Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour concert film will premiere across the UK and Europe next month following its success in America.

Following record-breaking demand for screenings of the fly on the wall film, ODEON Cinemas group revealed that the movie will also be screened in Europe.

Tickets are now live in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal and the release is slated for October 13.

In a nod to Taylor Swift’s 1989 album and her favourite number, 13, tickets in the UK and Ireland will be priced at £19.89 for adults and £13.13 for children.

The first incredible screening kicks off at 6pm on 13 October the concert film will play multiple showtimes at cinemas on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to meet the anticipated demand.

The history-making concert was a phenomenon during the first leg of its US run, and the UK and European leg of the tour is due to kick off on 9 May 2024 in Paris and wrap up on 17 August 2024 in London. 

Fans across the UK and Europe will now be able to see the incredible tour experience on the big screen at the same time as fans in the US, Canada and Mexico, before the tour itself reaches the continent.

The ticket release in the U.S, Canada and Mexico set a new record at ODEON’s parent company AMC as it made $26 million in ticket-sales revenue.

ODEON are expecting similarly high demand for this cinematic experience.

The tour, in which Taylor runs through hits from her 17-year career, is on track to make a projected gross of $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone,’ TIME previously reported.

According to TIME, industry analysts said that the performer’s lucrative tour should surpass $1 billion in revenue by March of 2024, when she is slated to be overseas.

The numbers would make it the most-profitable tour ever, surpassing the $939m Elton John made on his The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, according to the outlet.

Taylor’s career continues to soar, but in her private life she is reportedly been hanging out with Kansas City tight end, Travis Kelce.

They have apparently  been spending time together under the radar for months before they were spotted together in public for the first time on Sunday.

The pop superstar supported the sports start as his team beat the Chicago Bears, and afterward the enjoyed an ‘affectionate’ dinner together, but that was reportedly just their most high-profile get-together so far.

Sources with direct knowledge of the couple claimed to TMZ on Monday that the two have hung out together ‘several times’ over the past few months.

It’s not clear exactly when the two began seeing each other in person, but Travis had revealed on his New Heights podcast in July that he had hoped to introduce himself to Taylor when he attended one of her Eras Tour stops.

‘I wanted to give Taylor Swift [a bracelet] with my number on it,’ the tight end shared, but he learned that the singer’s devotion to putting on the best performance possible made it impossible to chat with her.

‘I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings, so I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,’ he said.

Taylor amped up the budding courtship at Sunday’s game when she arrived alone — aside from her usual bodyguards — to cheer on Travis from a box.

However, the sources explained to the outlet that the Lavender Haze singer’s earlier meetings with the NFL star were in a ‘very private setting’ so as to not attract attention.

It appears that she’s moving toward a more open relationship with Travis now, though the sources also stressed that the two are not ‘officially’ dating, even though things are clearly heating up between them.

Another sign that Taylor the Kansas City Chiefs star are growing closer was that she met his parents at Sunday’s game.

The hitmaker could be seen cheering on Travis while standing next to his mother Donna, and Travis’ father Ed was also in attendance.

Meeting parents for the first time is often stressful, but the sources shared that the first meeting went ‘very well,’ and Taylor seems to have particularly won over Donna, who called her a ‘lovely person.’

Although she has now met Travis’ parents, Taylor has yet to meet his brother Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and co-hosts the New Heights podcast with his sibling.

Although Taylor and Travis appeared to keep the PDA to a minimum while heading to the Prime Social Rooftop in Kansas City after the game on Sunday, eyewitnesses spotted them holding hands once they were inside the restaurant.

The PDA escalated when Taylor reportedly sat on the football players lap at one point.

The dinner was only somewhat private, as Travis’ family, including his mother Donna, also showed up, and some of his teammates dropped by as well.

An eyewitness previously told Entertainment Tonight that it was Travis who had bought out the restaurant for the afterparty.

‘Taylor arrived, wearing a denim dress, and was seen snacking, having some cocktails and dancing alongside Travis,’ they said.

Another diner told ET that restaurant staff told them there would be a ‘hard close’ at 8 p.m., and the wait staff handed out to-go boxes ahead of the deadline while letting them know that they would need to leave the premises before that time.

However, they were offered free drinks at the restaurant’s sister venue to cut down on the inconvenience.

Although some of the patrons apparently asked if the closure was related to Travis and Taylor, the staff reportedly were stiff-lipped.

Italy‘s hard-Right prime minister has claimed that Europe’s future is at stake unless the EU can stop the surge of uncontrolled migration across the Mediterranean. 

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the populist Brothers of Italy party, made the declaration alongside the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where thousands of irregular migrants have landed on their journeys to Europe. 

