better in the 1940s and 1950s than Talbot, with Delage, Delahaye, Hotchkiss and Bugatti disappearing from the car business while Panhard, nimbly if slightly improbably, reinvented itself as a manufacturer of small fuel efficient cars. Customers with enough money to spend on a luxury car were hard to find, and even among those with sufficient funds, in a country where well into the 1950s the Communists, buoyed by the heroic role played by some of their leaders during the years of Resistance, regularly polled 25% of the vote in national elections, there was little of the “live for today: pay later” spirit that had supported extravagant spending patterns in the 1930s. Government policy supported the austerity by creating a post-war tax regime that savagely penalised owners of cars with engines above two litres in size, and an Economic Plan, the Pons Plan,[6] which bestowed government favour (and allocations of materials still in short supply such as steel) on just five automakers, these being the businesses that became France’s big five automakers in the 1950s and early 60s. For France’s other luxury automakers, meanwhile, including Talbot, the tide had simply gone out.[3]
The money ran out, and Anthony Lago was obliged to seek court protection from his creditors, under a procedure known at that time as a ”Dépôt de bilan”. On 6 March 1951 the court agreed a debt moratorium which permitted a limited restart to production at the company’s Suresnes plant, but the affair provided unwelcome publicity for Talbot’s cash flow problems, and the company now experienced increased difficulty in obtaining credit. Production was also limited by the extent to which it had been necessary to cut the workforce, and by the reputational damage caused by reports of the whole process.[3]
The business staggered on till 1959, but never had the financial strength to support the development and production of its last model, the Talbot-Lago 2500 Coupé T14 LS, launched after a lengthy gestation in May 1955. In 1958 Lago decided to throw in the sponge and put the business up for sale. An offer was received from Henri Pigozzi under the terms of which the remains of the Talbot business would become part of Simca. In order to avoid bankruptcy, Lago agreed to sell the business on the terms proposed by the Simca president-director, a fellow Italian expatriate. Talbot-Lago was transferred to Simca in 1959.[14] Despite the sorry state of the Talbot business during the preceding ten years, commentators suggest that Pigozzi got a good bargain, receiving at Suresnes an industrial site and buildings worth many times the amount paid, along with a brand name that still resonated strongly with anyone old enough to remember the glory days of Talbot.[14]
Tony Lago died in 1960.[14]
Today
Talbot-Lagos have become a top-prized car at various auctions. A Figoni et Falaschi-bodied T150C SS Teardrop Coupe, owned by Brooks Stevens, would sell for US$3,535,000 at Christie's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auction on Aug 18, 2005,[16] another for US$3,905,000 at the Palm Beach International Concours d'Elegance Gooding & Company auction on January 22, 2006 where it was unanimously voted "Best in Show",[17][18][19] and another for US$4,620,000 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance RM Auctions Sports & Classics of Monterey auction on August 14, 2010.[20][21][22] A T150 C SS with a Pourtout Aerocoupé body, designed by Georges Paulin, sold for US$4,847,000 at the 2008 Bonhams & Butterfields Sale of Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia at Quail Lodge.[23]
An unrestored 1948 T26 Grand Sport, with coachwork by Oblin and chassis #110106, is a part of the permanent collection of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, USA.[7]
A 1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupé by Saoutchik from the Baillon Collection sold for €1.450.000 at the Artcurial auction in February 2015.[24]
Even Talbot-Lagos with factory bodies, rather than custom coachwork, are highly valued; a factory-bodied 1939 T150 C SS selling in 2013 for US$418,000 at the Gooding & Company Scottsdale auction.[25]
All over the capital, the Arirang adverts (« Grand mass gymnastic and artistic performance », « Welcome to Pyongyang » and so on) warn the profane…Between August and October, takes place one of the biggest and most impressive performances in the world. The tone is set : even the Beijing Olympics ceremony can’t compete with the mass games organized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The show is held several times a week and welcomes tourists from all over the World, including the US, in one of the most isolated and despised country on earth. The well-called « mass games » are designed to emphasize group dynamics rather than individual performances as the supreme emblem of communism. Prepared by hundred of thousands performers all along the year, after their classes for the youngest of them, they are entirely dedicated to the NK’s leader Kim Jong Il and his deceased father Kim Il Sung, considered as the « Eternal president » and « sun of the 21st century »…
In the surroundings of Pyongyang's May Day giant Stadium, two girls are running to perform for the Arirang show. They are already dressed in their gymnastic outfits, as well as some 100,000 others who participate to the performance. They all come to honour their self-proclaimed « dear leader » Kim Jong Il, after a very hard and gruelling training, since their earliest age. Yet, it has been many years that Kim Jong Il has not shown up, formally for business reasons. But officials now admit the western medias’ assertions of illness. Anyways, Kim Jong Il or not, the mass games are held every year in Pyongyang, as a means for the regime to show to the entire world the country’s strength and good shape. To reach this sole purpose, not less than 100,000 people are involved in a choreographed show of simultaneous dancing and gymnastics. Many symbols are displayed by thousands of trained athlets, whether they are adults or even children. Hand over their heart, the young pupils sing in chorus "We are the happiest children in the world", one of the famous propaganda songs in North Korea. Many dancers make movements either with ribbons or colourful flowers named « kimjonglias » after the leader Kim Jong Il. All along the show, a live band plays a ceremonious music.
