title: Apple Pay

text: Apple Pay does not cause additional fees for users and merchants. In Switzerland, for example, participating card issuers pay for the service. In 2020, Swiss banks paid a fixed commission 0.275 CHF (US$0.26) quarterly on every card to Apple. Additionally, they paid 0.12% for credit card transactions, and 0.17% for web or app based transactions. Swiss antitrust authorities require that an acquirer pays maximum 0.44% of the transaction amount to the issuer. The competition commission calls this amount "interchange fee". Apple charges between 27% and 39% of the credit card issuers income earned from the acquirer.


title: Apple Pay

text: The service was in preparation for "a long time", as Apple acquired startups, hired executives and filed patents related to payments. Apple partnered with American Express, Mastercard and Visa. Their joint project began in January 2013, though they had discussed Apple's potential involvement for years. Their joint solution was a system where single-use digital tokens would replace the transfer of personal information. A Visa executive said that 750 people at the company worked on the anonymized "token" system for a year, and the other partners had similar teams in collaboration. MasterCard began work on the project in 2013 and hoped that their joint work would become a "standard for mobile payments". The announcement of the service came at a time when MasterCard and Visa policy created strong incentives for upgrading to mobile payment-compatible point of sale systems. Apple then approached several big banks in mid-2013 and did not divulge the names of the other banks. To maintain secrecy, JPMorgan set up a windowless "war room" where the majority of the sensitive work was done. Of their 300 people on the project, about 100 knew that the partner was Apple. Others close to the project did not know it was named "Apple Pay" until the announcement. The company's participation remained a secret leading up to its announcement.


title: Apple Pay

text: The service was announced at Apple's iPhone 6 event on September 9, 2014. At its announcement, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the magnetic stripe card payment process as broken for its reliance on plastic cards' "outdated and vulnerable magnetic interface", "exposed numbers", and insecure "security codes". The iOS 8.1 software update accompanying the service's launch activated Apple Pay on compatible devices. The company announced an API for app developers to build Apple Pay checkout into their apps.


title: Apple Pay

text: The service initially supported US-issued payment cards. An international roll-out was ongoing, beginning with support for UK-issued payment cards in July 2015. On December 17, 2015, Apple announced that it would launch Apple Pay with fifteen major banks in China, and Chinese users could start to use Apple Pay on February 18, 2016.


title: Apple Pay

text: In October 2015, Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey confirmed that KFC, Chili's, and Starbucks would begin accepting Apple Pay in 2016.


title: Apple Pay

text: Bank of America is outfitting some of its ATMs with Apple Pay support and the ability to withdraw cash using it. The new Apple Pay enabled ATM is outfitted with the NFC reader and logo that Apple Pay users have become used to seeing since the service launched. The NFC reader is located directly to the left of the card reader, although unlike the card reader, the NFC reader does not light up. Bank of America has launched a new website detailing the simple process of withdrawing cash with a smartphone (Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or Apple Pay). Bank of America says that "Consumer Debit Cards, U.S. Trust Debit Cards, Small Business Debit Cards (owner card only)" are supported. Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase also integrated Apple Pay support into their ATMs.


title: Apple Pay

text: On September 7, 2016, Apple announced that iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 users in Japan can add both local credit cards and FeliCa cards to their Apple Pay wallets. Only Suica cards are supported by Apple Pay, which can be used at subway stations, convenience stores, etc., just like regular Suica cards. Apple Pay also supports payment via all QUICPay and iD enabled terminals that are already popular in Japan.


title: Apple Pay

text: In June 2020, it was announced that the European Commission (EC) will take two probes against Apple, the one being against Apple Pay. According to EC, "Apple is 'abusing' its control of the wallet through a policy that blocks third-party payment access to its NFC hardware, which enables contactless payments. Apple opposed the claim and cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a cause of the increased number of people using contactless paying.


title: Apple Pay

text: Apple Pay can be used with cards issued in 74 countries and territories worldwide. It can also be used in some “unsupported” countries, albeit only with foreign cards.


title: Apple Pay

text: For public transport systems where payment cards can be used, passengers can travel with Apple Pay without authenticating each transaction. Transit cards that support direct provisioning can be issued within the Apple Wallet app itself, without needing to download a separate third-party application. Express Transit/Travel mode is available in the following places:


title: Apple Pay

text: In addition to the above scenarios, Apple Pay can still be used with other non-Express Transit/Travel readers that accept contactless open loop payment cards, but they will have to be verified beforehand.


title: Apple Pay

text: Journalists noted the multiple previously unsuccessful efforts of other retailers to build mobile payments services, including those of PayPal, Walmart, Target, Google Wallet, and Softcard. They noted that previous efforts did not solve customer inconvenience issues, and felt that Apple Pay potentially did. "The Verge" Adrianne Jeffries noted that mobile payment market fragmentation was partially due to Apple's refusal to enter the market. "BusinessWeek"'s Joshua Brustein added that Apple has a history of letting "first movers fail" with an early version of the service before releasing "a more polished version of the same idea". "The Verge" Dieter Bohn called Apple Pay the "week's most revolutionary product" and the announcement "a classic Apple moment of simplification and integration", and the partnership between payments services and Apple "a rare piece of collaboration and agreement". He predicted that the service's effect on the mobile payments industry would be similar to the iPhone's effect on the smartphone industry. Nathaniel Popper of "The New York Times" referred to the banks' level of coordination with Apple as "elaborate" and indicative of mutual "preparation and investment". Some analysts added that the service could reduce the standard credit card transaction fees over time since fees traditionally cover credit card fraud. The banks were willing to work with Apple in the face of efforts like Bitcoin and the Merchant Customer Exchange, which seeks to work around the card networks.


title: Apple Pay

text: Early reviews of the service regarded it as easy to use, but were not sure whether the service would become widely adopted. "The Verge" Nilay Patel wrote that the product demo was "remarkably smooth" and "a cohesive user experience". Patel said the process took five to ten seconds at a retail card reader and added that it may be less smooth at stores such as Walgreens, where cashiers prompt customers for loyalty cards and charity donations. "The New York Times" Neil Irwin wrote that Apple exaggerated the inconvenience of credit cards. Among the plastic card's benefits, he included how others could make purchases on another's behalf and how dead cell phones could leave the owner stranded.


title: Apple Pay

text: Apple announced that more than one million credit cards had been registered on Apple Pay in the first three days of its availability, making it the largest mobile payment system in the US at the time. There were 220,000 participating vendors when it launched. Outside the United States and the United Kingdom, Apple Pay can be used with American and British payment cards at compatible NFC-based payment terminals.


title: Apple Pay

text: In the United States, Apple faced opposition by the mobile payments industry, particularly the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) which was trialing a competing system known as CurrentC. Several participants of CurrentC, such as Best Buy, Walmart, and Publix had initially stated that they would not accept Apple Pay as a result of exclusivity deals. CVS Pharmacy and Rite-Aid subsequently disabled all NFC payment systems in favor of CurrentC, although due to the exclusivity period ending in August 2015, Rite Aid has begun accepting it August 15, 2015. Best Buy has begun to accept Apple Pay at all stores starting in October 2015.


title: Apple Pay

text: Target's CEO Brian Cornell said that they would be open to accepting Apple Pay eventually after the conversion to chip and PIN technology is done, but they remain involved with MCX. On January 22, 2019, Target announced the roll-out of Apple Pay support to all of its US stores.


title: Apple Pay

text: Transport for London, one of Apple Pay's official UK launch partners and one of the largest contactless merchants in the world, became the UK's most used Apple Pay merchant.


title: Apple Pay

text: As of February 11, 2016, 20% of iPhone 6 users in the United States reported using the service at least once. Apple maintains an up-to-date list of merchants who accept Apple Pay on its website.


title: Apple Pay

text: On June 2, 2016, according to "Fortune", Apple said its mobile payment platform is gaining a million new users each week, yet the company did not reveal the total number of Apple Pay users. Apple also revealed that transaction volume through the service is five times what it was a year ago, and that payment volume within apps more than doubled in the second half of 2015.


title: Apple Pay

text: With the launch of Apple Pay in China, the service hit three million provisions inside its first three days, while, more generally, it is adding one million new users per week worldwide.


title: Apple Pay

text: On July 11, 2016 Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) confirmed that it accepts Apple Pay at all of its over 850 stores in Ontario, Canada. LCBO had been gradually rolling out Apple Pay support since June at its stores, which had NFC-based terminals for contactless payments.


title: Apple Pay

text: Starting on August 19, 2016, Apple Pay will be available in Chick-fil-A restaurants across the United States, allowing fast food buyers to make their purchases both in-store and at the drive-thru using Apple Pay.


title: Apple Pay

text: On July 31, 2018, Tim Cook announced that both CVS and 7-Eleven in the United States will support the service.


title: Apple Pay

text: On May 31, 2019 New York City Transit announced support for Apple Pay at its OMNY terminals on busses and subways.


title: Apple Pay

text: On August 21, 2019, and December 23, 2019, Miami Dade Transit announced support for Apple Pay at all fare gates and on buses.


