Fresh from appearing in front of a global audience at the World Cup Final alongside Nicole Scherzinger, the superstar singer has been confirmed as the Saturday night headliner for next summer’s event.

The show on Saturday, July 3 will be his only headline show in mainland UK next summer.

The announcement comes just two weeks after the sun set on Lytham Festival’s huge 15th year anniversary which saw more than 110,000 people party on Lytham Green over five nights.

The 18 time BRIT Award winner is the first artist revealed for 2027 with more names to be announced soon for the festival which will take place from Wednesday, June 30 to Sunday, July 4.

Lytham Festival co-founder Peter Taylor said: “What a huge start to 2027. Robbie Williams is music royalty and we cannot wait to welcome him to our fantastic Lytham Festival next summer.

“This is the first time we have announced an artist for the following year’s festival so far in advance. The dust has barely settled on 2026 but it’s such an exciting announcement that we don’t want to wait any longer than is necessary.

“We know this will be an extremely popular choice not only with our loyal Lytham Festival customers, but with Robbie’s incredible fanbase too so we can confidently say already that Lytham Festival 2027 is going to be epic.”

Tickets for Robbie Williams go on general sale at 10am Friday via www.lythamfestival.com. PayPal customers can access the pre-sale from 10am Wednesday and five day passes are on sale now.

The Lytham date is one of just two RW27 headline shows announced for next summer with the music superstar also set to take his incredible live show to the Irish city of Limerick.

In January 2026 Robbie released his latest album, Britpop, to widespread critical acclaim, securing him his 16th UK number one album and making history breaking the all-time record for the artist with the most UK number one albums.

By LEWIS BROWNING, SPORTS REPORTER

Published: 20:22 BST, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 21:54 BST, 20 July 2026

Lionel Messi has taken to social media to speak following Argentina’s World Cup final defeat by Spain that left the forward crying on the pitch.

Messi was bidding to lead his country to World Cup glory for the second time in as many tournaments on Sunday, but Argentina came up short on the night.

It was a game of intense controversy and drama, with an investigation underway into Argentina’s conduct after the game, which saw the likes of Leandro Paredes lose their cool and get violent at the full-time whistle.

Messi himself drew attention too, as he tried to get Spain’s Marc Cucurella sent off for covering his mouth in the second-half.

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But his attempts failed and the star, who finished second behind France’s Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot rankings, has now spoken on the ordeal.

‘The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘But I also hold onto all the good things… The matches we turned around by giving it our all—moments that will remain in our memories forever—and the support of an entire country which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, brought us back among the world’s elite once again.

Lionel Messi has broken his silence following Argentina’s World Cup defeat against Spain

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Messi was inconsolable shortly after receiving his runners-up medal from Donald Trump

‘It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message.

‘Once again, we managed to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine. 

‘I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.’

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The Argentina squad has also been slammed for standing with their backs to the winning team at MetLife Stadium as Spain lifted the World Cup trophy.

Instead, the Argentina players, coaching team and staff walked over to the end where the majority of their fans were sat and turned their backs as their rivals celebrated.

Footage shows Spain players holding the World Cup trophy aloft as gold confetti explodes behind them, with the Argentina team facing the other way.

Messi and his team also refused to face the music and speak to the media following their defeat.

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Argentina only had two shots in the entire match, with the first coming in the 117th minute. 

The Cross Keys, on Middlesbrough Road in Upsall, is an old coaching inn dating back to the 19th century, built from stone with a traditional tiled roof.

It sits on the A171, the main road between Scarborough and Middlesbrough, and is close to the North York Moors National Park.

Inside, there’s a bright-coloured bar and cosy restaurant with room for around 160 diners, along with a large kitchen and a beer cellar.

Upstairs, the pub has 20 en-suite bedrooms, including doubles, twins, and family rooms, plus a flat for a manager to live in.

The whole site, which dates back over 100 years, covers just over six and a half acres.

It has parking for about 120 cars and a scenic outdoor seating area for another 120 people.

Altogether, the building measures nearly 15,000 sq ft.

“The property occupies a countryside setting, surrounded by open farmland, woodland and scattered residential properties while remaining accessible to nearby towns and surrounding villages,” says Rightmove.

The pub is being sold outright. It is not a listed building and does not sit in a conservation area.

The sale is being handled by property agents Savills.

Anyone interested in buying it will need to book a viewing with Savills first.

It is currently listed on Rightmove, with a rateable value of £82,000.

CNN’s polling analyst Harry Enten warned that Democrats hoping their party will retake the House this fall have no reason to rest easy, even as their party leads in generic ballot polling.

In a Monday segment on CNN’s News Central, Enten warned that recent polling from The Washington Post and CNBC show Democrats with a much slimmer lead in generic ballot polling than the party saw in past cycles where it picked up enough seats to retake the House of Representatives.

“Yes, they’re ahead, but they’re ahead – I have to shrink down on the screen – by only four points, which is significantly less than what we saw in 2018 and 2006, when Democrats took back the house,” said Enten. “This is an ‘uh-oh,’ this is a warning sign.”

The last time Democrats dethroned a Republican majority was in 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term. That majority persisted through the 2020 election into the first midterm cycle of Joe Biden’s presidency, four years later. Enten noted that Democrats enjoyed an average lead in generic ballot polling in 2018 of 10 points, far higher an advantage than the party currently holds.

“Four isn’t 10. And it’s not 12,” joked CNN’s John Berman.

“No, no, they taught me that back in pre-K, that four is not 10 or 12,” replied Enten.

He noted that with the advantage over a number of House seats in more than a half dozen GOP-held states that redrew their congressional maps at Donald Trump’s behest, Democrats’ current slim advantage on the generic ballot could put the party “right on the edge of even getting that majority.”