‘The future that Europe wants for itself is at stake here,’ Meloni, 46, declared at a press conference on the island. 

‘The future of Europe depends on its ability to tackle epoch-making challenges of our time and the challenge of illegal immigration is for sure one of them.’

She said that Italy could not shoulder the full weight of responsibility for fighting irregular migration: ‘We all stake our future on this issue. At the very least we need an EU naval mission against smugglers.’ 

‘If we don’t work seriously all together to fight the illegal departures, the numbers of this will not only overwhelm the border countries, but all of the others,’ she warned. 

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stood side-by-side with Italy’s first female prime minister, and revealed her ten-point immigration support plan to support the island of around 7,000 residents, telling them: ‘You can count on the European Union.’

The EU has pledged to move the 8,500 or so migrants that currently live on the island to other parts of the bloc. 

It will also step up border surveillance by beefing up Frontex, the EU’s border agency, with more equipment. 

Ms von der Leyen also vowed to increase migrants’ access to legal channels, telling the press conference: ‘The better we are with legal migration the stricter we can be with irregular migration.’ She added: ‘Irregular migration is a European challenge and it needs a European answer. We will decide who comes to the EU and under what circumstance and not the smugglers and traffickers.’ 

The major EU pledge comes just three months after both Ms von der Leyen and Ms Meloni travelled to Tunisia to seek its cooperation in the fight against irregular migration across the Mediterranean. 

Ms Meloni is looking to get the EU to accelerate a migration deal with Tunisia worth €785million (£676million) that would help the country return migrants to their countries of origin and beef up its coastguard with new and better equipment. 

The EU’s latest pledge also comes days after France stepped up its border security and Germany had suspended a voluntary programme for the reallocation of migrants, complaining that Italy was not respecting the EU’s rules on accepting returned migrants. 

The German government later reinstated the programme after von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel intervened. 

European sentiment towards migrants has soured as data from Frontex revealed that the EU has faced a 96 per cent increase in irregular crossings via the central Mediterranean route to Italy this year. 

Nearly 128,000 migrants have arrived in the EU via Italian soil this year so far, twice as many as last year. 

Italy currently bears the brunt of the migration crisis. Half of all irregular border crossings into the EU picked up by Frontex were in Italy.

This month, EU officials said they expected more than a million asylum seekers would register claims this year alone. 

In 2015, 1.2million asylum claims were lodged in the EU, which plunged the continent into crisis as more and more EU citizens were driven to hardline anti-immigration parties. 

The 2015 migrant crisis also left hundreds of migrants dead as EU states were unable to cope with the massive influx of people, with many bodies being found frozen in refrigerated vans, in the wrecks of capsized boats, and washed up on beaches.  

That September, a shocking image of the body of Aylan Kurdi, a two-year-old Syrian refugee, washed up on a Turkish beach after a failed attempt to get to Greece brought a harsh spotlight on EU countries for not doing enough to prevent migrant deaths. 

Despite this scrutiny, two weeks after the photo of Aylan was taken, Hungary put up a hard border with its neighbours Serbia and Croatia, with the aim of increasing border security and preventing irregular migrants from getting in. 

A young Australian woman has revealed a long list of holiday fails which threatened to derail her recent girls’ trip to Europe.

The list includes luggage, broken ankles, and pizza so bad the eight women still can’t talk about the revolting cheese topping without gagging.

Izzy Fraser, 24, spent months planning the dream four-week holiday – but says everything that could go wrong did. 

She finds it funny to look back on but also wants others to learn from her mistakes.

She told FEMAIL while there were way more curveballs than she could have ever expected she still had the best holiday of her life.

The novice traveler has only been overseas three times and said the trip hasn’t spoiled her will to explore – she will just do carry-on only to avoid half the hassle next time.

The girls hadn’t even left Australia before their problems began, something she now looks back and laughs about.

Two members of the group had forgotten to book luggage on the flight over and had to fork out an extra $250 to check in, she said on TikTok.

Then at the first stop Izzy, who had never been to Europe before, either had an allergic reaction or was bitten by bed bugs.

‘I am still not sure which one it was, but I blamed the lady at the accommodation for bed bugs, obviously,’ she added.

‘That lasted like five days, it was so uncomfortable,’ she added.

The girls also ‘lost’ their luggage for ten days during the trip – and because some of them didn’t keep boarding passes proving the inconvenience to their insurance companies was more difficult.

‘I haven’t even tried to do that (insurance) yet because I literally couldn’t comprehend that overseas,’ she said.

Then the group had ‘really dodgy’ accommodation in Zagreb, Croatia. The area felt unsafe, the staff were unhelpful and to make matters worse when they ordered in some pizza it was inedible.