title: Apple Pay

text: In Feb 2020, Apple Pay accounted for 5% of global card transactions. On April 4, 2020, Publix CEO Todd Jones announced Publix would be supporting Apple Pay immediately to help consumers fight COVID-19.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The Muppets is a 2011 American musical comedy film directed by James Bobin and written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, and the seventh theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and Rashida Jones, as well as Muppets performers Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz. Bret McKenzie served as music supervisor, writing four of the film's five original songs, while Christophe Beck composed the film's score. In the film, devoted Muppet fan Walter, his human brother Gary and Gary's girlfriend Mary help Kermit the Frog reunite the disbanded Muppets, as they must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman, a businessman who plans to demolish the studio to drill for oil.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Walt Disney Pictures first announced the film in March 2008, with Segel and Stoller as the screenwriters and Mandeville Films as co-producer. Bobin was hired to direct in January 2010, and the film's supporting cast was filled out in October of the same year with the casting of Adams, Cooper and Jones. Filming began in September 2010 and was completed entirely in Los Angeles. The film was the first theatrical Muppets production to not feature Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson as their respective roles, though Nelson would make a voice cameo, thus making it his final "Muppet" film before his death the following year. Instead, their characters are performed by Jacobson and Vogel, respectively, marking their theatrical feature film debut as those characters.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: "The Muppets" premiered at the Savannah Film Festival on November 4, 2011, and was released theatrically in North America on November 23, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $165 million worldwide on a budget of $45 million and garnering praise for its humor, music, and revitalization of the characters. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for McKenzie's song "Man or Muppet", as well as garnering BAFTA and Critic's Choice Awards nominations. A sequel, titled "Muppets Most Wanted", was released on March 21, 2014.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Walter, born a Muppet and a resident of Smalltown, is a lifelong fan of "The Muppet Show". His older brother Gary intends to take his long-term girlfriend Mary on a vacation to Los Angeles. Mary wants Gary to propose to her, but feels his devotion to Walter distracts from their relationship.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The trio tour the rundown Muppet Studios, where Walter sneaks into Kermit the Frog’s office. There, he overhears oil magnate Tex Richman and his henchmen, Uncle Deadly and Bobo the Bear, intending to buy the Muppet Theatre from Statler and Waldorf. The old men state that the Muppets could repurchase the theatre if they raised $10 million before their original contract expires. However, in private, Richman reveals he intends to destroy the theatre to drill for oil.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Walter informs Gary and Mary. They visit Kermit in his mansion, who realizes the Muppets would have to reunite and throw a telethon to raise the money. Though the Muppets have gone their separate ways, Kermit is convinced to reunite them. He convinces Fozzie Bear to join in, having been performing in Reno with the Moopets, a tribute band of uncouth Muppet impersonators. Gonzo, working as a plumbing magnate, at first refuses to join, but changes his mind. Animal attends a celebrity anger management clinic, sponsored by Jack Black, and refuses to play the drums. The other various Muppets are recruited via "map montage".


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The group travels to Paris to recruit Miss Piggy, who is an editor for "Vogue Paris". At first she refuses to return, but later does so when her Moopet counterpart Miss Poogy is hired. The Muppets pitch their telethon to several networks. CDE network executive Veronica Martin agrees to air their show if they gain a celebrity host and The Muppets rebuild the theatre. Needing enough acts to fill the telethon's two-hour timeslot, Kermit encourages Walter to find a talent. With Gary helping Walter, Mary goes sightseeing alone and eventually returns to Smalltown.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: With time running out, a desperate Kermit tries to implore Richman to return the studio, but he refuses, revealing he will give the Muppets’ trademarks to the Moopets. Kermit gives up, prompting Miss Piggy to rally the other Muppets to kidnap Jack Black to be the host. Gary discovers Mary has left and returns to Smalltown.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The Muppets convince Kermit to participate in the telethon, which slowly gains both an audience and rising funds, thanks to telephone pledges from celebrity callers. Richman repeatedly attempts to sabotage the show, cutting the theatre's power, but Gary and Mary arrive to restore it. A guilt-stricken Uncle Deadly betrays Richman and stops his second attempt at sabotage. Kermit and Miss Piggy reconcile, leading the Muppets to perform a rendition of “Rainbow Connection”. During this, Animal regains his love for drumming. Walter, with encouragement from Gary, performs a whistling act and earns a standing ovation.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Refusing to accept defeat, Richman deliberately crashes Kermit's car into a telephone pole, cutting off the phone lines just short of the goal, and evicts the Muppets from the theatre. However, the group are met by adoring fans outside, Walter joining the Muppets. Gary proposes to Mary, and Richman, after being struck in the head by Gonzo's bowling ball, laughs for the first time and willingly returns ownership of the theatre to the Muppets.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Archival recordings of Goelz, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and Richard Hunt can be heard in the film through "The Muppet Show" segments in the opening flashbacks. Nelson also makes an uncredited cameo appearance as the telethon's announcer, reprising his role from "The Muppet Show". This would be the final time Nelson and his likeness would be used in a Muppet production before his death the following year.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Tyler Bunch, Bruce Lanoil, Alice Dinnean, Nathan Danforth, and Michelan Sisti all performed additional roles; Bunch playing Foozie Bear, Thog and one of the hobo Muppets, Lanoil playing one of the hobo Muppets and an item of singing food, Dinnean playing Wanda and Afghan Hound, Danforth playing one of the Mutations, and Sisti playing another item of singing food. Other additional performers include Paul McGinnis, David Barclay, Greg Ballora, Kevin Carlson, Tim Blaney, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Kristin Charney, B.J. Guyer, Tanya Haden, Julia Gunn, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Len Levitt, James Murray, Michael Oosterom, Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, David Skelly, Andy Stone, Art Vega, Alex Villa, and Chase Woolner.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Rob Corddry, Billy Crystal, Ricky Gervais, Kathy Griffin, Sarah Hyland, Sterling Knight, Wanda Sykes, and Danny Trejo were featured in scenes that were dropped from the final cut of the film. Corddry, Gervais, and Trejo would later appear in "Muppets Most Wanted" in different roles.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: In 2008, Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller pitched a concept for a Muppets film to Walt Disney Studios executive vice-president of production Karen Falk, and they were offered a deal to develop their script, with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films producing. The news became public in March 2008 when "Variety" first reported that Disney had signed a deal with Segel and Stoller, with Segel and Stoller writing the script and Stoller directing. In June 2008, Segel announced that he had turned in the first draft of his script and was hopeful that the film would live up to previous Muppets movies. Later in 2008, Stoller noted that he and Segel had written an "old school Muppets movie, where the Muppets have to put on a show to save the studio." In this same interview, Stoller also confirmed that they would get as many cameos and guest stars as possible, and that Segel would play a ventriloquist.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Originally, the film was titled "The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time!!!", and an early leak of the script suggested that it would feature celebrity cameos by Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Christian Bale, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Jack Black, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Brooks, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Rachael Ray, Bob Saget, Lisa Lampanelli, Jeff Ross, and Charles Grodin. Another former title of the film was "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made!", after an unused script written by Jerry Juhl back in 1985. Although early reports indicated that Stoller would direct the film, in January 2010 it was announced that James Bobin would direct the movie. In February 2010, additional details about the plot surfaced, indicating that the film would be about a villain that wanted to drill for oil underneath the old Muppet Theater, and that the only way to stop him would be to put on a show that draws ten million viewers. Reports from the summer of 2010 revealed that the production team had met with the creative heads at Pixar Animation Studios to fine tune the script. During the summer of 2010, it was announced that the film would be released on Christmas 2011, but in December 2010, the release date was moved to Thanksgiving 2011.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: In October 2010, it was confirmed that Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and Rashida Jones would also be starring in the film. Over the next few months, several guest cameo announcements emerged, including, but not limited to Emily Blunt, Ricky Gervais, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Crystal, Jack Black, Alan Arkin and Dave Grohl. However, Gervais, Crystal and several other cameos including Beth Broderick, Kathy Griffin, Ed Helms, Sterling Knight, Mila Kunis, Ben Stiller, Eric Stonestreet, Wanda Sykes Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Danny Trejo were completely omitted from the film due to time constraints. Jim Parsons' cameo was kept as a secret by producers despite rumors that leaked on the Internet regarding his role in the film. In a March 2009 interview on "The Late Late Show", Segel revealed that he had asked host Craig Ferguson to appear in the film, and at the time, he (Ferguson) had been the only person that had agreed. Ferguson was ultimately not given a role, for which he jokingly chastised Segel in a November 2011 interview. A cameo was written for the "Sesame Street" Muppet Elmo, but was rejected by Disney's attorneys and representatives from Sesame Workshop.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: During the summer of 2010, "Flight of the Conchords" co-star Bret McKenzie flew to Los Angeles to serve as the music supervisor for "The Muppets".


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Principal photography for "The Muppets" started in late 2010, with the first set photos emerging in December 2010.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The November 12, 2010, issue of "Entertainment Weekly" featured a spread about "The Muppets", including a summary of the film's concept, quotes from Segel and Bobin, the first images of Walter, and new photos of the Muppets with Segel.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Hollywood Boulevard was closed for two nights in January 2011 to film a reprise of "Life's a Happy Song", the final musical number for the movie. According to /Film, the shoot involved Amy Adams, Jason Segel, and hundreds of extras performing an elaborate musical number outside the El Capitan Theatre. The "Los Angeles Times" also noted that other musical numbers would appear in the film, including Kermit singing his signature song, "Rainbow Connection", which he played on the same banjo that he used when he performed the song in "The Muppet Movie" (1979).


