Cyclist Matt Walls escaped serious injury after crashing into the crowd at the London velodrome.
Walls, 24, flew over the barriers and into spectators in the front row – leaving one fan bleeding, The Sun reports.
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The accident, which involved multiple riders, occurred during the final lap of the Commonwealth Games men’s 15km scratch race qualifying and medical teams immediately rushed to the scene.
Walls ended up bloody and required stitches on his head after being rushed to hospital.
But the Olympic omnium champion was in good spirits and managed a big smile while he was in the treatment room.
Walls goes into the crowd: John Walton/PA WireSource: SuppliedMatt Walls shows off scars from crashSource: Supplied
“Thank you everyone for the messages and support!” Walls tweeted.
“I’ve somehow come away with no serious injuries just a few stitches and pretty banged up.
“I really hope everyone else involved is ok including the spectators that may have been injured.’
Two other riders – Canadian Derek Gee and Matt Bostock of the Isle of Man – were also taken to hospital while two spectators were treated on scene.
Neither of Walsh’s parents were in attendance for the race, with his father Larry revealing his wife Lorraine ran to the velodrome after the accident.
Matt treated by medical staff. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP)Source: AFP
“I was watching the Games live on TV and Lorraine ran from hotel to velodrome after hearing about the crash,” he said.
“It was a horrible time but after 45 minutes, we heard Matt was conscious and Lorraine arrived at the velodrome and we could all relax.
“Lorraine and Matt’s girlfriend Fleur visited him in hospital and he was in good shape and got checked out in the evening back to the hotel.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
Bulldogs halfback Kyle Flanagan has enjoyed a remarkable rise under interim boss Mick Potter in Canterbury, with the now free-scoring team surging up the ladder.
Now the 23-year-old number seven has shut down talk of a mooted move to the English Super League, declaring he ‘definitely’ wants to extend his time at the club.
Having been benched in the opening months of the season and subsequently for struggling form, Flanagan had been linked to a move to English side Hull FC in recent months.
But he shut that talk down at Tuesday’s press conference, laughing off a question around whether he had held talks with Hull.
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“No,” Flanagan laughed. “The first time I got out there on social media and shut that stuff down, that was the first I’d heard of it.
“I’m on contract here next year at the Bulldogs and keep winning footy games, I won’t have to listen to that sort of stuff.”
With his contract expiring at the end of 2023, Flanagan declared his allegiance to the Dogs long-term, stating his desire for a long-term deal.
“Yeah, I think so,” Flanagan replied to a question about remaining at the club.
“Obviously I live in Cronulla and I love the Bulldogs. They gave me an opportunity and I like to think I have turned things around and things are going forward for the club.
“As I said, if we keep winning and combinations keep building, this footy team is only going to get better.
“I’m loving my time here and I definitely want to extend here.”
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Flanagan was full of praise for interim boss Potter, declaring he has simplified the club’s on-field strategy and removed the shackles from the side.
“I can’t give any more credit to what Pottsy has done for me individually or this footy team.
“He is such a calm head and simplifies things so much for us. He just backs up and gives us confidence to go out there and play footy, and we do exactly that.
“We are repaying the faith he puts in us.”
“We are out there putting the wins on the board, the shackles are off and we are just playing what we see.,” he added.”
“It’s really exciting to be playing in this footy team and for myself, I’m just really enjoying my own footy and starting to love playing every weekend.”
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Canberra Raiders prop Josh Papalii has reportedly pledged his allegiance to Samoa for the upcoming Rugby League World Cup held in England later this year.
Papalii has dabbled in the Samoan and Kangaroos camps in the past with four games with Samoa and 11 with the Kangaroos.
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The Maroons veteran is the latest Australian eligible player to commit to a Pacific Island nation, joining Panthers duo Jarome Luai and Brian To’o.
“As an older player, I feel like it’s a movement I just don’t want to be missing out on,” Papalii said.