On the background, some 20,000 young koreans sit on the terraces, facing the spectators. They flip coloured cards at a high speed to form a fresco of animated and detailed images, changing from one to another. Each time they turn the page to create a new giant picture, they cry out. It creates a awe-inspiring atmosphere, as the shout is mixed with the noise of thousands of pages turned at the same moment. The figures are stunning : to compose these images, 2000 children are needed to make only one soldier, 20,000 for a north korean flag. Hiding a much more grim reality, the panels represent Pyongyang enlightened by night, wheat fields ready for harvest, scientists at work, atoms as symbols of the nuclear bomb and others for the reunification of two Koreas. One of the North Korea’s myths (history according to them) is recounted by the means of a huge image made by thousands of children. It represents the two pistols reportedly used by Kim Il Sung, when he founded the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army in 1932. When the pistols appear, the audience applauses loudly. Among them, many soldiers attend the show as the ultimate award after years of good and faithful service.The thousands and thousands of boys and girls involved create a giant mass movement in the stadium which leaves the public stunned. These talented performers are used to that kind of performance: in North Korea they have to dance, sing, jump and spin around as many times as there are celebrations, always in praise of their leaders. There are mainly two sorts of shows. The first one is the classical artistic show, named "Arirang" after the famous korean folk song (whose story sometimes changes, but most often recounts the legend of a disappointed woman who hopes that her lover will return to her –metaphor of the break-up with South Korea). The second one is a more political show, which was untitled in 2008 "Prosper our country" and intended to show the country’s greatest achievements and its struggle against the foreign oppressors.
The show continues in the same way for one hour. Thereafter, the thousands of people present vanish in the dark and silent streets of Pyongyang, which contrast with the flood of lights and music in the stadium. Within the space of a few hours, it gives us a a strange feeling, between the real and unreal, of another universe both terrifying and fantastic.
Dans toute la ville, les publicités d’Arirang (« Grande représentation gymnastique et artistique de masse », « Bienvenue à Pyongyang » etc.) mettent le profane en garde …Entre août et octobre, a lieu l’une des plus grandes et impressionnantes représentations au monde. Le ton est donné : pas même la cérémonie des Jeux de Pékin ne peut rivaliser avec les mass games organisés par la République Démocratique Populaire de Corée (RDPC). Le spectacle se tient plusieurs fois par semaine et accueille des touristes du monde entier, y compris des Etats-Unis, dans l’un des pays les plus isolés et méprisés sur terre. Les biens nommés mass games (« mouvements de masse») sont conçus pour mettre en avant les dynamiques de groupe plutôt que les performances individuelles comme emblème suprême du communisme. Préparés par des centaines de milliers d’artistes tout au long de l’année, après les cours pour les plus jeunes d’entre eux, les jeux sont entièrement dédiés au leader de la Corée du Nord, Kim Jong Il, et feu son père Kim Il Sung, considéré comme l’ « Eternel président » et « soleil du 21ème siècle »…
Aux environs du Stade géant May Day de Pyongyang, deux filles courent pour participer au spectacle de Arirang. Elles sont déjà en costume de gymnastique, tout comme quelque 100 000 autres qui participent à la représentation. Tous viennent pour honorer leur autoproclamé « cher leader » Kim Jong Il, après un très difficile et éprouvant entraînement, depuis leur plus jeune âge. Pourtant, cela fait plusieurs années que Kim Jong Il ne s’est pas montré, formellement pour des raisons professionnelles. Mais des officiels admettent les assertions des médias occidentaux sur sa maladie. Quoi qu’il en soit, Kim Jong Il ou pas, les jeux de masse ont lieu chaque année à Pyongyang, comme moyen pour le régime de montrer au monde entier la puissance et bonne santé du pays. Pour atteindre ce seul but, pas moins de 100 000 personnes sont engagées dans une chorégraphie de danses et gymnastiques synchronisées. De nombreux symboles sont affichés par des milliers d’athlètes entraînés, qu’il s’agisse d’adultes ou même d’enfants. Main sur le cœur, les jeunes élèves chantent en chœur « Nous sommes les enfants les plus heureux du monde », l’une des chansons de propagande les plus connues en Corée du Nord. De nombreux danseurs font des mouvements avec des rubans ou avec des fleurs colorées appelées « kimjonglias », du nom du leader Kim Jong Il. Tout le long du spectacle, un orchestre joue une musique solennelle.