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Universal Studios' Soundstage 28, most famous for containing the Paris Opera House set from "The Phantom of the Opera", served as interiors for The Muppet Theater, whereas the El Capitan Theatre (with a digitally changed marquee) served as the exterior. Scenes set in Smalltown were filmed at the Warner Bros. Studios' backlot and Disney's Golden Oak Ranch, and the fictional "Muppet Studios" were filmed with exterior shots at the Jim Henson Company Lot and interior shots at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Other filming locations included Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Pink Palace Mansion in Bel Air, the Crossroads of the World, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the City National Plaza in downtown Los Angeles (acting as the interior of Richman Oil's headquarters, although the Bank of America Center is represented instead). Scooter's scene in the Muppet reunion montage was filmed at Google's Zurich headquarters in Switzerland. Although principal photography was completed on February 11, 2011, on April 26, 2011, a second unit film crew traveled to Reno, Nevada to film some exterior shots, including a scene in the Bonanza Casino parking lot with some Muppet characters, and a small shot looking into the casino.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The film required extensive blue-screen shots and matte backgrounds. In the scene where Walter is running atop a dresser, the puppeteers performed Walter's choreography while wearing blue costumes against a blue screen. The result had the puppeteers completely gone from the final shot. Look Effects were responsible for those visual effects shots, whereas Legacy Effects designed the mechanics for '80s Robot. A majority of the Muppet characters were also completely rebuilt for the film.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The majority of the songs for "The Muppets" were written by Bret McKenzie, who previously worked with Bobin on a television series based on McKenzie's band Flight of the Conchords. One of the film's five songs, "Pictures in My Head", was produced by McKenzie and written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis, and Chen Neeman. At the Muppets performers' behest, McKenzie rewrote lyrics where the characters directly referred to themselves as puppets. McKenzie was also informed during recording sessions with the performers that certain Muppets (such as chickens and penguins) do not speak and instead vocalize in onomatopoeic sounds. The film's score was composed by Christophe Beck. Beck described his role as having to "help tell the story musically, providing a sort of emotional glue―I had to pay special


title: The Muppets (film)

text: attention to blending the many styles of music so that it felt cohesive." Beck employed instruments he considered underused, as well as ones rarely used in an orchestral setting, such as the banjo.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The film's original soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on November 22, 2011, followed by a Spanish version of the soundtrack released as "Los Muppets: Banda Sonora Original de Walt Disney Records" on December 6, 2011. McKenzie won an Academy Award for the song "Man or Muppet", beating out "Real in Rio" from "Rio". "Life's a Happy Song" and "Pictures in my Head" were also included in the Academy's shortlist for Best Original Song. Although it was the fourth Muppet film to receive an Oscar nomination, this was the first time a Muppet film had won an Academy Award and the first Muppet film nominated for Best Original Song since 1981's "The Great Muppet Caper" and the first time a Muppet film in general had been nominated for any kind of Academy Award since 1984's "The Muppets Take Manhattan".


title: The Muppets (film)

text: "The Muppets" premiered at the 2011 Savannah Film Festival, and held its world premiere on November 12, 2011, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 23, 2011, and in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2012. Originally, the film was set to be released in the United States on Christmas 2011, but it was later moved to Thanksgiving 2011. It was also the opening gala at the 2012 Glasgow Youth Film Festival. The film was accompanied by Pixar's "Toy Story Toons" short "Small Fry". It was the first Disney film to use the modified version of the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo, in which "Walt Disney Pictures" was shortened to "Disney", which was originally used in home media releases in 2007.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Segel and Adams appeared at CinemaCon in March 2011, to promote the project, showcasing several clips from the film. Clips from the film were also shown at Suffolk University in April 2011 during a Q&A with David Hoberman, Steve Whitmire and Kermit the Frog. Although there had been some speculation that the cast would appear at Comic-Con, no official announcement was made.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: In May 2011, Kermit the Frog attended the world premiere of "" at Disneyland to promote the upcoming Muppets release. A spoof romantic comedy trailer for the movie was attached to "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", and it was later released online under the faux name "Green with Envy". Additional spoof trailers parodied "The Hangover Part II" (called "The Fuzzy Pack"), "Green Lantern" (called "Being Green"), "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (called "The Pig with the Froggy Tattoo"), "Paranormal Activity 3" (called "Abnormal Activity"), "Happy Feet Two" (called "Dancing on Happy Feet"), "Puss in Boots" (called "Fuss in Boots") and "" (called "Breaking Prawn"). In November 2011, Brooks Brothers announced that it had designed a custom wardrobe for Kermit the Frog for the movie.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: On August 23, 2011, Walt Disney Records released "", a tribute album of popular Muppet songs performed by multiple contemporary artists, as part of the film's promotion., as well as reissuing the on November 1, 2011. The Muppets also performed "Life's a Happy Song" on the November 15, 2011 episode of the American version of "Dancing with the Stars".


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Segel hosted "Saturday Night Live" on November 19, 2011, with the Muppets as guests. Kermit appeared on the Weekend Update segment, doing a "Really!?!" segment.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: The Muppets were guest stars on WWE Monday Night RAW and interacted with several WWE Superstars including Jack Swagger, Hornswoggle, and Sheamus. They also joined Olly Murs on stage during the UK version of "The X Factor" on November 27, 2011, to perform his new single "Dance With Me Tonight" and promote their new film.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: An iPhone app called "Tap Tap Muppets" was released for the iPhone the day prior to the film's release. The app features six new musical numbers and three classic Muppet songs: "The Muppet Show Theme," "Rainbow Connection," and "Mah Nà Mah Nà."


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released "The Muppets" on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and digital download on March 20, 2012, the same day the Muppets received a collective star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The release was produced in four different physical packages: a three-disc combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy) with soundtrack download ("The Wocka Wocka Value Pack); a two-disc combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); a one-disc DVD with soundtrack download; and a one-disc DVD without soundtrack download. The film was released digitally in high definition and standard definition. The two-disc edition's supplementary features include bloopers, deleted and alternate scenes, "Muppet Intermission", "Scratching the Surface: A Hasty Examination of the Making of Disney's "The Muppets"", the fully intact version of "Let's Talk About Me", "A Little Screen Test on the Way to the Read Through," and an audio commentary with Jason Segel, James Bobin, and Nicholas Stoller. The three-disc combo pack also includes the theatrical spoof trailers (including exclusive, unreleased parody trailers of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "Fast Five") and a digital download of the soundtrack, while still including the same features as the two-disc combo pack.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: "The Muppets" debuted at No. 2 in Blu-ray and DVD sales in the United States according to Nielsen's sales chart. The film generated an additional $58.3 million in home media sales.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: "The Muppets" was a commercial success, accumulating a box office gross nearly quadruple its $45 million budget. It grossed $6.5 million on its opening day and debuted in second place, behind "". The following day, Thanksgiving Day, the film grossed $5.8 million for a two-day total of $12.5 million. From Friday to Sunday, "The Muppets" grossed $29.2 million, while holding onto the No. 2 spot. Overall, the film grossed $41.5 million in five days; during which, it outgrossed every previous Muppet film, excluding "The Muppet Movie". The film closed on April 5, 2012, having grossed $88,631,237 in North America, along with $76,553,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $165,184,237, becoming the highest-grossing puppet film and the first film in the series to gross over $100 million worldwide (unadjusted for inflation).


title: The Muppets (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 95% based on 228 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Clever, charming, and heartfelt, "The Muppets" is a welcome big screen return for Jim Henson's lovable creations that will both win new fans and delight longtime devotees." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave "The Muppets" an "A" grade rating on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, praising the revitalized Muppets and their distinctive personalities. Justin Chang of "Variety" called it "an unexpected treat," noting that the film effortlessly blends "wised-up, self-reflective humor with old-fashioned let's-put-on-a-show pizzazz." Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised the film as "A mostly winning return for childhood favorites from a prior century [that] looks to accomplish its goal of pleasing old fans and winning new ones." Alonso Duralde of "The Wrap" agreed writing that, ""The Muppets" has the same brilliant absurdity, anarchic humor, subtle uplift and ensemble comedy that fans have come to expect over the years." Both the "Los Angeles Times" and "Entertainment Weekly" praised the screenplay's self-referential humor, Jason Segel and Amy Adams' supporting roles, and the film's clever employment of cameos.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Michael Phillips gave the film three out of four stars, positively summarizing that "those of us who've had Muppets in our memory since childhood will find ourselves in a state of contentment." Peter Travers, writing for "Rolling Stone", commended the film's musical segments, particularly Bret McKenzie's "Man or Muppet". "The Boston Globe" also gave it three out of four stars and said, "The result is refreshing on every level, a piece of nostalgia so old it's new again, and a breather from Hollywood's 3-D digital onslaught in favor of fur and fuzz." Christopher Kelly of the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram" stated that the film was "much more than just an affectionate reimagining of familiar Muppets routines, [but it] is rooted in real emotions and characters," and that "they remain as committed as ever to doing what Muppets do best: putting on a grand show."


title: The Muppets (film)

text: Prior to the film's release, some past Muppet performers were reportedly critical about the film's portrayal of the characters. Retired Muppet performer Frank Oz initially disapproved of the script and thought that the early version was disrespectful toward the characters.