‘The cheese was, I can’t even talk about it,’ she said gagging, adding that she doesn’t think she will be able to eat Margherita pizza again.

Everyone got some kind of virus on the trip too, she explained, saying she was unwell first before everyone else followed suit.

A near-miss moments after getting a hire car rounded out the first of four videos where she runs through the bad things which happened on the trip.

The group also delayed the rest of their trip by a day, staying in Zagreb for an extra night after the airport said their luggage would probably arrive then.

‘Obviously it didn’t so that was a waste of money,’ she said.

She added they did move places for the extra night because they didn’t want to stay in the ‘hood’ any longer.

The delayed luggage meant the girls had 45 minutes to go shopping for a five day festival on day three of their trip.

‘This is eight girls running around, like I was sweating, I was sprinting around this shopping centre buying the most silly things,’ she said.

They also got a parking ticket and said it took them three weeks to work out how to pay it.

On the trip there were plenty of delayed buses and planes.

‘Most of my flights were delayed, the buses were just super inconsistent,’ she said.

Especially in Greece where she added they just come along whenever they want.

In the Croatian city of Dubrovnik the friends had more accommodation woes.

She described the man who worked at their lodgings as super creepy, and said she felt unsafe in the car as he sped through the streets while on his mobile phone.

‘Nearly hit a car then leaned across [and said] “I keep you safe” – well I don’t feel safe love,’ she said.

The accommodation wasn’t what was pictured so the friends ran away and found something else.

‘This was at midnight,’ she said, explaining they were also ripped off 100 Euros and were being laughed at on the street as they figured out what to do.

In part three the young woman said a day after a ‘really chaotic day’ the group was on a boat trip when another passenger broke an ankle.

She said the woman had to be carried off the boat and people had to look after her kids, with the whole episode pushing the tour 30 minutes behind schedule.

‘I was just like OMG that could have easily been one of us, because of the track record.’

The group weren’t even meant to be on that boat but the one they had initially booked cancelled five minutes before it was due to depart.

They also had a terrifying jet boat ride: ‘Didn’t expect to nearly lose my life’.

The group also picked a 2am bus by mistake.

At the end of the trip they then lost their luggage again – just for two days.

Her friend also got a massive electric shock which made her shake and bounce onto the bed. Her hand was then hurting for days.

In the final video Izzy said she lost her AirPods, immediately after losing her luggage.

‘I just wanted to listen to some music, could have cried,’ she said.

The friend who almost got electrocuted had another injury after trying to open a drink without a bottle opener.

The lid came off with force and smacked her in the eye.

Izzy hurt herself twice in two days, the first time she was in the ocean when boats sped past her, making waves which beat her against the rocks.

Then she fell over in the middle of the street with he backpack on, hurting her knee. 

To her embarrassment there was a very busy restaurant opposite and cars had to stop for her – meaning far too many eyes were trained in her direction.

She was also hungry a lot of the trip because she is lactose intolerant and gluten free, making a lot of the food off limits.

Izzy said she had the time of her life and wouldn’t change a thing.

 1. Frank’s Cafe at Bold Tendencies, London, England

2. Azotea del Circulo, Madrid, Spain

3. The Roof at the Reykjavik Edition, Reykjavik, Iceland

4. Schweizerhof Flims, Flims, Switzerland

5. Oroya, Madrid, Spain

6. 16 Roof, Istanbul, Turkey

7. Sky Bar by Seen, Lisbon, Portugal

8. Patchwork at Sa Punta, Ibiza, Spain

9. Skyline Bar 20up, Hamburg, Germany

10. Mama Shelter, Bordeaux, France

11. Hotel Croce di Malta, Florence, Italy

12. Salling Rooftop and the Roof Garden, Aarhus, Denmark

13. A for Athens, Athens, Greece

14. Play Label Rooftop, Brussels, Belgium

15. Mas Rooftop Bar, Helsinki, Finland

16. TakeT, Gothenburg, Sweden

17. Seven Restaurant, Sicily, Italy

18. Restaurant Silo, Copenhagon, Denmark

19. Herbarijs, Riga, Latvia

20. Sercotel Rosellon, Barcelona, Spain

21. 20 Stories, Manchester, England

22. The Culpeper, London, England

23. Terraza Danieli, Venice, Italy

24. Sophie’s, Dublin, Ireland

25. Klunkerkranich Rooftop, Berlin, Germany

Roam American and European cities of yesteryear, courtesy of this beautiful new photobook. 

Eyes on the City, published by DelMonico Books, showcases more than 100 images by legendary photographer Evelyn Hofer.