“Just seeing the likes of a few of the Penrith boys coming out and I’ve had few text messages from other players who haven’t come out yet saying they’ve put their hand up for Samoa.
“I have put my hand up to play for Samoa. Mal Meninga knows that and I’ve had a coffee with Mal as well to speak about what I’m planning to do… but that’s a long way from here, anything can happen in the next hopefully eight weeks.”
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This year’s Rugby League World Cup will be Papalii’s second for Samoa. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Papalii represented Samoa at the 2017 World Cup but has since pulled on the green and gold of Australia.
“I guess probably my last World Cup wasn’t the best, I sort of treated it as a little vacation and probably drank a bit too often, ate more than I should have,” he admitted.
“I’m looking to just play a bit of World Cup for the Motherland and represent my wife and my kids and especially my parents as well and just make Samoa proud.”
This year’s Rugby League World Cup will be hosted in the United Kingdom, making it Papalii’s third appearance in the major tournament, being his second with his native country of Samoa.
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Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
Team Australia dominated the Commonwealth Games medal tally in Birmingham in the opening four days, sitting comfortably in front – thanks largely to more dominance in the pool.
Australia claimed a stunning eight gold medals on day one, including five of a possible seven in the pool! On day two, Australia added five more golds.
The gold rush continued with nine on day three, highlighted by Emma McKeon making history with a record-breaking 11th Commonwealth Games gold medal when she took out the Women’s 50m freestyle final.
Australia has dominated again on day four with another NINE gold medals, coming in judo, lawn bowls, cycling and gymnastics — along with the usual big haul in the pool.
Australia has opened day five with a 72nd medal of the Games, this time a bronze in the men’s vault in artistic gymnastics.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye final swim day
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
Read on for more details and the full medal tally.
Australia sit on top of the medal tally with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
The Aussies topped the tally with 198 medals — including 80 gold — in the Gold Coast four years ago.
You can track the live medal tally for every country here, with key Aussie wins and updates as they happen.
Click here for a full list of EVERY Aussie medal winner!
Commonwealth Games kick off in style | 00:34
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COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEDALS TALLY (AS OF 5:30AM WEDNESDAY)
RANK/COUNTRY/GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE/TOTAL
1. Australia — 37, 28, 30, 95
2.England—28, 30, 17, 75
3.New Zealand—13, 7, 5, 25
4. Canada — 10, 14, 19, 43
5. South Africa—6, 5, 5, 16
6. India — 5, 4, 3, 12
7.Scotland—3, 8, 15, 26
8. Wales—3, 2, 8, 13
9. Malaysia — 2, 2, 3, 7
10. Nigeria — 2, 1, 4, 7
See the full live medal tally here.
DAY-BY-DAY MEDAL LIST
DAY FIVE
James Bacuetti claimed Australia’s first men’s gymnastics medal of these Games, winning bronze in the men’s vault. 20-year-old English sensation Jake Jarman won gold – his FOURTH of the Games – ahead of Fellow Englishman Giarnni Regini-Moran.
Aofie Coughlan took home the gold medal in the women’s 70kg judo final while Eileen Cikamatana set a new Games Record en route to a gold medal in the women’s 87kg weightlifting final.
in the swimming, Mollie O’Callaghan produced a stunning upset to win the gold in the womens’ 100m freestyle as Elizabeth Deckers won the women’s 200m butterfly.
nina kennedy secured the gold in the women’s pole vault.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye more gold
DAY FOUR
Australia ended day four with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
Georgia Goodwin narrowly won gold in the women’s vault over Canada’s Laurie Denommee, while at the track, matthew glaetzer won gold in the men’s 1,000m time trial. Ellen Ryan won gold in the women’s lawn bowls singles and Tinka Easton caused an upset by claiming gold in judo.
in the pool, Kyle Chalmer won the 100m freestyle, Kaylee McKeown won the 200m backstroke and matthew levy claimed gold in the men’s 50m freestyle S7. Emma McKeon then narrowly clinched gold in the 50m breaststroke to extend her Games record to 12 golds, while the Aussies ended the night with victory in the men’s 4x200m freestyle.