title: The Muppets (film)

text: In March 2012, after the critical and commercial success of the film, Disney secured a deal with Bobin and Stoller to direct and write, respectively, a new installment. Later that month, Segel stated that he would have no involvement in the sequel. On April 24, Disney officially announced that the sequel was in development and that Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey were cast in the film, with Hoberman and Lieberman returning as producers, as well as McKenzie returning to write the film's songs. "Muppets Most Wanted" was released on March 21, 2014.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( or "Parlamento"), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the National Campaign. This constitution had founded its pre-government known as 1st Executive Ministers of Turkey (Commitment Deputy Committee) in May 1920. The parliament was fundamental in the efforts of "Mareşal" Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1st President of the Republic of Turkey, and his colleagues to found a new state out of the remnants of the Ottoman Empire.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: There are 600 members of parliament (deputies) who are elected for a five-year term by the D'Hondt method, a party-list proportional representation system, from 87 electoral districts which represent the 81 administrative provinces of Turkey (Istanbul and Ankara are divided into three electoral districts whereas İzmir and Bursa are divided into two each because of its large populations). To avoid a hung parliament and its excessive political fragmentation, from 1982 to 2022 a party must have won at least 10% of the national vote to qualify for representation in the parliament, but in 2022 this was reduced to 7%. As a result of the 10% threshold, only two parties won seats in the legislature after the 2002 elections and three in 2007. The 2002 elections saw every party represented in the previous parliament ejected from the chamber and parties representing 46.3% of the voter turnout were excluded from being represented in parliament. This threshold has been criticized, but a complaint with the European Court for Human Rights was turned down.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: A new term in the parliament began on 23 June 2015, after the June 2015 General Elections. Deniz Baykal from the CHP temporarily served as the speaker, as it is customary for the oldest member of the TBMM to serve as speaker during a hung parliament. İsmail Kahraman was elected after the snap elections on 22 November 2015.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The parliament's minutes are translated into the four languages Arabic, Russian, English and French but not in the Kurdish language which is the second most native language in Turkey. Though phrases in the Kurdish language can be permitted, whole speeches remain forbidden.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Parties who have at least 20 deputies may form a parliamentary group. Currently there are five parliamentary groups at the GNAT: AKP, which has the highest number of seats, CHP, MHP, Good Party and HDP.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: These committees are one of auditing tools of the Parliament. The research can begin upon the demand of the Government, political party groups or min 20 MPs. The duty is assigned to a committee whose number of members, duration of work and location of work is determined by the proposal of the Parliamentary Speaker and the approval of the General Assembly.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: These committees are established if any investigation demand re the president, vice president, and ministers occur and approved by the General Assembly through hidden voting.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: An MP can attend more than one committee if s/he is not a member of Application Committee or Planning and Budgeting Committee. Members of those committees can not participate in any other committees. On the other hand, s/he does not have to work for a committee either.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Number of members of each committee is determined by the proposal of the Advisory Council and the approval of the General Assembly.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Sub committees are established according to the issue that the committee receives. Only Public Economic Enterprises (PEEs) Committee has constant sub committees that are specifically responsible for a group of PEEs.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Committee meetings are open to the MPs, the Ministers' Board members and the Government representatives. The MPs and the Ministers' Board members can talk in the committees but can not make amendments proposals or vote. Every MP can read the reports of the committees.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: NGOs can attend the committee meetings upon the invitation of the committee therefore volunteer individual or public participation is not available. Media, but not the visual media, can attend the meetings. The media representatives are usually the parliamentary staff of the media institutions. The committees can prevent the attendance of the media with a joint decision.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The 27th Parliament of Turkey took office on 7 July 2018, following the ratification of the results of the general election held on 24 June 2018. The composition of the 27th Parliament, is shown below.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The current Parliament Building is the third to house the nation's parliament. The building which first housed the Parliament was converted from the Ankara headquarters of the Committee of Union and Progress. Designed by architect Hasip Bey, it was used until 1924 and is now used as the locale of the Museum of the War of Independence, the second building which housed the Parliament was designed by architect Vedat (Tek) Bey (1873–1942) and used from 1924 to 1960. It is now been converted as the Museum of the Republic. The Grand National Assembly is now housed in a modern and imposing building in the Bakanlıklar neighborhood of Ankara. The monumental building's project was designed by architect and professor Clemens Holzmeister (1886–1993). The building was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50,000 lira banknotes of 1989–1999. The building was hit by airstrikes three times during the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, suffering noticeable damage. Later, the Parliament went through a revision in the summer of 2016.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Turkey has had a history of parliamentary government before the establishment of the current national parliament. These include attempts at curbing absolute monarchy during the Ottoman Empire through constitutional monarchy, as well as establishments of caretaker national assemblies immediately prior to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 but after the "de facto" dissolution of the Ottoman Empire earlier in the decade.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: There were two periods of parliamentary governance during the Ottoman Empire. The First Constitutional Era lasted for only two years, elections being held only twice. After the first elections, there were a number of criticisms of the government due to the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878 by the representatives, and the assembly was dissolved and an election called on 28 June 1877. The second assembly was also dissolved by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II on 14 February 1878, the result being the return of absolute monarchy with Abdul Hamid II in power and the suspension of the Ottoman constitution of 1876, which had come with the democratic reforms resulting in the First Constitutional Era.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The Second Constitutional Era began on 23 July 1908 with the Young Turk Revolution. The constitution that was written for the first parliament included control of the sultan on the public and was removed during 1909, 1912, 1914 and 1916, in a session known as the "declaration of freedom". Most of the modern parliamentary rights that were not granted in the first constitution were granted, such as the abolition of the right of the Sultan to deport citizens that were claimed to have committed harmful activities, the establishment of a free press, a ban on censorship. Freedom to hold meetings and establish political parties was recognized, and the government was held responsible to the assembly, not to the sultan.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: During the two constitutional eras of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman parliament was called the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire and was bicameral. The upper house was the Senate of the Ottoman Empire, the members of which were selected by the sultan. The role of the Grand Vizier, the centuries-old top ministerial office in the empire, transformed in line with other European states into one identical to the office of a prime minister, as well as that of the speaker of the Senate. The lower chamber of the General Assembly was the Chamber of Deputies of the Ottoman Empire, the members of which were elected by the general public.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: After World War I, the victorious Allied Powers sought the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire through the Treaty of Sèvres. The sovereign existence of the Turkish nation was to be eliminated under these plans, except for a small region. Nationalist Turkish sentiment rose in the Anatolian peninsula, engendering the establishment of the Turkish national movement. The political developments during this period have made a lasting impact which continues to affect the character of the Turkish nation. During the Turkish War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal put forth the notion that there would be only one way for the liberation of the Turkish people in the aftermath of World War I, namely, through the creation of an independent, sovereign Turkish state. The Sultanate was abolished by the newly founded parliament in 1922, paving the way for the formal proclamation of the republic that was to come on 29 October 1923.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Mustafa Kemal, in a speech he made on 19 March 1920 announced that "an Assembly will be gathered in Ankara that will possess extraordinary powers" and communicated how the members who would participate in the assembly would be elected and the need to realise elections, at the latest, within 15 days. He also stated that the members of the dispersed Ottoman Chamber of Deputies could also participate in the assembly in Ankara, to increase the representative power of the parliament. These elections were held as planned, in the style of the elections of the preceding Chamber of Deputies, in order to select the first members of the new Turkish assembly. This "Grand National Assembly", established on national sovereignty, held its inaugural session on 23 April 1920. From this date until the end of the Turkish War of Independence in 1923, the provisional government of Turkey was known as the Government of the Grand National Assembly.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The first trial of multi-party politics, during the republican era, was made in 1924 by the establishment of the Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası (Progressive Republican Party) at the request of Mustafa Kemal, which was closed after several months. Following a 6-year one-party rule, after the foundation of the Serbest Fırka (Liberal Party) by Ali Fethi Okyar, again at the request of Mustafa Kemal, in 1930, some violent disorders took place, especially in the eastern parts of the country. The Liberal Party was dissolved on 17 November 1930 and no further attempt at a multiparty democracy was made until 1945.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The multi-party period in Turkey was resumed by the founding of the National Development Party ("Milli Kalkınma Partisi"), by Nuri Demirağ, in 1945. The Democrat Party was established the following year, and won the general elections of 1950; one of its leaders, Celal Bayar, becoming President of the Republic and another, Adnan Menderes, Prime Minister.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: After the a military coup on 27 May 1960, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, President Celal Bayar, and all the ministers and members of the Assembly were arrested. The Assembly was closed. The Committee of National Unity, CNU "(Milli Birlik Komitesi), "assumed all the powers of the Assembly by a provisional constitution and began to run the country. Executive power was used by ministers appointed by the CNU.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The members of the CNU began to work on a new and comprehensive constitution. The Constituent Assembly "(Kurucu Meclis), "composed of members of the CNU and the members of the House of Representatives, was established to draft a new constitution on 6 January 1961. The House of Representatives consisted of those appointed by the CNU, representatives designated by two parties of that time (CHP and Republican Villagers National Party, RVNP), and representatives of various professional associations.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The constitutional text drafted by the Constituent Assembly was presented to the voters in a referendum on 9 July 1961, and was accepted by 61.17% of the voters. The 1961 Constitution, the first prepared by a Constituent Assembly and the first to be presented to the people in a referendum, included innovations in many subjects.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The 1961 Constitution stipulated a typical parliamentarian system. According to the Constitution, Parliament was bicameral. The legislative power was vested in the House of Representatives and the Senate. while the executive authority was vested in the President and the Council of Ministers. The Constitution envisaged a Constitutional Court.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The 1961 Constitution regulated fundamental rights and freedom, including economic and social rights, over a wide spectrum and adopted the principles of a democratic social state and the rule of law. The 1961 Constitution underwent many comprehensive changes after the military memorandum of 12 March 1971, but continued to be in force until the military coup of 1980.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The country underwent another military coup on 12 September 1980. The Constitution was suspended and political parties were dissolved. Many politicians were forbidden from entering politics again. The military power ruling the country established a "Constituent Assembly", as had been done in 1961. The Constituent Assembly was composed of the National Security Council and the Advisory Assembly. Within two years, the new constitution was drafted and was presented to the referendum on 7 November 1982. Participation in the referendum was 91.27%. As a result, the 1982 Constitution was passed with 91.37% of the votes.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The greatest change brought about by the 1982 Constitution was the unicameral parliamentary system. The number of MPs were 550 members. The executive was empowered and new and more definite limitations were introduced on fundamental rights and freedoms. Also, a 10% electoral threshold was introduced. Except for these aspects, the 1982 Constitution greatly resembled the 1961 Constitution.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: The 1982 Constitution, from the time it was accepted until the present time, has undergone many changes, especially the "integration laws", which have been introduced within the framework of the European Union membership process, and which has led to a fundamental evolution.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: After the 2017 constitutional referendums, the first general election of the Assembly was under a presidential system, with an executive president who has the power to renew the elections for the Assembly and vice versa. Following the referendum, the number of MPs increased from 550 to 600. Furthermore, due to separation of powers, members of the cabinet can't introduce laws anymore. This task is left to the parliamentarians. In line with this change, the seats for the members of the cabinet have been removed from the parliament. These seats were originally located on the left side of the Parliament Speaker.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: In 2022, at the initiative of the ruling AKP and its main political ally MHP, the national electoral threshold for a party to enter parliament was lowered from 10 to 7 percent.