These time-capsule photos show urban landscapes and people going about their daily lives in the postwar era – the 1950s and 1960s. 

The German photographer, who died in 2009 at the age of 87, shot subjects that included London truck drivers, Irish gravediggers and New York commuters in a striking fashion. 

DelMonico Books says: ‘The photographs feature landscapes and architectural views combined with portraiture, conveying the unique character and personality of these urban capitals during a period of intense structural, social and economic transformations after World War II.’ 

The tome has been published to accompany the photographer’s first major museum exhibition in the U.S in over 50 years, which is currently on show in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Scroll down to see how Hofer’s work takes you on a trip through time… 

Ferocious storms have hammered Europe in recent days with Italy being hit by an ‘apocalyptic’ supercell and a deadly 135mph tornado tearing through Switzerland – while wildfires continue to rage in southern holiday hotspots.

The tornado struck the Swiss city of La Chaux-de-Fonds on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring 15 others. 

Footage emerged today showing relative calm before a ferocious squall barrelled through, tearing up trees and sending debris flying.

Similar vicious winds have damaged cities from Berlin to Milan and across to Romania’s Oradea, killing several people and leaving a trail of destruction.

Italy’s Udine region, 60 miles to the north-east of Venice, experienced the rare supercell phenomenon on Tuesday, with a cyclone hundreds of feet wide looming over the town of Codroipo and with flashes of lightning emanating from inside.

Further south on Italy’s Almalfi coast, unusually powerful waves crashed up against a beach, sending people running from the shore and rocking yachts on the water.

As powerful wind and huge hail battered swathes of the continent’s northern regions, wildfires were burning in at least nine countries as millions living in southern Europe continued to experience extreme heat.

In Portugal, locals and firefighters scrambled to put out a fire at a natural park near a beach resort, while in Croatia fires set off old landmines near the historic city of Dubrovnik.

Italy‘s southern island of Sicily has also been devastated by wildfires that have killed three elderly people, its regional president said today, with footage from the country’s roads showing scenes of people driving to safety down fire-flanked roads.

Meanwhile, blazes continue to wreak havoc in Greece with efforts to contain them yesterday resulting in the deaths of two pilots.

SWITZERLAND 

Monday’s tornado ‘unfortunately caused the death of one person in their 50s following the toppling of a construction crane’, Neuchatel police said. 

The storm passed through quickly but the strong winds caused significant damage.

Vehicles were damaged or destroyed, roofs were torn off, street furniture was blown away and trees were uprooted.

Footage showed a cloud rolling in over the lush, green Swiss countryside. As the fog enveloped the settlement, the winds suddenly picked up, causing trees to almost topple over and hail to fall.

Officials said a wind speed of 135 miles per hour was recorded on Monday ‘under a storm cell which suddenly strengthened when arriving in the region’.

Neuchatel police urged people not to expose themselves to risks such as falling tiles or trees, and warned further storms were likely.

ITALY

Meanwhile in Sicily, the charred bodies of a couple in their 70s were found in their burnt-out home on the outskirts of Palermo, the regional capital.

Another woman in her late 80s died in the Palermo province after an ambulance was unable to reach her home due to fires.

In a message on Facebook, Sicilian President Renato Schifani said ‘scorching heat and unprecedented devastating fires’ had turned Tuesday into ‘one of the most difficult days in decades’.

Italian firefighters said they battled nearly 1,400 fires between Sunday and Tuesday, including 650 in Sicily and 390 in Calabria, the southern mainland region where a bedridden 98-year-old man was killed as fire consumed his home.

Fires were still burning on the hills around Palermo on Wednesday, with Canadair planes back in operation to try to douse the flames.

Large areas of the Mediterranean have been sweltering under an intense summer heatwave on Tuesday, causing deadly blazes across the region.

Sicily is a major tourist destination but a fire inside a terminal building last week caused the near-total closure of its biggest airport in Catania on the east of the island. Palermo airport was also closed for a few hours on Tuesday because of a wildfire nearby.

‘I hope that tourist flows in the areas affected by the fires will not suffer losses,’ Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, a Sicilian, told the La Stampa newspaper.

‘The risk … is there and it is understandable’.

The government was set to meet in Rome later Wednesday to declare a state of emergency in regions affected by natural disasters and introduce a special furlough scheme for workers most exposed to the heatwave.

While Italy’s south is battling with wildfires, the country’s northern Lombardy region saw a powerful storm accompanied by heavy hail.

This caused flooding and power outages and was blamed for the deaths of two people, including that of a 16-year-old girl at a scouts’ camp crushed by a falling tree.

Officials have reported tornadoes, while a rare supercell opened in the skies above the town of Codroipo, in the Italian province of Udine.