Aussie weightlifter robbed of Gold?! | 00:26
Elsewhere, 49-year-old legend Jian Fang Lay has led the Aussie team to bronze in the women’s table tennis team event.
It began with victory in doubles alongside Yangzi Liu, who won her own singles game before Jian Fang Lay sealed the 3-0 over Wales with a singles victory of her own.
Kyle Bruce claimed silver in the men’s 81kg weightlifting after a heartbreaking jury decision overruled his final, gold-winning lift.
The Aussie men’s triples claimed silver in the lawn bowls, fighting back from 12-1 down in the final to level the score at 12-12 against England before falling 14-12.
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Jian Fang Lay led the Aussies to bronze in table tennis!Source: Getty Images
DAY THREE
Australians Sam Harding and Jonathan Gorlach kicked off the day with superb silver and bronze medals in the men’s PTVI triathlon final.
Emma McKeon and Kaylee McKeown then added two more gold in the pool taking out the Women’s 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke respectively.
McKeon led home meg harris in silver with Shayna Jack (24.36) finishing third.
In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook (59.52) took home bronze.
The Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team then completed a dominant campaign in the pool by breaking the world record.
Georgia Godwin won the all-round rhythmic gymnastics women’s final.
Australia’s Women’s 7s rugby side then put the pain of Tokyo behind them to claim gold in the final against Fiji.
In track cycling, matthew richardson won the men’s final sprint.
Kristina Clonan took home gold in the 500m time trial.
Georgia Baker won the women’s 25km points race, while Jessica Gallagher picked up her second gold medal of the Games in the Women’s tandem 1000m time trial with pilot Caitlyn Ward.
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SHOCK CRASH: Cyclist catapults into crowd in horror scenes after Comm Games crash
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‘Took all my courage and energy to swim’: Chalmers stuns in raw, emotional interview
DAY TWO
madison de rosario took out the women’s T53/54 marathon in style, dominating the field to win with a Commonwealth Games record time of 1:56:00.
Jess Stenson won the women’s marathon with an incredible run, going better than her two bronze medals in Glasgow and the Gold Coast.
It was another ripping day in the pool, with katja dedekind winning a gold meal in the women’s 50m freestyle S13 while both the men’s and women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay finished first.
There were silver medals for maeve plouffe in the women’s 3000m individual pursuit, Brendon Smith in the men’s 400m IM, Emma McKeon in the women’s 100m butterfly and the artistic gymnastics team.
DAY 2 NEWS
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DAY ONE
matt hauser had the honor of being the first Australian to win a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, taking home the silver medal in the Men’s Triathlon Sprint Distance Final.
Ariarne Titmus won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle, 18-year-old Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan claimed silver in an unbelievable late charge, ahead of Madison Wilson.
Elijah Winnington won gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, ahead of fellow Aussies Sam Short and Mack Horton. Zac Stubblety-Cook won gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke while Kiah Melverton took silver in the women’s 400m Individual Medley.
In the final race of night one, Australia won gold in the mixed 4x100m relay.
Princess Charlotte was all smiles as she watched the Commonwealth Games with her mum and dad.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took Charlotte, seven, to see the swimming at the Sandwell Aquatics Center in Birmingham, The Sun reports.
William and Kate arrived on Tuesday shortly after the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, Lady Louise and James.
Before the duke and duchess’s arrival, Edward, who is vice patron of the Commonwealth Games, shared a joke with former prime minister Theresa May as he entered during the men’s 1500m freestyle heats.
The duke and duchess arrived shortly after with Princess Charlotte, dressed in a striped dress and her hair done up in pigtails.
Kate, dressed in a white blazer and trousers, embraced Edward, Sophie and their children before taking her seat next to Charlotte.