title: Grand National Assembly of Turkey

text: Since the elections, 5 MPs deceased, 7 MPs became ministers, 5 MPs became mayors and 2 MPs lost their memberships, 1 MP resigned.


title: Carrion

text: Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, condors, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia opossum, Tasmanian devils, coyotes and Komodo dragons. Many invertebrates, such as the carrion and burying beetles, as well as maggots of calliphorid flies (such as one of the most important species in "Calliphora vomitoria") and flesh-flies, also eat carrion, playing an important role in recycling nitrogen and carbon in animal remains.


title: Carrion

text: Carrion begins to decay at the moment of the animal's death, and it will increasingly attract insects and breed bacteria. Not long after the animal has died, its body will begin to exude a foul odor caused by the presence of bacteria and the emission of cadaverine and putrescine.


title: Carrion

text: Some plants and fungi smell like decomposing carrion and attract insects that aid in reproduction. Plants that exhibit this behavior are known as carrion flowers. Stinkhorn mushrooms are examples of fungi with this characteristic.


title: Carrion

text: Sometimes carrion is used to describe an infected carcass that is diseased and should not be touched. An example of carrion being used to describe dead and rotting bodies in literature may be found in William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar" (III.i):


title: Carrion

text: Another example can be found in Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" when the title character kills an unknown bird for food but finds "its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing".


title: Carrion

text: The thirty-count laws of Ulla (Talmudist) include the prohibition of humans consuming carrion. This count is in addition to the standard seven law count and has been recently published from the Judeo-Arabic writing of Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon after having been lost for centuries.


title: Thomas Harris

text: William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notable being "The Silence of the Lambs", which became only the third film in Academy Awards history to sweep the Oscars in major categories.


title: Thomas Harris

text: Harris was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but moved as a child with his family to Rich, Mississippi. He was introverted and bookish in grade school and then blossomed in high school. He attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he majored in English and graduated in 1964. While in college, he worked as a reporter for the local newspaper, the "Waco Tribune-Herald", covering the police beat. In 1968, he moved to New York City to work for "Associated Press" until 1974 when he began work on his debut novel, "Black Sunday".


title: Thomas Harris

text: Little is known about Harris' personal life as he avoids publicity; he did not give a substantive interview between 1976 and 2019. At Baylor University he met and married Harriet Anne Haley, a fellow student, in June 1961. They had one daughter, Elizabeth Anne, before they divorced in August 1968. Harris was always close to his mother Polly and called her every night no matter where he was. He often discussed particular scenes from his novels with her. Polly died on December 31, 2011.


title: Thomas Harris

text: He lives in South Florida and has a summer home in Sag Harbor, New York. His long-term domestic partner is Pace Barnes, a woman who, according to "USA Today", "used to work in publishing and is as outgoing as he is quiet." Harris' friend and literary agent Morton Janklow said of him: "He's one of the good guys. He is big, bearded and wonderfully jovial. If you met him, you would think he was a choirmaster. He loves cooking—he's done the Le Cordon Bleu exams—and it's great fun to sit with him in the kitchen while he prepares a meal and see that he's as happy as a clam. He has these old-fashioned manners, a courtliness you associate with the South." In his first major interview in 43 years, to "The New York Times" in 2019 to promote "Cari Mora", he revealed himself to be a nature lover, and a long-time visitor and volunteer of the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, an animal rescue center in Miami, Florida for 20 years. The staff were not aware of who Harris was until a few years prior to when the interview was conducted. He described fame as "more of a nuisance than anything else".


title: Thomas Harris

text: Fellow novelist Stephen King remarked that if writing is sometimes tedious for other authors, to Harris it is like "writhing on the floor in agonies of frustration", because for Harris, "the very act of writing is a kind of torment". Novelist John Dunning said of Harris, "All he is is a talent of the first rank." In 2019, he elaborated on his process, as well as the difficulty, describing it as "passive [...], sometimes you really have to shove and grunt and sweat. Some days you go to your office and you're the only one who shows up, none of the characters show up, and you sit there by yourself, feeling like an idiot. And some days everybody shows up ready to work. You have to show up at your office every day. If an idea comes by, you want to be there to get it in."


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964.


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field was designed by Populous. The $850 million baseball park was funded with $615 million in public subsidies, including the sale of New York City municipal bonds that are to be repaid by the Mets with interest. The payments will offset property taxes for the lifetime of the park.


title: Citi Field

text: The first game at Citi Field was on March 29, 2009, with a college baseball game between St. John's and Georgetown. The Mets played their first two games at the ballpark on April 3 and 4, 2009 against the Boston Red Sox as charity exhibition games. The first regular season home game was played on April 13, 2009, against the San Diego Padres. Citi Field hosted the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, marking the second time the Mets have hosted the event (the first being in 1964, the inaugural season of Shea Stadium).


title: Citi Field

text: The naming rights were purchased by Citigroup, a New York financial services company, for $20 million annually.


title: Citi Field

text: Since the 1990s, the Mets were looking to replace Shea Stadium. It had originally been built as a multi-purpose stadium in 1964. While it had been retrofitted as a baseball-only stadium after the NFL's New York Jets left for Giants Stadium after the 1983 season, it was still not optimal for baseball, with seating located farther away from the playing field compared to other major league ballparks. The team unveiled a preliminary model of the ballpark in 1998; it featured a retractable roof and a movable grass field, which would have allowed it to host events including conventions and college basketball. The Mets also considered moving to Mitchel Field or Belmont Park in Nassau County, Long Island; Sunnyside Yard in Queens, or the West Side Yard in Manhattan.


title: Citi Field

text: In December 2001, shortly before leaving office, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced "tentative agreements" for both the Mets and the New York Yankees to build new stadiums. Of the $1.6 billion sought for the stadiums, city and state taxpayers would pick up half the tab for construction, $800 million, along with $390 million on extra transportation. The plan also said that the teams would be allowed to keep all parking revenues, which state officials had already said they wanted to keep to compensate the state for building new garages for the teams. The teams would keep 96% of ticket revenues and 100% of all other revenues, not pay sales tax or property tax on the stadium, and would get low-cost electricity from New York state. Business officials criticized the plan as giving too much money to successful teams with little reason to move to a different city.


title: Citi Field

text: Michael Bloomberg, who succeeded Giuliani as mayor, exercised the escape clause in the agreements to back out of both deals, saying that the city could not afford to build new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees. Bloomberg said that, unbeknownst to him, Giuliani had inserted a clause in this deal that loosened the teams' leases with the city and would allow the Mets and Yankees to leave the city on 60 days notice to find a new home elsewhere if the city backed out of the agreement. At the time, Bloomberg said that publicly funded stadiums were a poor investment. Under Bloomberg, the New York City government would only offer public financing for infrastructure improvements; the teams would have to pay for the stadiums themselves. Bloomberg called the former mayor's agreements "corporate welfare." Giuliani had already been instrumental in the construction of taxpayer-funded minor league baseball facilities MCU Park for the Mets' minor league Brooklyn Cyclones and Richmond County Bank Ballpark for the Staten Island Yankees.


title: Citi Field

text: The final plans for what is now Citi Field were created as part of the unsuccessful New York City 2012 Olympic bid. After plans for a West Side Stadium fell through, New York looked for an alternate stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field. The Olympic Stadium project on the West Side was estimated to cost $2.2 billion, with $300 million provided by New York City and an additional $300 million from New York State. If New York had won the bid, Citi Field would have been expanded to Olympic events while the Mets would have played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for the 2012 season. By then, however, the failure of the West Side Stadium proposal had effectively ended New York's chances of winning the 2012 games.


title: Citi Field

text: The projected cost of the new ballpark and other infrastructure improvements is $610 million, with the Mets picking up $420 million of that amount. The agreement includes a 40-year lease that will keep the Mets in New York until 2049. The Mets own the stadium through a wholly owned subsidiary, Queens Ballpark Company.


title: Citi Field

text: On March 18, 2006, the New York Mets unveiled the official model for the new ballpark. By July 2006, initial construction of the new park was underway in the parking lot beyond Shea Stadium's left-field, with a projected finish of late March ahead of Opening Day 2009.