Pictures of the phenomenon showed what looks like a fissure in the sky underneath black clouds. Meteorologists say supercells form when hot air meets cold air, and release large amounts of energy in a short time.

Meanwhile, residents of Milan were surveying the mess after the dramatic overnight storm and winds of over 100 kilometres per hour.

‘It all happened around 4 or 5 AM (0200-0300 GMT) this morning, it was very short but very intense, it knocked down several trees … with the wind gusts they took off and broke up,’ witness Roberto Solfrizzo, 66, told Reuters.

In a sign that temperatures were finally easing, only two cities – Catania in Sicily and Bari in southern Puglia – were on a government heatwave ‘red alert’ list for Wednesday, down from 17 the previous day.

CROATIA

Across the Adriatic in Croatia, dozens of firefighters battled a wildfire near the country’s picturesque southern city of Dubrovnik, authorities said on Wednesday, with water-bombing planes dispatched to help contain the blaze.

The fire near Dubrovnik was reportedly some 7.5 miles from the famed medieval city in the Zupa Dubrovacka municipality.

The blaze broke out late Monday but had not triggered any evacuations of the nearby population, according to the firefighters association.

Around 130 firefighters were working to contain the flames that had been spread by strong winds on Tuesday.

Local media reported the fire also triggered landmines to explode in the area.

During the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Dubrovnik was besieged and shelled by Serb forces, leading several areas in the city to be damaged while swathes of its outskirts are still contaminated by landmines.

The UNESCO-protected city dates back to the 7th century and features a maze of churches, palaces and fountains perched above the shimmering Adriatic.

Dubrovnik has long been a hub for tourism and a cruise ship magnet but also gained notoriety in recent years after portions of the hit HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ was filmed in the medieval walled city.

Known as the Pearl of Adriatic, the city attracts more than a million tourists annually.

Last week, at least five people were killed after violent thunderstorms swept across Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia following days of scorching temperatures in the Balkans.

Fires also swept across Portugal and Spain’s Gran Canaria, and several dozen firefighters were using aircraft to battle a wildfire that had broken out close to Nice international airport in southern France.

GREECE 

In Greece, officials are expecting scorching heat on Wednesday as crews continue their work to douse deadly wildfires.

Thousands of people have evacuated as Greek authorities struggle against flames on three major fronts, including the tourist islands of Rhodes and Corfu. 

Greece is used to summer heatwaves, but is experiencing one of the longest ones in recent years, according to experts. 

The civil protection ministry has warned of an extreme danger of fire in six of the country’s 13 regions on Wednesday.

Wildfires, which have been burning in several parts of the country for more than 10 days, were ravaging the tourist islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Evia.

At least 100 firefighters were working to contain the flames on Evia, where on Tuesday two pilots were killed when their water bomber aircraft crashed.

The body of a third victim was also found on Evia. Authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of people from fire areas in Greece, including many tourists. 

PORTUGAL 

Aided by local residents, hundreds of Portuguese firefighters scrambled on Tuesday to put out flames sweeping across a natural park near the popular holiday destination of Cascais, with strong winds complicating efforts to tackle the blaze.

The wildfire started at 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) in a mountainous area that is part of the Sintra-Cascais natural park, which covers around 56 square miles of land and is located west of the capital Lisbon.

Backed by 189 vehicles, more than 600 firefighters were brought in after the fire erupted. Water-bombing planes also battled the blaze but had to stop operating as the night set in.

At one of the villages affected by the fire, desperate local residents took matters into their own hands as they tried to protect their homes with buckets of water and hosepipes, as strong winds fanned the flames.

‘The fear now is that it will get to the houses,’ said 34-year-old Ines Figueiredo as smoke filled the air. ‘We try to help as much as we can with buckets (of water)… but it’s not worth much.’

Mayor of Cascais Carlos Carreiras said gusts of up to 60 kph were the biggest challenge ahead, and that a number of people had been evacuated as a precaution.

Residents used wheelchairs to help evacuate those with mobility problems.

‘They (firefighters) do what they can,’ said Miguel Medeiros, a local resident who has helped fight the flames. ‘It’s difficult for everyone.’

No houses have been damaged and no major injuries have been reported, according to authorities.

EU data shows Portugal, which has so far escaped the recent heatwave causing deaths and destruction across southern Europe, is usually one of the bloc’s worst-hit countries by wildfires.

Elsewhere in Turkey, authorities evacuated a dozen homes and a hospital as a precaution on Tuesday after a wildfire raged through a rugged forest area near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer, in Antalya province.

A hospital and a dozen homes were evacuated as a precaution in the coastal town. 