À l’arrière-plan, quelque 20 000 jeunes coréens sont assis sur les gradins, faisant face aux spectateurs. Ils retournent des cartes colorées à une grande vitesse pour former une fresque d’images animées et détaillées, changeant de l’une à l’autre. Chaque fois qu’ils tournent la page pour créer une nouvelle illustration, ils crient. Cela crée une atmosphère impressionnante, le cri étant mêlé avec le bruit de milliers de pages tournées au même moment. Les chiffres sont stupéfiants : pour composer ces images, 2000 enfants sont nécessaires pour faire un seul soldat, 20 000 pour un drapeau de la Corée du Nord. Cachant une réalité bien plus dure, les panneaux représentent Pyongyang éclairée la nuit, des champs de blé prêt à être récolté, des scientifiques au travail, des atomes comme symboles de la bombe nucléaire et d’autres pour la réunification des deux Corées. L’un des mythes de Corée du Nord (ou histoire selon eux) est relaté au moyen d’une image gigantesque faite par des milliers d’enfants. Elle représente les deux pistolets que Kim Il Sung aurait utilisés quand il a fondé l’armée de guérilla populaire anti-japonaise en 1932. Lorsque les deux pistolets apparaissent, le public applaudit bruyamment. Parmi eux, de nombreux soldats assistent au spectacle comme récompense ultime après des années de bons et loyaux services. Les milliers et milliers de garçons et de filles participant créent un mouvement de masse géant dans le stade, qui laisse le public ébahi. Ces artistes talentueux sont coutumiers de ce type de représentation : en Corée du Nord ils doivent danser, chanter, sauter et virevolter autant de fois qu’il y a de célébrations, toujours à la gloire de leurs chefs. Il existe principalement deux sortes de spectacles. Le premier est le spectacle classique artistique, appelé « Arirang » d’après la célèbre chanson folklorique coréenne (dont l’histoire quelques fois change, mais qui raconte le plus souvent la légende d’une femme déçue qui espère que son amant lui reviendra –métaphore de la séparation avec la Corée du Sud). Le second est un spectacle plus politique, qui était intitulé en 2008 « Que prospère notre pays » et qui tentait de montrer les plus grandes réalisations du pays et sa lutte contre les oppresseurs étrangers.
Le spectacle continue de cette façon pendant une heure. Ensuite, les milliers de personnes présentes disparaissent dans les rues sombres et silencieuses de Pyongyang, ce qui contraste avec le déluge de lumières et de musique dans le stade. En l’espace de quelques heures, cela nous donne un étrange sentiment, entre le réel et l’irréel, d’un autre univers à la fois terrifiant et fantastique.