title: Citi Field

text: By April 13, 2008, all of the structure for the Jackie Robinson Rotunda was in place with the arched windows receiving their paneling and glass. By September 2008, most of the Citi Field signage had been installed. By December 1, 2008, all of the seats and the playing field had been installed.


title: Citi Field

text: During the 2010 off-season, the bullpen area in right-center field underwent a complete renovation. When the edifice opened in time for the start of the 2009 MLB season, the Mets' bullpen was in front of the visiting bullpen, leading to an obstructed view of the field from the visiting bullpen, which the San Diego Padres complained about during the Mets' first regular-season home series. The bullpens were turned 90°, with pitchers throwing toward the field instead of parallel to it. More Mets team colors, player banners and logos were also added throughout the ballpark, including revamping the "Let's Go Mets" slogan on the Citi Vision board so that the word "Mets" appears in its traditional script instead of the same font as the rest of the slogan. Additionally, the height of the home run boundary line directly in front of the Home Run Apple in center field was reduced from to in an attempt to produce more home runs.


title: Citi Field

text: During its first three seasons, the large field dimensions caused Citi Field to play as an extreme "pitcher's park", and home-runs at the stadium were among the fewest in the Major Leagues. Mets' general manager Sandy Alderson changed Citi Field's dimensions in time for the 2012 MLB season in order to make it more friendly to hitters. Changes included building an wall in front of the high wall in left field that many had dubbed the "Great Wall of Flushing", removing the nook in the "Mo's Zone" in right field, and reducing the distance in right center field from from home plate to . The new walls are colored blue in order to address fan complaints that the old black walls with orange trims did not reflect the colors of the Mets. The Mets have also created a new seating section located in between the old and new left field walls called the Party City Party Deck, renamed the M&M's Sweet Seats in 2016 after change of sponsorship, and can accommodate 102 additional fans.


title: Citi Field

text: On March 21, 2019, the Mets announced on Twitter that Citi Field's permanent address would be changed to 41 Seaver Way, in honor of former Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver whose number was 41. The ceremony was held on June 27, 2019 and was part of the weekend set aside for celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 World Series Champion Mets.


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field has a capacity of 41,922. It has over 15,000 fewer seats than Shea Stadium. All the seats in the park are green – in an homage to the Polo Grounds, longtime home of the baseball Giants and the original home of the Mets – as opposed to Shea's orange, blue, red and green assortment. The exterior facade is reminiscent of Ebbets Field (which was long sought by then-Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native).


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field's interior design is primarily influenced by the Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park, which was the favorite ballpark of Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. Other influences include Great American Ball Park, Coors Field, and Citizens Bank Park. Citi Field is the only ballpark in Major League Baseball to feature orange foul poles instead of the standard yellow, a unique characteristic that was carried over from Shea Stadium.


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field features an overarching bridge motif in its architecture, as New York City is linked by 2,027 bridges and is reflected in the Mets logo, as the team is the symbolic bridge to the city's past National League teams, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the outfield section of the ballpark, there is a pedestrian bridge named Shea Bridge that resembles the Hell Gate Bridge.


title: Citi Field

text: Similar to Shea Stadium, Citi Field's field dimensions ensure it is a pitcher-friendly park. The Coca-Cola Corner, originally known as the Pepsi Porch, hangs over the field in right field, extending far beyond the indentation of the Clubhouse and is inspired by Tiger Stadium's right field porch. The Pepsi sign that sat atop the area (2009-2015) was modeled after the one alongside the East River in Gantry Plaza State Park; it was replaced by Coca-Cola's logo in 2016 upon assuming the role of a Mets sponsor.


title: Citi Field

text: In 2012, the Mets added the Party City Party Deck in left field because they moved the fences in. The Party Deck is very similar to The Royals' Pepsi Party Porch.


title: Citi Field

text: Delta Air Lines signed a multiyear deal on September 15, 2008, to sponsor an exclusive section in Citi Field. The Delta Sky360 Club is a restaurant-cafe-bar-lounge complex that also houses 1,600 premium seats behind home plate stretching from dugout to dugout.


title: Citi Field

text: The front entrance of Citi Field features a rotunda named after Brooklyn Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson and honors his life and accomplishments. Engraved into the rotunda's floor and etched into the archways are words and larger-than-life images that defined Robinson's nine values: Courage, Excellence, Persistence, Justice, Teamwork, Commitment, Citizenship, Determination and Integrity.


title: Citi Field

text: Robinson's famous quote: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives" is engraved into the upper ring of the rotunda. There is also an sculpture of Robinson's number 42. The formal dedication of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda was held as part of Major League Baseball's official celebration of Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, 2009.


title: Citi Field

text: Another tradition from Shea Stadium carried over into Citi Field is the Home Run Apple. When a Mets player hits a home run, a giant apple, which has a Mets logo on the front that lights up, rises from its housing in the center field batter's eye. The new apple that was constructed for Citi Field is more than four times the size of the previous one and was designed by Minneapolis-based engineering firm Uni-Systems.


title: Citi Field

text: During the 2009 season, the original Shea apple was located in Bullpen Plaza, just inside the Bullpen Gate entrance. In 2010, it was relocated outside the ballpark in Mets Plaza to the area between the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and the entrance to the Mets–Willets Point subway station.


title: Citi Field

text: Behind the center field scoreboard is the FanFest area, an expanded family entertainment area that includes a miniature wiffleball field replica of Citi Field called Mr. Met's Kiddie Field, a batting cage, a dunk tank, video game kiosks and other attractions.


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field offers a wide choice of eateries. "Taste of the City" is a food court located in the center field section of the ballpark. It features food from restaurateur Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group and includes a variety of stands, including Shake Shack (burgers, fries, shakes), Blue Smoke (barbecue), El Verano Taqueria (Mexican cuisine), Catch of the Day (featuring seafood from chef Dave Pasternack of Esca), and Box Frites (Belgian French fries); the Shake Shack stand also has the New York skyline replica that topped the old scoreboard at Shea Stadium above it. The World's Fare Market is located on the field level in right field and features sushi from Daruma of Tokyo, sandwiches and pastries from Mama's of Corona, Chinese cuisine from Tai Pan Bakery and Korean food from Café Hanover. Citi Field also offers a choice of fresh fruit at several stands around the stadium.


title: Citi Field

text: In 2010 Citi Field upgraded the food choices on the Promenade Level behind home plate. Blue Smoke BBQ and Box Frites both open a second location.


title: Citi Field

text: Restaurants and clubs are also available in every level of the ballpark. The 350-seat Acela Club (now Porsche Grill) located in left field on the Excelsior Level, is the dining highlight of the new park and features a full view of the playing field as well as food from Drew Nieporent's Myriad Restaurant Group, renowned for Nobu and Tribeca Grill. Admission into the high-end luxury Porsche Grill and Delta Sky360 Club, and including the other semi-luxury clubs are exclusive to high-end ticket holders only, and some restaurants enforce that reservations be made. A McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon opened at Citi Field in 2010. It is located directly under the Good Humor FanFest and is open to the public year-round.


title: Citi Field

text: The Mets Hall of Fame & Museum is located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda on the first base side and opened on April 5, 2010. The museum includes plaques honoring the inductees of the New York Mets Hall of Fame, the team's World Series trophies from and , as well as artifacts on loan from noted collectors, former players and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.


title: Citi Field

text: The museum boasts several displays including autographed memorabilia, original scouting reports on players such as Darryl Strawberry, and handwritten notes from the team's first manager Casey Stengel. In addition to this the team has installed interactive touchscreens, television screens, and timelines that guide visitors through various aspects of the franchise's history.


title: Citi Field

text: "Business Insider" praised the stadium for its aesthetics and named it one of the top 100 venues in sports, while BaseballParks.com called it "perfect" and especially lauded the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Reviewers also praised the many culinary offerings at Citi Field's concession stands.


title: Citi Field

text: Despite the modern amenities, the new Citi Field was not without criticism. Fans complained of obstructed views and an overemphasis on the celebration of the Brooklyn Dodgers' legacy over the history of the Mets. Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native, had grown up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and admitted to going overboard. Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin wrote in "The New Yorker",


title: Citi Field

text: In response to these criticisms, the team installed photographic imagery of famous players and historic moments in Mets history on the Field and Promenade levels as well as the display of team championship banners on the left-field wall during the 2009 season. They also constructed a Mets Hall of Fame and Museum prior to the 2010 season, located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, and changed the color of the outfield wall from black to Mets blue prior to the 2012 season, which many Mets fans had campaigned for. The team also worked on fixing the obstructed views in the Promenade level.


title: Citi Field

text: During its first three seasons in existence, Citi Field played as an extreme "pitcher's park", and was cited as the cause of the decreased offensive production of David Wright and Jason Bay. Wright hit only 10 home runs in 2009 after hitting 30 or more in each of the previous two seasons, while Bay had the worst offensive production of his career in his first season with the Mets in 2010, hitting only 6 home runs, with an on-base percentage of just .347, and a career low .402 slugging percentage. Jeff Francoeur, who played with the Mets during their first two years at Citi Field, criticized the ballpark's dimensions, calling it "a damn joke." During the 2011 season, Citi Field allowed 1.33 home runs per game, the third lowest total out of the 16 National League ballparks. The team responded by altering the ballpark dimensions for the 2012 season, creating a much more neutral ballpark. Wright's 2012 offensive numbers improved due to the alterations. "It's a huge difference", Wright said. "It allows you to relax and know you don't have to try to hit the ball a mile to see results. And at the same time, if you do hit the ball well and you see results, instead of a flyout, you're 1-for-1 and feeling good about yourself."


