Uruguayan singer and actress Natalia Oreiro held press conference in Yerevan on Saturday. “How are you?” The beauty asked in Armenian.

According to her, she has always loved Armenia, while she often communicates with Armenians in her native Uruguay and Argentina.

“I am very glad to be here with my husband and son,” she said adding: “I slept all day yesterday because I arrived at dawn and was very tired: I had worked 12 concerts before. But my husband and son walked around Yerevan all day, went into some old cafe and brought long bread with them (Armenian lavash)..I was eating it all night.”

According to her, Argentina and Uruguay love Armenians very much.

Asked by NEWS.am STYLE how she decided to include Armenia in her tour, she said: “There is an Armenian musician in my team who told me a lot about Armenia. Tomorrow you will have a great show, and I’m already thinking about coming here more often.”

Asked whether she is in touch with another Wild Angel star Facundo Arana, she noted that they are very good friends.

Natalia Oreiro got Armenian passport as well as other gifts as: An Armenian belt, jewelry, a hat, a bag and all sorts of goodies.

“Look, I am an Armenian girl,” the actress said cheerfully.

Natalia Oreiro’s concert is scheduled to be held tomorrow. The actress is the goodwill ambassador of UNICEF and she has meetings scheduled in Armenia in this regard.

Syune Arakelyan

Armenia Honorary Consul of Las Vegas: We are excited to inform you that internationally acclaimed Cadence Ensemble will be performing in Las Vegas on Thursday, May 2, 2019. The concert will take place under the auspices of Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles. See below flyer for details.

Below is a link to Cadence Ensemble’s 2017 Istanbul, Turkey concert.
https://youtu.be/7gz3KOnm-fA 

City of Las Vegas is promoting this concert and you may purchase tickets online at:
 ONLINE TICKET PURCHASE

Source: Armenia Honorary Consul of Las Vegas

On Saturday April 27, the William Saroyan Night: Armenian Brandy Tasting will celebrate Armenian culture

By Lisa Natcharian, ,

The Storyteller’s Cottage will host an elegant evening celebrating writer William Saroyan and Armenian culture on Saturday, April 27 from 8:00 – 10:00 pm. Guests can enjoy tasting four vintages of renowned Armenian brandy, hear a live recitation of Armenian poetry, and enjoy delicious Armenian ‘mezze’ (appetizers) while listening to traditional Armenian music. A portion of ticket sales will benefit the Armenia Tree Project.

Many wonderful things have originated in the historic country of Armenia, including the Pulitzer Prize winning author William Saroyan, the inventors of the color TV and the MRI machine, the family that popularized yogurt in the US, and famous Armenian brandy. Winston Churchill’s favorite brandy was the legendary Ararat brand from Armenia, and from 1945 until his death, he received a complimentary case of it each month from the Soviet ambassador to the UK.

Founded in 1994 by activist Carolyn Mugar, the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has furthered Armenia’s economic and social development by restoring more than 5.7 million trees across the country and creating hundreds of jobs through tree-related programming.

“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.” — William Saroyan

Tickets for the William Saroyan Night are $35 and can be reserved at https://www.storytellerscottage.com/book-online/armenian-brandy-tasting

The Storyteller’s Cottage is located at 750 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury. Parking for The Storyteller’s Cottage is free, and is available on the street in front of the building, and in the Fiddler’s Green parking lot on Wilcox Street (behind the house). For more information, please call 860-877-6099 or visit

Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I anointed Church of Holy Forty Children in Aleppo. Catholicos Aram I delivered remarks during the ceremony, noting that the anointing of the church has historical and symbolic significance.

“Others tried to kill the belief in our people, but we jointly said that no one can defeat us in our belief. We said no to injustice and struggled and have to struggle for justice.

Others committed genocide against our people, but they did not succeed. Today our people have resurrected. Today we have free and independent Armenia, even if it is on the small part of our historical Motherland. But we have to aspire for seeing Armenia in the way we dream”, Catholicos  Aram I said.  

He emphasized that the Armenian people should support the restoration of the Syrian-Armwnian community under the guidance of te Great House of Cilicia.

His Holiness Aram I departed for Syria’s Alepo on March 29.

In 2015 the Church of Holy Forty Children in Aleppo was seriously damaged as a result of the bombing by the terorist organization ”Islamic State”.

