A Berlin-style Love Parade is set to take place in Tel Aviv this month, signifying a new cooperation between the two countries on a musical level. There was an Israeli-style Love Parade in 1998, 11 years after the first Berlin event, but this year, the October 19 festivities will be the first joint effort between German and Israeli techno fans. The Tel Aviv organisers, which include local city authorities and record companies, are anticipating a turnout of 500,000.

The event will begin at Rabin Square in central Tel Aviv and end at the shoreline, where Israeli and German DJs will stage a techno concert that will be broadcast live on local radio stations.

Spain

The row over Elton John‘s no-show in Portugal continues. John was booked to play two shows in the Iberian peninsula in mid-September. At the first show on September 14 at the Estoril Casino in Portugal, he disappeared an hour before he was due onstage, never to return.

John issued a statement the next day stating, “Elton John is sorry that he was unable to perform his concert in Lisbon on Wednesday night, but is looking forward to performing a rescheduled show on November 3.” He finished the statement defending his arguments for leaving so abruptly by stating, “It is expected that the show will be able to start at the time scheduled and will be able to take place in a smoke-free environment.”

According to the casino, the room was smoke-free and the reason for the half-empty venue was that the audience had enjoyed a dinner party in the annexing room and were a bit slow getting to their seats for the scheduled start time.

The last-minute disappearing act left the high-society crowd of 1,200 sitting in their $200-a-ticket seats with baffled looks on their faces. According to casino officials, the crowd took the news quite well, giving the casino vice president a standing ovation after his lengthy apology speech.

The casino did not accept John’s statement and asked that the following conditions be met: A show on November 3 for the same fee he would have received for the canceled concert; a second show to take place on November 4 for no fee, from which the profits will go to a Portuguese charity; and a formal apology from John to the casino and the Portuguese people.

By contrast, the second show on John’s Iberian tour took place at Marbella’s Municipal Stadium September 15 and went very smoothly even though John came and left under tight security and was rushed back to his private jet at the end of the show. The singer played a lengthy set of more than two-and-a half hours to a very eager and enthusiastic crowd.

The only problem appeared to have been that the $50 ticket price was a little high for Spanish fans and the attendance was much lower than the promoter expected. Around 9,000 people (out of a 15,000-capacity) paid to see John’s only Spanish show this season. According to El Pais newspaper, the doors were opened after the second song to allow all those present outside the venue entry for free. There was no comment on this report from sources at Sagliocco.

The Spanish public has always been rather critical of Enrique Iglesias but that didn’t stop him from trying to win over the people of his home country with three concerts. He played Madrid’s Sports Palace on September 20, Barcelona on September 21 and Santiago on September 25. It’s been three years since he last toured Spain, and this visit saw him returning as a conquering hero, a superstar in America with more than 18 million records sold worldwide.

But the Spanish crowds did not buy into the marketing hype and press reports expressed widespread disappointment with Iglesias’ live performance. Gran Via Musical, promoter of the tour, was happy with the turnout at the three shows. Even though the Barcelona date at the St. Jordi Hall fell a little short of expectations, it was almost full in Madrid and sold out in Santiago. Close to 8,000 people were present at the opening show in Madrid.

Screaming fans didn’t seem to care about a performance that most critics slammed as weak, Talking to the Spanish public in English in between songs and covering classic tunes did not go down very well. Nevertheless, the slick stage production masked some of the weaker moments of Iglesias’ performance.

His U.S. hits worked to get the fans dancing but he needed the help of his four back-up singers to save him on the high notes on more than one occasion. Iglesias was good enough to keep his fans happy, but the Spanish critics and skeptics walked away feeling vindicated in their disapproval.

Canada

Barenaked Ladies achieved instant notoriety in 1991 when then-mayor June Rowlands banned the independent group from playing Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square (the site of City Hall) because of its name. On September 21, justice was served when the international pop stars performed at that very spot as part of a radio appearance.

The group, which has just released its latest album, Maroon, was also presented with the keys to the city by Deputy Mayor Case Ootes (Mayor Mel Lastman was out of the country at the Olympics). BNL will perform at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on November 24 (presented by Volkswagen and House of Blues Concerts Canada). Homegrown band The Flashing Lights will open. A cross-Canada tour is slated for 2001.

Australia

As Sydney went mad with Olympicsmania, live entertainment in the area had drawn bigger crowds than organisers expected. More than 200,000 a day visit the Darling Harbour area between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the games. Nighttime crowds were strong, too, attracted to laser lights and fireworks with about 1,500 later heading to the Tumbalong Park Live Site where alternate acts are on between 10 p.m. and midnight.

The strip’s official Olympic nightspot, the Last Lap At Home club, closes at 4 a.m. But much of the crowd stayed until 5.30 a.m., many preferring to hang outgo straight to work (or school) from there.

A late-night dance club at Martin’s Place was forced by police and organisers to stop playing dance music after it proved very popular, attracting 5,000 revelers and leading to security problems. The dance-club concept was abandoned and comedy, and slower-paced country and jazz acts were brought in. On September 23, 100,000 fans swept into the area as some of the gold-winning athletes let their hair down in clubs for the first time since the games began. A free concert with Neil Finn and Paul Kelly drew 70,000.

Aside from the rush to buy the official album of the Olympics’ opening (which reached No. 1 on the official ARIA charts September 25), there has been a run on sheet music for songs “Waltzing Matilda,” “I Still Call Australia Home,” “Advance Australia Fair” and the tune for the theme of “The Man From Snowy River.”