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field is located in the borough of Queens, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Corona, which lies to its west, and Willets Point and Flushing to the east. Flushing Bay is to the north, and the rest of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park is to the south. Because it lies within the Flushing postal zone, and because of its location in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Citi Field is frequently referred to as being in Flushing proper.


title: Citi Field

text: Citi Field is accessible via the New York City Subway via the IRT Flushing Line () at the Mets–Willets Point station, and the Long Island Rail Road station on the Port Washington Branch also called Mets–Willets Point. New York Water Taxi operates a free ferry to the stadium from Pier 11/Wall Street and the East 34th Street Ferry Landing before every game. For selected games, SeaStreak provides ferry service between Highlands, New Jersey and the stadium. Both ferry services use the slips at the World's Fair Marina, located approximately north of Citi Field. The park is also close to several major thoroughfares, including the Grand Central Parkway, the Whitestone and Van Wyck Expressways, the Long Island Expressway, Roosevelt Avenue, Northern Boulevard and Astoria Boulevard.


title: Citi Field

text: Since the construction of Citi Field began, satellite parking lots in Flushing Meadow Park (access from College Point Boulevard) have been opened. Some of these have been designated as park and rides, used by commuters connecting to the trains and the , and buses.


title: Citi Field

text: In 2020, Columbia Transportation started a commuter service, the to the Southfield Parking Lot, mainly for commuters from Queens to go to before boarding the bus to Columbia. This service was discontinued in December 2021.


title: Citi Field

text: On November 13, 2006, it was announced that the ballpark would be called Citi Field, named for Citigroup Inc. Citigroup will be paying $20 million a year for the naming rights to the park over the next 20 years. This made Citi Field the second major league sports venue in the New York metropolitan area and the first in the city itself to be named for a corporate sponsor. At the time, the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey's Meadowlands Sports Complex had carried the Continental Airlines name. The deal includes an option on both sides to extend the contract to 40 years, and is the most expensive sports-stadium naming rights agreement ever, subsequently equaled by MetLife Stadium's $400 million deal.


title: Citi Field

text: At the groundbreaking for Citi Field, it was announced that the main entrance, modeled on the one in Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field, would be called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, possibly due to campaigns to forgo naming rights revenue and name the ballpark after Robinson. The Mets are spending more than $600 million for the new ballpark, which New York City and New York state are also supporting with a total of $165 million for such costs as infrastructure and site preparation. On February 24, 2008, the Mets and Citigroup unveiled the new Citi Field logo.


title: Citi Field

text: The Citigroup naming rights deal, the most lucrative in history to that point, was criticized during the late-2000s financial crisis amid $45 billion of taxpayer funds loaned to Citigroup by the U.S. federal government in two rescue packages. Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who served on the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, stated in regards to the Citi Field naming rights deal, "This type of spending is indefensible and unacceptable to Citigroup's new partner and largest investor: the American taxpayer... I strongly urge Citigroup to find a way out of this contract and instead spend that $400 million on retaining its employees and restoring confidence in its operations." "The Wall Street Journal" reported on February 3, 2009, that Citigroup considered breaking the naming rights deal. Instead, Citi stated that no government TARP funds would be used in the sponsorship deal. The naming rights controversy reemerged in a "New York Times" opinion piece when details about owner Fred Wilpon's involvement in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme came to light and a lawsuit was filed on behalf of victims of Madoff's investment scandal in 2011. Citigroup paid back the loan in full, with interest, by 2014.


title: Citi Field

text: Between 2012 and 2016, the Mets had a post-game concert series entitled "Mets Concert Series" after selected games. Unlike the concerts where the performance was the sole attraction of the evening, "Mets Concert Series" events were considered promotional dates, and admission to the concert was included in the price of the game ticket. The stage was set up in shallow center field.


title: Citi Field

text: On January 1, 2018, Citi Field hosted the 2018 NHL Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. The Rangers won the game in overtime, 3–2. The Sabres were the designated home team for the game, as the Rangers' home arena of Madison Square Garden would lose its property tax exemption from the City of New York if any Rangers home games are not played there.


title: Citi Field

text: The inaugural Metropolitan Lacrosse Classic was played at Citi Field on March 17, 2013, only the second time a major-league baseball stadium has staged college lacrosse, according to the Mets. In 1971, Navy played Johns Hopkins at the Houston Astrodome. Holy Cross played Navy at noon, followed by Colgate-Michigan at 3 p.m. Holy Cross defeated Navy 7–5 and Colgate defeated Michigan 10–7, before a crowd of 15,656.


title: Citi Field

text: On June 7, 2015, the first "Legends of Wrestling" event took place at Citi Field. It was a professional wrestling event, featuring veteran wrestlers such as Rob Van Dam, Lita, The Nasty Boys, Scott Steiner, and many more independent professional wrestlers, in up to six matches taking place; the event was headlined by Ric Flair, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Bill Goldberg.


title: Citi Field

text: On November 7, 2015, Citi Field hosted the first game of the Cricket All-Stars Series 2015, featuring many retired cricket players from around the world and led by great cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne. Warne's Warriors defeated Sachin's Blasters by 6 wickets.


title: Citi Field

text: On November 16, 2019, Citi Field hosted the New York Hurling Classic—a one-day hurling tournament featuring Limerick, Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Wexford for the Players Champions Cup—which was won by Kilkenny.


title: Citi Field

text: On January 12, 2021, the Mets and the Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that Citi Field would become a mass vaccination center during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning on January 25. Run by the city's public hospital system, the site administered over 200,000 vaccinations.


title: Heligoland

text: Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became the possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890, and briefly managed as a war prize from 1945 to 1952.


title: Heligoland

text: The islands are located in the Heligoland Bight (part of the German Bight) in the southeastern corner of the North Sea and had a population of 1,127 at the end of 2016. They are the only German islands not in the vicinity of the mainland. They lie approximately by sea from Cuxhaven at the mouth of the River Elbe. During a visit to the islands, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics to "", which became the national anthem of Germany.


title: Heligoland

text: In addition to German, the local population, who are ethnic Frisians, speak the Heligolandic dialect of the North Frisian language called .


title: Heligoland

text: The island had no distinct name before the 19th century. It was often referred to by variants of the High German "Heiligland" ('holy land') and once even as the island of the Holy Virgin Ursula. Theodor Siebs summarized the critical discussion of the name in the 19th century in 1909 with the thesis that, based on the Frisian self-designation of the Heligolanders as "Halunder", the island name meant 'high land' ( similar to Hallig). In the following discussion by Jürgen Spanuth, Wolfgang Laur again proposed the original name of "Heiligland". The variant "Helgoland", which has appeared since the 16th century, is said to have been created by scholars who Latinized a North Frisian form "Helgeland", using it to refer to a legendary hero, Helgi. The discussion is complicated by a disagreement as to which of the listed names really refers to the island of Helgoland, and by a desire for the island to still been seen as holy today.


title: Heligoland

text: Heligoland is located off the German coastline and consists of two islands: the populated triangular main island () to the west, and the ('dune', Heligolandic: ) to the east. "Heligoland" generally refers to the former island. is somewhat smaller at , lower, and surrounded by sand beaches. It is not permanently inhabited, but is today the location of Heligoland's airfield.


title: Heligoland

text: The main island is commonly divided into the ('Lower Land', Heligolandic: ) at sea level (to the right on the photograph, where the harbour is located), the ('Upper Land', Heligolandic: ) consisting of the plateau visible in the photographs, and the ('Middle Land') between them on one side of the island. The came into being in 1947 as a result of explosions detonated by the British Royal Navy (the so-called "Big Bang"; see below).


title: Heligoland

text: The main island also features small beaches in the north and the south and drops to the sea high in the north, west and southwest. In the latter, the ground continues to drop underwater to a depth of below sea level. Heligoland's most famous landmark is the ('Long Anna' or 'Tall Anna'), a free-standing rock column (or stack), high, found northwest of the island proper.


title: Heligoland

text: The two islands were connected until 1720 when the natural connection was destroyed by a storm flood. The highest point is on the main island, reaching above sea level.


title: Heligoland

text: Although culturally and geographically closer to North Frisia in the German district of , the two islands are part of the district of Pinneberg in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The main island has a good harbour and is frequented mostly by sailing yachts.


title: Heligoland

text: The German Bight and the area around the island are known to have been inhabited since prehistoric times. Flint tools have been recovered from the bottom of the sea surrounding Heligoland. On the "Oberland", prehistoric burial mounds were visible until the late 19th century, and excavations showed skeletons and artifacts. Moreover, prehistoric copper plates have been found underwater near the island; those plates were almost certainly made on the "Oberland".


title: Heligoland

text: In 697, Radbod, the last Frisian king, retreated to the then-single island after his defeat by the Franks—or so it is written in the "Life of Willebrord" by Alcuin. By 1231, the island was listed as the property of the Danish king Valdemar II. Archaeological findings from the 12th to 14th centuries suggest that copper ore was processed on the island.


title: Heligoland

text: There is a general understanding that the name "Heligoland" means "Holy Land" (compare modern Dutch and German "heilig", "holy"). In the course of the centuries several alternative theories have been proposed to explain the name, from a Danish king Heligo to a Frisian word, "hallig", meaning "salt marsh island". The 1911 "Encyclopædia Britannica" suggests "Hallaglun", or "Halligland", i.e. "land of banks, which cover and uncover".