The duchess was pointing and explaining things to her daughter, while William held one of the official programs.
The royals were cheering and applauding alongside the crowd for England 1500m freestyle hopeful Luke Turley.
After rolling her eyes following a comment from her father, Charlotte then cracked a smile as Turley’s heat came to close.
It’s been a very sporty week for Charlotte, who also roared her support for the England Lionesses alongside Prince William ahead of Sunday’s Euro final.
She beamed as she wished the team good luck as they prepared to take on Germany at Wembley.
Wearing a short-sleeved polka dot top, Charlotte said: “Good luck, I hope you win. Bye.”
Charlotte is currently on her school summer holidays from her $34,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea school.
This summer may also be particularly busy for the family who are reportedly preparing to move to a house on the Queen’s Windsor estate.
This article was originally published by The Sun and reproduced with permission
English swimming goliath Adam Peaty has apologized over an “arrogant” interview that followed his incredible collapse at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.
Peaty’s defeat in the event he has owned for 10 years left Aussie legend Ian Thorpe staggered. It was a result almost nobody saw coming.
The world record holder had been undefeated in the 100m breaststroke at major meets since 2014. He had qualified fastest for the final and led the event with 25m to go. However, English teammate James Wilby pushed ahead of him to take the gold.
DAY 5 LIVE: Browning up next in 100m heat after teammate’s ultra-tight stunner
The magnitude of the boilover was written all over Wilby’s stunned face as he looked up to the big screen to see that he had won. With Aussies Zac Stubblety-Cook and Sam Williamson exploding at the death, Peaty suddenly went from the gold medal position to missing out on the podium completely.
It has been an explosive fall-out to the result with the 27-year-old declaring he won’t be coming back to the Commonwealth Games in four years’ time. It followed a social media backlash over comments that have been branded “arrogant” by fans.
Peaty spoke to the BBC on the pooldeck after finishing outside the medals and said losing in the Commonwealth Games meant little to him after already scooping up three Olympic gold medals.
“It doesn’t feel amazing, but it doesn’t feel bad either,” Peaty said.
LIVE MEDAL TALLY: Keep up with the Aussie charge to the top!
EVERY AUSSIE MEDAL: Read the day-by-day recap of the Comm Games
Adam Peaty speaking on the BBC.Source: Supplied
“It’ll probably be my last attempt tomorrow, but I’m not bothered about it. The Commonwealths to me, in the grand scheme of things… it’s about two years time (the Olympics).
“That’s no disrespect. I’m still four weeks into my program, I can’t put that expectation on myself.”
Retired English swimmer Mark Foster responded to Peaty’s comments, saying: “I think he’s trying to say it doesn’t matter, but it does matter.
“It’s the Commonwealth Games, it’s a multi-sport event and I think when he was growing up, the Commonwealth Games would have been a big deal.
“But the fact that he’s won lots of Worlds and Olympic Games, maybe he’s trying to play it down to himself that it doesn’t matter.”
The Birmingham Mail reported fans on social media said Peaty’s comments were “arrogant” and “disrespectful”.
“Adam peaty is disrespectful to every other athlete at the Commonwealth Games Acting like he doesn’t care While all the other athletes are trying they best to win medals,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another posted: “Adam Peaty, I think you need to take a deep breath, have a word with yourself and take a look at the para swimmers. Used to really respect you and what you were trying to achieve but feel let down by tonight’s comments.”
World record-holder Peaty qualified second-fastest for the 50m breaststroke final, scheduled for Wednesday morning, behind Australia’s Sam Williamson.
After moving through to the end, Peaty appeared to apologize for his comments.
He wrote on Twitter: “Thankful for all the supportful messages I’m getting at the moment. It has been an incredibly hard time the past few months, but mostly the last few days.
“Sometimes in the heat of the moment my emotions better me and I can’t speak with a clear mind.