© Eric Lafforgue
All over the capital, the Arirang adverts (« Grand mass gymnastic and artistic performance », « Welcome to Pyongyang » and so on) warn the profane…Between August and October, takes place one of the biggest and most impressive performances in the world. The tone is set : even the Beijing Olympics ceremony can’t compete with the mass games organized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The show is held several times a week and welcomes tourists from all over the World, including the US, in one of the most isolated and despised country on earth. The well-called « mass games » are designed to emphasize group dynamics rather than individual performances as the supreme emblem of communism. Prepared by hundred of thousands performers all along the year, after their classes for the youngest of them, they are entirely dedicated to the NK’s leader Kim Jong Il and his deceased father Kim Il Sung, considered as the « Eternal president » and « sun of the 21st century »…
In the surroundings of Pyongyang's May Day giant Stadium, two girls are running to perform for the Arirang show. They are already dressed in their gymnastic outfits, as well as some 100,000 others who participate to the performance. They all come to honour their self-proclaimed « dear leader » Kim Jong Il, after a very hard and gruelling training, since their earliest age. Yet, it has been many years that Kim Jong Il has not shown up, formally for business reasons. But officials now admit the western medias’ assertions of illness. Anyways, Kim Jong Il or not, the mass games are held every year in Pyongyang, as a means for the regime to show to the entire world the country’s strength and good shape. To reach this sole purpose, not less than 100,000 people are involved in a choreographed show of simultaneous dancing and gymnastics. Many symbols are displayed by thousands of trained athlets, whether they are adults or even children. Hand over their heart, the young pupils sing in chorus "We are the happiest children in the world", one of the famous propaganda songs in North Korea. Many dancers make movements either with ribbons or colourful flowers named « kimjonglias » after the leader Kim Jong Il. All along the show, a live band plays a ceremonious music.
On the background, some 20,000 young koreans sit on the terraces, facing the spectators. They flip coloured cards at a high speed to form a fresco of animated and detailed images, changing from one to another. Each time they turn the page to create a new giant picture, they cry out. It creates a awe-inspiring atmosphere, as the shout is mixed with the noise of thousands of pages turned at the same moment. The figures are stunning : to compose these images, 2000 children are needed to make only one soldier, 20,000 for a north korean flag. Hiding a much more grim reality, the panels represent Pyongyang enlightened by night, wheat fields ready for harvest, scientists at work, atoms as symbols of the nuclear bomb and others for the reunification of two Koreas. One of the North Korea’s myths (history according to them) is recounted by the means of a huge image made by thousands of children. It represents the two pistols reportedly used by Kim Il Sung, when he founded the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army in 1932. When the pistols appear, the audience applauses loudly. Among them, many soldiers attend the show as the ultimate award after years of good and faithful service.The thousands and thousands of boys and girls involved create a giant mass movement in the stadium which leaves the public stunned. These talented performers are used to that kind of performance: in North Korea they have to dance, sing, jump and spin around as many times as there are celebrations, always in praise of their leaders. There are mainly two sorts of shows. The first one is the classical artistic show, named "Arirang" after the famous korean folk song (whose story sometimes changes, but most often recounts the legend of a disappointed woman who hopes that her lover will return to her –metaphor of the break-up with South Korea). The second one is a more political show, which was untitled in 2008 "Prosper our country" and intended to show the country’s greatest achievements and its struggle against the foreign oppressors.
The show continues in the same way for one hour. Thereafter, the thousands of people present vanish in the dark and silent streets of Pyongyang, which contrast with the flood of lights and music in the stadium. Within the space of a few hours, it gives us a a strange feeling, between the real and unreal, of another universe both terrifying and fantastic.