That analysis echoed warnings from another polling monitor, Decision Desk HQ, which predicted that a Democratic majority in such a generic ballot environment could be as slim as three seats, putting it at constant risk of failing due to absences and defections.

There’s one bright spot in the polling for Democrats, however. In the Washington Post/Ipsos poll mentioned by Enten on the show, the Democrats’ advantage on the generic ballot jumps to eight percentage points when the field of respondents is narrowed to voters who are “absolutely certain to vote.”

Enten’s analysis hits on a peculiar dynamic for Congress, however, where a reversal of fortunes has taken place over the past year. In 2025, as Trump’s initial honeymoon period faded and his approval ratings began to sag amid the onslaught of mass firings and program-slashing, political analysts in Washington generally understood that unseating a Republican House majority was a far more likely prospect for Democrats in the midterm election cycle than netting the four Senate seats required to regain their majority in the upper chamber, which is far less prone to massive election-year swings.

Instead, a series of calamities for Republican leadership unfolded in the Senate, beginning with the decision of Thom Tillis to stand down from re-election in deep purple North Carolina amid a spat with Trump.

That problem evolved with the recruitment of Mary Peltola, a popular former congresswoman and Democrat, to run in Alaska’s Senate race and Trump’s endorsement against John Cornyn, a Republican incumbent in the Senate — torpedoing any chance Cornyn had of winning a competitive GOP primary against a candidate Democrats believe they have a serious shot at beating in November.

Now, the Senate GOP majority is looking particularly vulnerable for Democrats even as the map in the House has become tougher and tougher, thanks to a series of GOP gerrymandering efforts.

The biggest disadvantage for Republicans remains Trump’s unpopularity, whose approval ratings have sunk to the mid-to-low 30s in most surveys as his war with Iran continues to drive up prices for fuel and other commodities, with seemingly no end in sight.

In the Post/Ipsos poll published last week, the president’s overall approval rating was 37 percent, and 40 precent with registered voters, having changed little from previous surveys.

One man aged in his 30s, and two others aged in their 40s, remain in police custody

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a serious assault in north Belfast this evening.

Police and colleagues from the emergency services are currently at the scene of the incident in the Duncairn Parade area.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Shortly before 6pm today, Monday 20th July, police received a report that a man had been assaulted inside a residential property.

“Three men, one aged in his 30s, and two aged in their 40s, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. They remain in police custody, assisting with enquiries.

“Anyone with any information which might assist police should contact us using our witness appeal form at https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals quoting 1454 of 20/07/26 or call us on 101.

“Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

“An update will follow in due course.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

A family of seven who tucked into an expensive feast brazenly left an Orlando restaurant without paying, it has been claimed.

The group were caught on surveillance footage consuming a spread worth $300 before leaving @ The Diner, apparently without settling their hefty tab on Sunday.

The Florida restaurant is now seeking to identify the alleged dine-and-dashers, who are said to have taken off during its busiest shift of the day.

It wrote on Instagram that the family ordered multiple dishes and appeared to enjoy a leisurely meal before carrying out their premeditated escape in stages.

The restaurant, which shared footage of the incident, alleged that staff only realized what had happened after the group had already left the premises, leaving servers scrambling to work out what had gone wrong.

In the clip, a man wearing a white vest is seen leading the group’s exit, handing another woman in the group car keys as she slips away before pulling up in the getaway car outside.

Moments later, he quickly follows behind with a young boy in tow. 

The clip shows the rest of the group remaining at the table, eagerly helping themselves to the extensive spread before another woman and a young girl make their move towards the exit.

The restaurant alleged that the family of seven had piled the table high with food before slowly vanishing from the establishment one by one

The majority of the family up and left, leaving one woman at the table, which the restaurant claimed was intended to cover their tracks 

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The restaurant alleges that one woman remained behind at the table in an apparent attempt to make it seem as though she intended to pay the bill.

After the rest of the group had reached the waiting vehicle, video shows her sitting at the table for a moment, staring pensively, before she too stood up and hurried out, breaking into a sprint as she reached the door.

Strangely, no waiter appeared to notice any suspicious behavior, as staff continued clearing tables seemingly unaware of what was happening.

The restaurant issued a warning to other local establishments in the post, urging them to remain vigilant and watch out for similar situations.

‘Orlando beware!’ reads the caption on the video, accompanied by red exclamation marks.   

It appears the restaurant has been unable to catch a break, as the post also notes that this was not the first time they had encountered such behavior, although seeing children involved was something they had never experienced before.

The post has since gone viral, attracting thousands of reactions, with many people expressing sympathy for the restaurant and calling for the family to be identified and held accountable.

Others suggested that the incident should be reported to police if it had not already been.

After waiting a couple moments, one of the family headed out to greet the rest of the group, who had already fled

The restaurant revealed on social media that this wasn’t the first time the business had been targeted by theft operating in the same way

‘This is stealing, plain and simple,’ one user commented. ‘If you can’t afford to eat out, don’t.’

Another added, ‘Imagine teaching your kids that this is acceptable behavior.’

Some social media users also questioned whether the family had intended to pay before leaving, or whether there could have been a misunderstanding leading up to their apparent dine-and-dash ordeal. 

However, the original poster insisted the departure was deliberate and claimed surveillance footage supported their conclusion.

Other comments also urged restaurants to charge up front to avoid any chance of theft recurring.

Dine-and-dash incidents can have a significant financial impact on restaurants, particularly independently owned businesses operating on narrow profit margins.

In some cases, servers fear they will be blamed for unpaid tabs, although labor laws in many jurisdictions restrict employers from deducting such losses from employee wages.

It is unclear whether the company has filed a police report.

The Daily Mail reached out to the restaurant for comment.