At least 10 planes, 22 helicopters and hundreds of firefighters were deployed to extinguish the fire as meteorologists warned temperatures could rise several degrees above seasonal averages. 

Five helicopters with night-vision capabilities worked through the night, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Authorities said residential areas were not under threat in the Kemer in the Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya. 

Another wildfire in the western province of Manisa, was brought under control a day after it burnt at least 14 homes.

Wildfires also broke out in the countryside around Syria’s Mediterranean port city, Latakia, with the authorities using army helicopters to try to put them out.

Extreme weather throughout July has caused havoc across the planet, with record temperatures in China, the U.S. and southern Europe sparking forest fires, water shortages and a rise in heat-related hospital admissions.

Without human-induced climate change, the events this month would have been ‘extremely rare’, according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather.

The heat, with temperatures topping 40 C (104 F), is well in excess of what usually attracts tourists who flock to southern European beaches.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country was one of those on the front line against climate change, with no easy solution.

‘I will state the obvious: in the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism, if there was we would have implemented it,’ Mitsotakis said.

The cheapest places for holidaymakers to buy petrol and diesel in Europe have been revealed – and it’s Andorra that’s the best value across the board.

Travellers renting a car in Andorra will pay £1.23 per litre for unleaded petrol – working out to £187 for 1,000 miles of driving – and £1.10 per litre for diesel (£167 per 1,000 miles).

That’s according to the latest Post Office Travel Money Motoring on the Continent report, which surveyed fuel prices in 17 European countries and created two cost-based rankings – one for unleaded petrol and one for diesel. As part of the research, the Post Office has also revealed some road rules overseas that Britons might not be aware of.

For unleaded petrol, Ireland is the second cheapest (£1.38 per litre/£209 per 1,000 miles), followed by Austria in third place (£1.39 per litre/£210 per 1,000 miles). Moving down the ranking, Spain (£1.40 per litre/£211 per 1,000 miles) is the fourth cheapest for unleaded petrol while Luxembourg (£1.41 per litre/£213 per 1,000 miles) slides into fifth place.

Looking at diesel, it’s Spain – where diesel is 21p less a litre than in the UK at £1.25 per litre (£190 per 1,000 miles) – that’s the second cheapest for drivers, followed by Luxembourg (£1.26 per litre/£191 per 1,000 miles) in third place. Fourth place in the diesel ranking goes to Ireland (£1.28 per litre/£194 per 1,000 miles) while in fifth place it’s Portugal (£1.29 per litre/£196 per 1,000 miles).

The UK sits at 6th in the unleaded petrol table at £1.44 per litre (£217 per 1,000 miles), and it’s 11th in the diesel table at £1.46 (£221 per 1,000 miles). 

Where is costly for motorists? Over one in five (21 per cent) holidaymakers surveyed say they will drive in France but high prices at the pumps make it one of the most expensive countries for fuel – it ranks 12th for unleaded petrol at £1.62 (£245 per 1,000 miles) and 13th for diesel at £1.47 (£223 per 1,000 miles).

The same is true of Italy, where unleaded petrol costs £1.62 a litre (£245 per 1,000 miles) and £1.49 for diesel (£223 per 1,000 miles). As a result, it ranks 13th for unleaded petrol and 14th for diesel in the tables.

Of all the countries surveyed, Switzerland is the priciest for diesel fuel at £1.76 a litre (£266 per 1,000 miles) and similarly expensive (15th overall) for unleaded petrol at £1.66 (£251 per 1,000 miles).

Denmark is the most expensive destination for unleaded petrol, meanwhile, priced at £1.76 per litre, or £266 for 1,000 miles. It ranks 10th in the diesel ranking, however, with diesel priced at £1.46 per litre (£218 per 1,000 miles).

Overall, in 14 of the countries surveyed, motorists driving a diesel car will pay considerably less than for unleaded petrol.

However, although fuel costs across Europe have fallen from the record levels they reached over the past year and sterling is at a 2023 high against the euro, pump prices are higher in almost 90 per cent of the countries surveyed than in 2019, when the Post Office Travel Money last conducted the pricing comparison.

Elsewhere, the report also found that over two-in-five of holiday motorists are unaware of new European road rules and risk big fines.

Post Office research found that 43 per cent of Britons planning trips are unaware of low emission zone restrictions in top destinations like France and Spain where they are most likely to drive.

Over half (52 per cent) were unaware of daily entry fees and permits required in many cities and 58 per cent did not know about the requirement to display windscreen stickers showing the emissions levels of their vehicle.

In France ‘Crit Air’ emission stickers must be displayed and if not could result in fines of £58 (€68) to £116 (€135).