Dans toute la ville, les publicités d’Arirang (« Grande représentation gymnastique et artistique de masse », « Bienvenue à Pyongyang » etc.) mettent le profane en garde …Entre août et octobre, a lieu l’une des plus grandes et impressionnantes représentations au monde. Le ton est donné : pas même la cérémonie des Jeux de Pékin ne peut rivaliser avec les mass games organisés par la République Démocratique Populaire de Corée (RDPC). Le spectacle se tient plusieurs fois par semaine et accueille des touristes du monde entier, y compris des Etats-Unis, dans l’un des pays les plus isolés et méprisés sur terre. Les biens nommés mass games (« mouvements de masse») sont conçus pour mettre en avant les dynamiques de groupe plutôt que les performances individuelles comme emblème suprême du communisme. Préparés par des centaines de milliers d’artistes tout au long de l’année, après les cours pour les plus jeunes d’entre eux, les jeux sont entièrement dédiés au leader de la Corée du Nord, Kim Jong Il, et feu son père Kim Il Sung, considéré comme l’ « Eternel président » et « soleil du 21ème siècle »…
Aux environs du Stade géant May Day de Pyongyang, deux filles courent pour participer au spectacle de Arirang. Elles sont déjà en costume de gymnastique, tout comme quelque 100 000 autres qui participent à la représentation. Tous viennent pour honorer leur autoproclamé « cher leader » Kim Jong Il, après un très difficile et éprouvant entraînement, depuis leur plus jeune âge. Pourtant, cela fait plusieurs années que Kim Jong Il ne s’est pas montré, formellement pour des raisons professionnelles. Mais des officiels admettent les assertions des médias occidentaux sur sa maladie. Quoi qu’il en soit, Kim Jong Il ou pas, les jeux de masse ont lieu chaque année à Pyongyang, comme moyen pour le régime de montrer au monde entier la puissance et bonne santé du pays. Pour atteindre ce seul but, pas moins de 100 000 personnes sont engagées dans une chorégraphie de danses et gymnastiques synchronisées. De nombreux symboles sont affichés par des milliers d’athlètes entraînés, qu’il s’agisse d’adultes ou même d’enfants. Main sur le cœur, les jeunes élèves chantent en chœur « Nous sommes les enfants les plus heureux du monde », l’une des chansons de propagande les plus connues en Corée du Nord. De nombreux danseurs font des mouvements avec des rubans ou avec des fleurs colorées appelées « kimjonglias », du nom du leader Kim Jong Il. Tout le long du spectacle, un orchestre joue une musique solennelle.
À l’arrière-plan, quelque 20 000 jeunes coréens sont assis sur les gradins, faisant face aux spectateurs. Ils retournent des cartes colorées à une grande vitesse pour former une fresque d’images animées et détaillées, changeant de l’une à l’autre. Chaque fois qu’ils tournent la page pour créer une nouvelle illustration, ils crient. Cela crée une atmosphère impressionnante, le cri étant mêlé avec le bruit de milliers de pages tournées au même moment. Les chiffres sont stupéfiants : pour composer ces images, 2000 enfants sont nécessaires pour faire un seul soldat, 20 000 pour un drapeau de la Corée du Nord. Cachant une réalité bien plus dure, les panneaux représentent Pyongyang éclairée la nuit, des champs de blé prêt à être récolté, des scientifiques au travail, des atomes comme symboles de la bombe nucléaire et d’autres pour la réunification des deux Corées. L’un des mythes de Corée du Nord (ou histoire selon eux) est relaté au moyen d’une image gigantesque faite par des milliers d’enfants. Elle représente les deux pistolets que Kim Il Sung aurait utilisés quand il a fondé l’armée de guérilla populaire anti-japonaise en 1932. Lorsque les deux pistolets apparaissent, le public applaudit bruyamment. Parmi eux, de nombreux soldats assistent au spectacle comme récompense ultime après des années de bons et loyaux services. Les milliers et milliers de garçons et de filles participant créent un mouvement de masse géant dans le stade, qui laisse le public ébahi. Ces artistes talentueux sont coutumiers de ce type de représentation : en Corée du Nord ils doivent danser, chanter, sauter et virevolter autant de fois qu’il y a de célébrations, toujours à la gloire de leurs chefs. Il existe principalement deux sortes de spectacles. Le premier est le spectacle classique artistique, appelé « Arirang » d’après la célèbre chanson folklorique coréenne (dont l’histoire quelques fois change, mais qui raconte le plus souvent la légende d’une femme déçue qui espère que son amant lui reviendra –métaphore de la séparation avec la Corée du Sud). Le second est un spectacle plus politique, qui était intitulé en 2008 « Que prospère notre pays » et qui tentait de montrer les plus grandes réalisations du pays et sa lutte contre les oppresseurs étrangers.
Le spectacle continue de cette façon pendant une heure. Ensuite, les milliers de personnes présentes disparaissent dans les rues sombres et silencieuses de Pyongyang, ce qui contraste avec le déluge de lumières et de musique dans le stade. En l’espace de quelques heures, cela nous donne un étrange sentiment, entre le réel et l’irréel, d’un autre univers à la fois terrifiant et fantastique.
© Eric Lafforgue