The church was restored through the donations of the Syrian-Armenian community. At least 150 thousand people have contributed to the restoration.

Women’s football has made major strides of late, with the highest ever crowd for a club match recorded just days ago. But in Germany, and in other major European leagues, matchday attendances are plummeting.

More than 60,000 people pack into a sun-kissed Wanda Metropolitano to see Spanish giants Atletico Madrid take on Barcelona. Nothing unusual, here. Until, that is, the names of those down on the pitch are read aloud: Vicky, Silvia, Carmen, Marta. The vast crowd was in attendance for a women’s game, the most highly attended ever in European football.

The news came the same week Barclays announced an unparalelled sponsorship deal with England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) worth a reported €12 million over the next three years. In December, Ada Hegerberg become the first recipient of a women’s Ballon D’or, a prize previously only awarded to the best player in the men’s game. This summer France will host a Women’s World Cup expected to break audience records.

Interest in women’s football has never been higher. So why are the numbers of fans actually attending games in Germany and across Europe dwindling?

The reality is different

“More than 60,000 spectators at a women’s game in Spain is clearly a positive step but that was just a one off,” Stephan Schmidt, a spokesperson for Turbine Potsdam, one of the most successful clubs in German women’s football, told DW. “The day to day reality is quite different and we’re actually seeing a dramatic decline in the number of fans coming to watch matches.”

Schmidt doesn’t believe the World Cup is likely to have a long term impact on attendance figures, which have fallen 25 percent at Turbine over the past five years, regardless of how well Germany fare.

“Five years ago, we could expect around 2,000 spectators at home games but the figure has dropped to around 1,500 per game this season,” he said. “If Germany go far in the Women’s World Cup then it’s possible those numbers will increase, but a quick boost doesn’t really help anyone. It needs to be sustained over a longer period to be of benefit to the league.”

It’s a similar story right across Germany, where numbers are plummeting regardless of on-field success. Wolfsburg’s women’s team, reigning Bundesliga champions and back-to-back winners of the Women’s Champions League in 2013 and 2014, have also seen crowds leaving in droves.

Five years ago, Wolfsburg were drawing in average crowds of around 2,400 per league game. That figure is now around 1,300; a 42 percent drop in average gate figures.

Bayern Munich Women, meanwhile, have seen numbers stay pretty much the same, with an average increase of just 97 spectators at games over the last five years. A paltry figure, and one which owes more to the men’s side than the women, according to Schmidt.

“Bayern benefit from the huge popularity of their men’s team,” he explained. “If fans can’t attend an FC Bayern game, for whatever reason, they can go and see a women’s game.”

European wide issue

It’s not just Germany either, other nations have struggled to maintain matchday attendances despite great strides in other areas of the women’s game.

In France, Lyon, widely-regarded as the best women’s team in Europe and winner of three Champions League titles in a row between 2015 and 2018, have seen average gates nosedive since five years ago, from more than 4,500 in 2013-14 to fewer than 1,000 this campaign. Montpellier’s gate has dropped 49 percent, Guingcamp’s, 35 percent.

England buck the trend

England’s WSL is one of the only major European footballing leagues not experiencing this decline. Chelsea Ladies, the reigning champions, have seen average crowds rise almost 75 percent across the past five years, from 503 in 2013-14 to 1,965 this. Manchester City have seen their average gate rise 40 percent, to just over 1,600 in 2018-19. It’s a pattern repeated across the league.

“Women’s football is really making strides in this country,” Daniel Ferguson, Women’s Marketing Manager at the WSL, told DW. “More matches are being shown on TV and we’re seeing huge investment in the game both from sponsors and men’s clubs.”

“The WSL is teaching clubs to market themselves better so they can capitalize on the increased awareness. Focusing on the right groups is key; girls between the ages of seven and 15 who play football and are likely to maintain a long term interest in the game.”

Armenian gymnasts have won two medals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup ongoing in Doha, the National Olympic Committee reported.

Arthur Tovmasyan scored 14.833 points, taking the silver, while another Armenian athlete Vahagn Davtyan took the bronze with 14.825 points.

To remind, the Armenia team takes part in the World Cup with four gymnasts. The World Cup is a qualification tournament for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.