Forty-two per cent of those planning to drive in Europe did not realise that speeding can carry spot fines. Yet almost one in five (19 per cent) admitted having incurred spot fines for speeding or violating other travel regulations on past trips to Europe, Post Office Travel Money reveals.

Similar numbers (18 per cent) said they had been given ‘Ultra Low Emission Zone’-style fines for contravening low-emission zone regulations and 47 per cent were unaware that those with a paper driving licence issued before March 31, 2000, will need an international driving permit.

The report found that a third of Britons visiting Europe this year plan to drive while on holiday – either in their own car or in a rental vehicle – with France, Spain and Italy the top choices for holiday motoring.

Commenting on the report, Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office, said: ‘With flight costs reported to be soaring, it is understandable that so many Britons have decided to drive to Europe this summer. However, it is worrying that many people have not realised that driving laws have changed since their last trip and they could be risking big fines if they don’t learn the rules of the road. Popular destinations like France and Spain have long been operating spot fines so it is crucial for holiday motorists to carry foreign currency with them in case they are stopped for speeding or falling foul of new rules.

‘Our pump price research found that the cost of filling up in Europe can vary by as much as £100 so we advise planning driving routes carefully before setting out to keep costs down. Save money by diverting from the motorway and trunk roads into local towns. Supermarket prices will be cheaper than on the roadside, just as they are here in the UK. Remember to carry some foreign currency as not all petrol stations in rural locations accept plastic.’

A fascinating reworked world map reveals the European holiday destinations that are the most popular globally – and it’s the Greek island of Santorini that’s No.1, followed by the Mediterranean island of Ibiza in second place and the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife in third place.

On the map – generated using Google search data – country names have been supplemented with their residents’ most-searched-for European holiday spots. Researchers studied the past 12 months of Google data in 185 countries to find out which EU holiday destinations are being Googled the most using phrases like ‘destination + holiday’ or ‘destination + vacation’.

Santorini tops the list, generated by CV Villas, thanks to being the most popular European spot in 47 countries around the world, including the U.S, Finland, Colombia, Bolivia, India, Australia and New Zealand.

CV Villas says: ‘Famous for its golden sunsets, warm temperatures and jaw-dropping scenery, it comes as no surprise that Santorini ranks so highly as a must-visit hotspot.’

Ibiza earns second place because a total of 29 countries – including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Kenya, Mexico, Jamaica and Portugal – appear to be searching for holidays there above any other European destination.

CV Villas says: ‘Ibiza has long been a popular tourist destination thanks to its scorching summer weather, exotic scenery, and stunning beaches.’

Third-place Tenerife is described by CV Villas as offering ‘plenty for tourists to explore, including the infamous Mount Teide volcano’. From there ‘incredible’ views of the island, the largest of the Canaries, are available.

CV Villas adds that Tenerife is a top winter holiday destination, with an average high in the colder months of 20C.

The Spanish spot is the No.1 European getaway destination for 12 European countries, including Spain, the UK, Germany and Belgium.

Rounding out the top five is the Italian island of Sicily in fourth and Corfu in Greece in fifth.

Further down the top 10, Greece continues its winning streak with destinations such as Kos, Mykonos and Crete all making the cut for the most-searched European vacation spots.

CV Villas also produced a series of regional maps to show the breakdown of the results more clearly across the globe.

A separate map for the U.S shows how Sicily is the most popular European destination in 29 states, Santorini is top in 16, and Tuscany is top in four states.

In Africa, Santorini is No.1 in 15 countries and Ibiza in eight.

Pete Brudenell, General Manager from CV Villas, commented: ‘We wanted to inspire travellers to embark on unforgettable journeys by showing how much Europe has to offer: from breathtaking landscapes to vibrant nightlife and beach retreats.

‘Looking at the results, it’s great to see how European travel is admired around the globe, as well as witness the ongoing curiosity for hidden gems within Europe.

‘Whilst many of social media’s favourite destinations dominate the results – such as Santorini and Ibiza – it is satisfying to see destinations from all over the European continent getting the attention they deserve.’

More information can be found at: www.cvvillas.com/blog/archive/worlds-most-popular-eu-destinations.

French air traffic controller strikes are wrecking the plans of British holidaymakers after Ryanair cancelled 400 flights throughout Europe.

Staff walkouts have forced hundreds of flights to be grounded, sparking complaints from passengers about four-hour delays and being stuck on planes with dwindling food supplies and ‘just crisps and fizzy pop’ for sustenance. 

One mother told MailOnline her 19-year-old disabled son’s flight cancellation on Sunday left him and his friend stranded in Paris yesterday, having to wait until Thursday for a flight home. The teenager had only brought enough medication and hearing aids for the long weekend, mother Haleh Paul said.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary expressed frustration that overflights across Europe are being cancelled, rather than French domestic flights. 