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‘I WON’T LAST UNTIL PARIS’: Chalmers’ sad admission after taking gold
James Wilby was stunned. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.Source: Getty ImagesEngland’s James Wilby celebrates winning. Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP.Source: AFP
“These championships mean a lot to me being a home games but I have to think bigger picture to keep my spirits high. It really, really isn’t easy. My last Commonwealth Games race will be tomorrow.”
Peaty said he simply hasn’t had the time to return to his best shape as a result of a lengthy rehabilitation from several foot injuries. He said he didn’t have the aerobic fitness to challenge for the 100m breaststroke and even said he needs to lose 4kg before competing at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
He said he has a long way to go before Paris.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Peaty said.
“I don’t see the point in doing something I wouldn’t do that well at, at the moment. We’ll see.
“I don’t know what went wrong. With 25m to go I had nothing in the tank. Maybe that’s overexposure on the foot. Sometimes you just have a bad race, I can’t pinpoint where I went wrong. There’s a lot of debriefing to do. I need a full reset now.
“It was a slow ending, I can’t remember the last time I went that slow. It just didn’t go right. Of course, I’m disappointed, but that’s what makes you go faster next time.
“I’ve kind of lost that spark, whether it’s with my foot, but I’ll be looking to find that over the next months and into the next two years.”
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
We have just witnessed one of the most insane days to ever unfold in Aussie cycling with Matthew Glaetzer winning gold in the men’s 1000m time trial.
The Aussie team was expected to be wiped out from the medals when they were inadvertently sabotaged by their own team in another farcical equipment blunder unfolding just hours before the event.
AusCycling officials announced its handlebars for the event were not safe at the eleventh hour—forcing the Aussie riders to use inferior, bulkier, slower bars at the Lee Valley VeloPark.
Aussie cycling legend Katey Bates said the decision to use heavier, less aerodynamic handlebars could cost the riders up to 1.5 seconds in the event that takes 60 seconds to complete.
Nobody could have predicted what came next.
Despite the last-minute equipment sabotage, Glaetzer produced one of the great rides to take gold in the final ride of the event, knocking Aussie teammate Tom Cornish to silver.
A fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal taken Glaetzer equal with Aussie cycling icon Anna Meares for career gold medals won.
Aussie Matthew Richardson, who won gold in the men’s sprint on Monday, was relegated to fourth spot after Nicholas Paul took bronze for Trinidad and Tobago.
Richardson would almost certainly have won the bronze if able to use the handlebars he was expecting to.
It’s why Bates was absolutely stunned when Glaetzer powered to the gold medal.
“I cannot believe my eyes. I cannot believe what I’m seeing here,” she said.
“That was absolutely staggering. This is becoming the velodrome where records are broken and dreams are made.”
Earlier, an AusCycling review into the handlebars was only completed at the last minute. The review found the bars could not handle the force that the riders put through them, particularly when exploding off the start line.
Aussie legend Scott McGrory said the decision was a “devastating blow” to the Aussie trio.
“It’s a major hindrance,” he told Channel 7.
“The aerodynamic bars are so much faster.
“It’s a devastating blow for the Australians.”
AusCycling executive general manager of performance Jesse Korf spoke to Channel 7 before the event and defended the late decision. He said the review was started earlier this year, but could not have been completed earlier because of testing issues with its suppliers and other officials.
Korf said in a statement released by AusCycling the decision was made after testing revealed the riders would generate significantly more power than the bars could handle.
“We acknowledge that this decision has created a degree of disappointment, but the riders and the broader team understand that safety is our top priority,” Korf said.
“We have made significant changes to procedures, team structure and process since the Tokyo Olympics and this decision is reflective of a new and thorough approach to long-term engineering excellence, competitive success, and athlete welfare.”
Bates said the decision would be a hammer blow to the Aussies, who have dedicated their lives for moments like this one.
“We’re talking 1 second to 1.5 seconds, it won’t just cost a gold medal, it will cost a medal,” she said.