title: Heligoland

text: Traditional economic activities included fishing, hunting birds and seals, wrecking and—very important for many overseas powers—piloting overseas ships into the harbours of Hanseatic League cities such as Bremen and Hamburg. In some periods Heligoland was an excellent base point for huge herring catches. Until 1714 ownership switched several times between Denmark-Norway and the Duchy of Schleswig, with one period of control by Hamburg. In August 1714, it was conquered by Denmark-Norway, and it remained Danish until 1807.


title: Heligoland

text: On 11 September 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, brought to the Admiralty the despatches from Admiral Thomas Macnamara Russell announcing Heligoland's capitulation to the British. Heligoland became a centre of resistance and intrigue against Napoleon. Denmark then ceded Heligoland to George III of the United Kingdom by the Treaty of Kiel (14 January 1814). Thousands of Germans came to Britain and joined the King's German Legion via Heligoland.


title: Heligoland

text: The British annexation of Heligoland was ratified by the Treaty of Paris signed on 30 May 1814, as part of a number of territorial reallocations following the abdication of Napoleon as Emperor of the French.


title: Heligoland

text: The prime reason at the time for Britain's retention of a small and seemingly worthless acquisition was to restrict any future French naval aggression against the Scandinavian or German states. In the event, no effort was made during the period of British administration to make use of the islands for military purposes, partly for financial reasons but principally because the Royal Navy considered Heligoland to be too exposed as a forward base.


title: Heligoland

text: In 1826, Heligoland became a seaside spa and soon turned into a popular tourist resort for the European upper class. The island attracted artists and writers, especially from Germany and Austria who apparently enjoyed the comparatively liberal atmosphere, including Heinrich Heine and August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben. More vitally it was a refuge for revolutionaries of the 1830s and the 1848 German revolution.


title: Heligoland

text: As related in "The Leisure Hour", it was "a land where there are no bankers, no lawyers, and no crime; where all gratuities are strictly forbidden, the landladies are all honest and the boatmen take no tips", while "The English Illustrated Magazine" provided a description in the most glowing terms: "No one should go there who cannot be content with the charms of brilliant light, of ever-changing atmospheric effects, of a land free from the countless discomforts of a large and busy population, and of an air that tastes like draughts of life itself."


title: Heligoland

text: Britain ceded the islands to Germany in 1890 in the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty. The newly unified Germany was concerned about a foreign power controlling land from which it could command the western entrance to the militarily-important Kiel Canal, then under construction along with other naval installations in the area and thus traded for it. A "grandfathering"/optant approach prevented the inhabitants of the islands from forfeiting advantages because of this imposed change of status.


title: Heligoland

text: Heligoland has an important place in the history of the study of ornithology, and especially the understanding of migration. The book "Heligoland, an Ornithological Observatory" by Heinrich Gätke, published in German in 1890 and in English in 1895, described an astonishing array of migrant birds on the island and was a major influence on future studies of bird migration.


title: Heligoland

text: In 1892, the Biological Station of Helgoland was founded by phycologist Paul Kuckuck, a student of Johannes Reinke (leading marine phycologist).


title: Heligoland

text: Under the German Empire, the islands became a major naval base, and during the First World War the civilian population was evacuated to the mainland. The island was fortified with concrete gun emplacements along its cliffs similar to the Rock of Gibraltar. Island defences included 364 mounted guns including 142 disappearing guns overlooking shipping channels defended with ten rows of naval mines. The first naval engagement of the war, the Battle of Heligoland Bight, was fought nearby in the first month of the war. The islanders returned in 1918, but during the Nazi era the naval base was reactivated.


title: Heligoland

text: Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976) first formulated the equation underlying his picture of quantum mechanics while on Heligoland in the 1920s. While a student of Arnold Sommerfeld at Munich in the early 1920s, Heisenberg first met the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. He and Bohr went for long hikes in the mountains and discussed the failure of existing theories to account for the new experimental results on the quantum structure of matter. Following these discussions, Heisenberg plunged into several months of intensive theoretical research but met with continual frustration. Finally, suffering from a severe attack of hay fever that his aspirin and cocaine treatment was failing to alleviate, he retreated to the treeless (and pollenless) island of Heligoland in the summer of 1925. There he conceived the basis of the quantum theory.


title: Heligoland

text: In 1937, construction began on a major reclamation project () intended to expand existing naval facilities and restore the island to its pre-1629 dimensions, restoring large areas which had been eroded by the sea. The project was largely abandoned after the start of World War II and was never completed.


title: Heligoland

text: The area was the setting of the aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight in 1939, a result of Royal Air Force bombing raids on Kriegsmarine warships in the area. The waters surrounding the island were frequently mined by Allied aircraft.


title: Heligoland

text: Heligoland also had a military function as a sea fortress in the Second World War. Completed and ready for use were the submarine bunker North Sea III, the coastal artillery, an air-raid shelter system with extensive bunker tunnels and the airfield with the air force – (April to October 1943). Forced labour of, among others, citizens of the Soviet Union were used during the construction of military installations during World War II.


title: Heligoland

text: On 3 December 1939, Heligoland was directly bombed by the Allies for the first time. The attack, by twenty four Wellington bombers of 38, 115 and 149 squadrons of the Royal Air Force failed to destroy the German warships at anchor.


title: Heligoland

text: In three days in 1940, the Royal Navy lost three submarines in Heligoland: on 6 January, on 7 January and on 9 January.


title: Heligoland

text: Early in the war, the island was generally unaffected by bombing raids. Through the development of the Luftwaffe, the island had largely lost its strategic importance. The , temporarily used for defense against Allied bombing raids, was equipped with a rare variant of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter originally designed for use on aircraft carriers.


title: Heligoland

text: Shortly before the war ended in 1945, Georg Braun and Erich Friedrichs succeeded in forming a resistance group. Shortly before they were to execute the plans, however, they were betrayed by two members of the group. About twenty men were arrested on 18 April 1945; fourteen of them were transported to Cuxhaven. After a short trial, five resisters were executed by firing squad at Cuxhaven-Sahlenburg on 21 April 1945 by the German authorities.


title: Heligoland

text: To honour them, in April 2010 the Helgoland Museum installed six stumbling blocks on the roads of Heligoland. Their names are Erich P. J. Friedrichs, Georg E. Braun, Karl Fnouka, Kurt A. Pester, Martin O. Wachtel, and Heinrich Prüß.


title: Heligoland

text: With two waves of bombing raids on 18 and 19 April 1945, 1,000 Allied aircraft dropped about 7,000 bombs on the islands. The populace took shelter in air raid shelters. The German military suffered heavy casualties during the raids. The bomb attacks rendered the island unsafe, and it was totally evacuated.


title: Heligoland

text: From 1945 to 1952 the uninhabited islands fell within the British Occupation zone and were used as a bombing range. On 18 April 1947, the Royal Navy detonated 6,700 tonnes of explosives ("Operation Big Bang" or "British Bang") in an attempt to destroy the island entirely and remove it as a fleet base location for Germany. This resulted in one of the biggest single non-nuclear detonations in history. The blow shook the main island several miles down to its base, changing its shape (the was created).


title: Heligoland

text: On 20 December 1950, two students and a professor from Heidelberg – René Leudesdorff, Georg von Hatzfeld and Hubertus zu Löwenstein – occupied the off-limits island and raised various German, European and local flags. The students were arrested by the soldiers present and brought back to Germany. The event started a movement to restore the islands to West Germany, which gained the support of the West German parliament. On 1 March 1952, Heligoland was returned to German control, and the former inhabitants were allowed to return. The first of March is an official holiday on the island. The German authorities cleared a significant quantity of unexploded ordnance and rebuilt the houses before allowing its citizens to resettle there.


title: Heligoland

text: Heligoland, like the small exclave Büsingen am Hochrhein, is now a holiday resort and enjoys a tax-exempt status, being part of Germany and the EU but excluded from the EU VAT area and customs union. Consequently, much of the economy is founded on sales of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and perfume to tourists who visit the islands. The ornithological heritage of Heligoland has also been re-established, with the Heligoland Bird Observatory, now managed by the ("Ornithological Society of Heligoland") which was founded in 1991. A search and rescue (SAR) base of the DGzRS, the (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service), is located on Heligoland.


title: Heligoland

text: Before the island was connected to the mainland network by a submarine cable in 2009, electricity on Heligoland was generated by a local diesel plant.


title: Heligoland

text: Heligoland was the site of a trial of GROWIAN, a large wind turbine testing project. In 1990, a 1.2 MW turbine of the MAN type WKA 60 was installed. Besides technical problems, the turbine was not lightning proof and insurance companies would not provide coverage. The wind energy project was viewed as a failure by the islanders and was stopped.


title: Heligoland

text: The Heligoland Power Cable has a length of and is one of the longest AC submarine power cables in the world and the longest of its kind in Germany. It was manufactured by the North German Seacable Works in a single piece and was laid by the barge "Nostag 10" in 2009. The cable is designed for an operational voltage of 30 kV, and reaches the German mainland at Sankt Peter-Ording.


title: Heligoland

text: Plans to re-enlarge the land bridge between different parts of the island by means of land reclamation came up between 2008 and 2010. However, the local community voted against the project.


title: Heligoland

text: Since 2013, a new industrial site is being expanded on the southern harbour. E.ON, RWE and "WindMW" plan to manage operation and services of large offshore windparks from Heligoland. The range had been cleared of leftover ammunition.


title: Heligoland

text: At the beginning of 2020, 1,399 people lived on Heligoland. As of 2018, the population is mostly Lutheran (63%), while a minority (18%) is Catholic.