Art & Culture

Hamburg – September 08, 2026 -- The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra opens its 2026/27 season on September 4, marking ten years as the resident ensemble of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Since the venue opened, the orchestra has performed 654 concerts in its Great Hall, serving as the house's musical core and global ambassador.

Chief conductor calls the orchestra 'the luckiest in the world'

Chief conductor Alan Gilbert credits the hall's flexibility for shaping the ensemble's decade-long identity. "We at the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra might be the luckiest orchestra in the world having the Elbphilharmonie as our home," Gilbert said, adding that the space works equally well for full orchestral forces and solo instruments.

New York – September 08, 2026 -- Tickets are now on sale for "Jim Henson's Harmonious Hoopla," a musical revue playing just two nights, Thursday, September 24, 2026, and Friday, September 25, 2026, both at 7:00 PM. The show is part of the Museum of the Moving Image's celebration of Jim Henson's 90th birthday, with tickets available at movingimage.org and discounted pricing for MoMI members.

The production comes from The Jim Henson Company and Heather Henson, pulling songs from across the Henson universe, including Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas.

Houston – September 08, 2026 -- A Houston plastic surgeon is applying decades-old principles of classical sculpture to modern body-contouring procedures, arguing that anatomy and artistry must work together for safe, natural-looking results.

Dr. Emmanuel De La Cruz studies proportion and shadow before ever entering the operating room

Emmanuel De La Cruz, MD, founder of De La Cruz Plastic Surgery and a double board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, says his years studying classical portrait and figurative sculpture shape how he approaches liposuction and body contouring. "Sculpture changed the way I see the human body," De La Cruz said. "You begin seeing how every contour flows into the next."

Riyadh – September 08, 2026 -- Electronic music producer Tokyo Machine will perform live at CyberHero x Riyadh on September 9, an event billed as the Middle East's first humanoid robot kickboxing show.

The show, organized by Hero Esports, brings together ten humanoid robots for a night combining live kickboxing, music and immersive entertainment. Ten EngineAI T800 humanoid robots, standing roughly 1.73 metres tall and weighing between 75 and 85 kilograms, will compete in live kickboxing bouts designed to test their speed, balance, reaction and combat capabilities.

Tokyo Machine brings a gaming-inspired sound to the robot arena

Known for blending retro 8-bit chiptune melodies with high-energy bass music, Tokyo Machine has built his identity around gaming culture. His tracks have appeared in Rocket League and the VR rhythm game Beat Saber, and his sound has drawn support from Tiësto, Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Dillon Francis and Afrojack.

Munich – September 08, 2026 -- A new 50-minute episode of the German children's program "Checker EXTRA" explores how artificial intelligence is changing everyday life, airing Tuesday, September 15, at 8:05 p.m. on KiKA. The show, titled "Wie KI unser Leben verändert" (How AI Is Changing Our Life), will also stream on kika.de, the KiKA app, and the ARD Mediathek, where it remains available for five years.

The episode is part of KiKA's broader thematic push called "Check die KI" (Check the AI), aimed at helping young viewers understand a technology already embedded in homework help, image generation, and chatbot friendships.

Munich – September 08, 2026 -- The historical epic THE UPRISING - FOR FREEDOM had its German premiere at Munich's Arri Kino to a sold-out crowd, ahead of its nationwide theatrical release on September 10, 2026.

The cast brings a 14th-century rebellion to the screen

The film stars Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis and Thomasin McKenzie, with Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass behind the camera and an original score by Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann. Jonny Lee Miller also appears in a supporting role.

The premiere was hosted by history influencer MissHistory, with LEONINE's Bernhard zu Castell and producers Philipp Kreuzer and Christoph Degenhart of Supernix presenting the film. Greengrass and Garfield sent video messages thanking attendees, which the audience received enthusiastically.

Berlin – September 07, 2026 -- AWOL Vision has introduced the LuxVision, a new ultra-short-throw projector it calls the world's first to combine 4K resolution at 120Hz with optical lens shift, at IFA 2026. The launch marks the debut of the company's revamped global brand identity, unveiled in June 2026, which merges its Aetherion ultra-short-throw line and Valerion long-throw line under the single AWOL Vision name.

The projector processes nearly a billion pixels per second

The LuxVision runs 4K video at 120 frames per second, a combination the company says keeps fast-motion scenes sharp and detailed. Gamers get a 1ms input delay, ALLM, VRR and Dolby Vision Gaming support. Connectivity includes three HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort, and 4-channel HDMI multiview for running multiple sources at once.

Seoul – September 07, 2026 -- Tickets for the K-Royal Culture Festival Fall 2026 go on sale starting noon on Sept. 4 through the Ticketlink website, opening access to five days of performances, exhibitions and historical reenactments across four royal palaces and Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul.

The festival, hosted by the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service and organized by the Korea Heritage Agency, runs Oct. 7-11 at Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung Palaces. The spring 2026 edition drew roughly 725,000 visitors, a record for the event.

Llantrisant – September 07, 2026 -- The Royal Mint has launched two commemorative 50 pence coins marking 60 years of Star Trek, with the first design going on sale September 3 and priced at £19.95.

The first coin features the Vulcan salute alongside the phrases "Live Long & Prosper" and "Star Trek 60"

It marks the first time an image from the original Star Trek series has appeared on a UK 50p coin. A second coin, arriving in November, depicts four starships spanning different eras of the franchise -- the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D, and a Klingon Bird of Prey -- paired with the inscription "Star Trek 60."

Polaris, Ohio – September 07, 2026 -- Supercharged Entertainment broke ground on its fourth U.S. location at 9300 Lyra Drive in Polaris, Ohio, with the 125,000-square-foot venue set to open in Summer 2027.

The complex spans 16 acres near Topgolf and Smash Park

Supercharged Entertainment Polaris will mirror the design of the company's New Jersey location, which opened in Edison in December 2022. The site sits within the Polaris Centers of Commerce, alongside existing shopping and dining destinations.

Two karting tracks combine into an 80,000-square-foot Supertrack

The venue will house what the company calls the world's largest indoor, multi-level, temperature-controlled karting track, featuring 25 total elevation changes across two designs. The all-electric karts produce zero emissions on the climate-controlled course.