He said: ‘It’s absolutely indefensible that flights going from Ireland to Italy, from Poland to Portugal, or from Spain to Germany are being cancelled simply because the French want to prioritise their domestic flights and cancel all the overflights.’

Air traffic controllers are needed to make contact during overflights, where planes are flying through the French airspace. Airline EasyJet also saw cancellations and delays.

STRANDED ABROAD? IS YOUR HOLIDAY RUINED? Send your holiday hell story and pictures to hannah.mcdonald@mailonline.co.uk 

Passengers affected by the cancellations and delays voiced their frustrations on Twitter. 

One user wrote: ‘Very confused, sat on flight FR455 FEU-NCL with delays due to French air strike. Already delayed by two hours but being told we’re now going to be sat not moving for a further two hours?

‘Why put us on the plane? Please communicate what the situation is. @Ryanair also doesn’t help the situation when two thirds of the refreshments are out of stock. Not hot food etc? Just crisps and fizzy pop.’

Another delayed passenger wrote: ‘Flight FR7045 dep 7.55am from Malaga to Dublin delayed 1hr30mins due to #Frenchairtraffic strikes but glad to be on home soil @Ryanair, thanks for not cancelling my flight.’

Haleh Paul, the mother of the 19-year-old disabled teenager, said: ‘I and the other set of the family had to scramble around from the UK to change their flight and find alternative accommodation for them. 

‘I am sure I am not the only one in this boat. But when you plan for a long weekend as a young adult and it ends up being a week, with no extra medication, hearing aid batteries or change of clothes, it’s very worrying.’

However not everyone saw it as bad, with David Wilson posting a selfie on social media writing: ‘Just got a message from Ryanair… my flight home on Tuesday has been cancelled due to air traffic control strikes in France so we can’t fly over France … oh well [laughing emojis]’. 

It was not just Ryanair that faced issues, as EasyJet flights were cancelled, with people stranded in Nice last night after Edinburgh flights were put on hold. 

Last minute flight cancellations were also seen at Bristol, with one Twitter user posting a picture of queues on Saturday, asking EasyJet to pay for his missed trip. It was not known if this delay was due to strikes. 

In a recorded statement, Mr O’Leary said: ‘I’m speaking to you this morning Tuesday from our Dublin operation centre with the bad news that again today we have had to cancel just about 400 flights of the 3200 flights we had scheduled to operate today.

‘All of these flights have been cancelled because of the latest French ATC strike.’

He added that the French have travel alternatives within the country, as they can take its high-speed train service or use motorways. 

Last week, Ryanair submitted a petition calling for the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, to insist that France protects overflights during French ATC strikes. 

The petition has so far been signed by over 1.1million of Ryanair’s ‘very fed up’ customers. 

The CEO added: ‘Spain, Italy and Greece already protect these overflights so that when their national ATC unions go on strike, the overflights are not disrupted. 

‘We are calling on the commission today for action.’ 

As part of Ryanair’s call to action, the airline revealed that more than 4,000 flights have been cancelled so far this year as a result of ATC strikes, ‘mainly overflying France’. 

In his call to the commission, he added: ‘Europe is a single market. In a single market the overflights and skies over Europe must be protected. Take action.’ 

Jan Dent told MailOnline: ‘My son, his wife and our 21-month-old granddaughter were supposed to be on an afternoon flight today from Manchester to Malaga.

‘We live in Spain so don’t get to see them as often as we would like to so we’re looking forward to ten days together.’

She added: ‘They are booked to fly again on Thursday but it means changing airport, parking, car hire etc.’ 

‘Absolute joke ours has been cancelled,’ another passenger wrote on Twitter. ‘Now been transferred Manchester to East Midlands with a 9-hour delay. No idea what to do about transfers, can’t get in touch with the holiday company as it’s too busy and yet no compensation apparently – livid!!!’ 

Air traffic controllers in France, as well as members of the French national rail company SNCF, have been striking in protest against proposed pension reforms by Emmanuel Macron.

His reforms would see the retirement age in France increased from 62 to 64 years old.

It would also force workers to contribute to the pension system for longer, as state pensions in the country are financed by a payroll tax.

Indeed, the public are not just angry at Macron for increasing the retirement age, but also because he used a special presidential decree (Article 49.3) to pass his proposals through the National Assembly without approval.

This has been perceived as undemocratic. Civilians and workers also argue that, if he is using Article 49.3 to increase the retirement age now, there is nothing to stop him doing so again with other legislation in the future.

Protests have been ongoing since January 2023.