“That’s devastating. When you look back on your career, these are the moments that define it, for good or for bad. I really feel for the athletes, to be honest.”
McGrory suggested there were other options that the Aussies could have used, including equipment readily available at the track, rather than going with such heavy handlebars.
Richardson was the first Aussie to hit the track and he left McGrory and Bates stunned when he shot straight to the top spot on the time sheets with a 1:00.152.
Tom Cornish then pushed into first place with a 1:00.036.
Glaetzer then took the gold when he smashed to 59,505.
Glaetzer was on Monday robbed of a bronze medal after being relegated in the third race of the bronze medal event following marginal contact with his opponent in the men’s sprint race.
The handlebar disaster in Birmingham comes after the Aussie equipment failed at the Tokyo Olympics.
Richardson was seen looking distressed after his ride and collapsed to the floor while appearing to suffer from cramping and other issues. Bates suggested he was about to vomit from the exhaustion and build up of lactic acid.
It was truly an unforgettable day in Australian cycling.
Today I was minding my own business, trawling the internet for interesting hotels when I came across the formidably named Special Hotel ‘Crazy’ on booking.com.
And I would like you to come on a wild, frightening and mind-boggling journey with me as we drink in the photos from this utterly bizarre themed hotel on the outskirts of Moscow.
(The words “kiss”, “love” and “sex” give a not-so-subtle hint as to what this room is all about. That’s right: crosswords.)
Oh wait, we have more clues. Turns out there’s a bath on a tiled roulette wheel in the other corner. It’s a Vegas-themed room I guess? Also love the curtain in the corner, for a window that is probably very much wished for, but doesn’t exist.
One of my worst nightmares is entering a hotel room to find someone “in character” in the room. As such I find many of these images rather triggering.
Oh god, no room is safe. REFUND! REFUND!
My friend from primary school had Italian grandparents and I swear their bedroom in the 1980s was the inspiration for this particular room.
It’s particularly charming how nobody quite knew where to put the television.
“I know, let’s put it right next to the very eye-catching reverse cycle airconditioning unit.”
This is either some kind of medieval inn vibe, or a ski chalet, or an Early Settler Furniture showroom.
Oh wait, no, *that* is the ski chalet.
The soccer room is very well done. Especially the way they have strung 900 lights up on the ceiling so you feel like you are in the middle of a stadium. It’s very relaxing.
I finally see what hotel rooms have been missing: A mosaic-tiled face that judges you while you’re on the toilet.
Imagine you accidentally booked this with a colleague on a work conference …
… Somebody is calling HR first thing on Monday morning.
To the right is the door you run screaming through.
Another one that is slightly difficult to nail down. Parisian brothel from a rather poor neighbourhood?
Ohhh… it could be an old-timey dress shop. Or a visual merchandising training facility.
This must be the Presidential Suite, because that room has an actual window. Doesn’t even matter what the theme is. Window! We’ll take it.
… on second thoughts.
Another thing we didn’t realize hotels had been missing until now – port holes in the bathroom so you can keep an eye on your partner at all times.
This has just the right amount of kitsch to actually work. Crank that big old oil heater up and pretend you are in the Maldives instead of on the outskirts of Moscow.
Okay what have we here? Are we in Nepal? India? In a wooden crate filled with items bound for an Ishka store?
Oh, we’re in the Karma Sutra room. Don’t look too closely at the images on the wall, children.
This must be the budget room. Geez it looks nice and peaceful.
So it seems the directions to the rooms are done in the style of an airport terminal? Don’t hate that. Points for originality.
It actually turns out, upon further investigation, that “the style of the individually decorated rooms represent different countries and cities”.
So you have the “Royal – Moscow” room, the “Inquisition – Madrid” (oh so *that’s* what that was all about), and the “Sports – London” for example.
Imagine spending a week there and traveling the world through their different themed rooms.
