Tag Archives: Oxford University

New Research Shows Most Iconic Film Locations Include One In Canada

Indiana Jones fans might hear The Raiders March in their heads when looking at this photograph.

Can you name this neighborhood in London, England and the movie that made this street famous?

Our friends at Spin Genie have analyzed Instagram posts, TikTok views and Google search data to determine which can be crowned the most iconic. The study also considered the average hotel costs of the world’s most famous film locations, to share insights into how much a visit could set back fans of the film. 

The 10 most iconic film locations:

RankLocationFilmNo. of Instagram Hashtag PostsNo. of TikTok Hashtag ViewsNo. of Google SearchesAvg. Cost of Hotel per Night Overall Score
1PetraIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade1,720,3571,100,000,00010,407,000$105.009.17
2Notting HillNotting Hill, Love Actually1,690,606400,500,0007,865,000$159.008.71
2SalzburgThe Sound of Music3,663,9241,600,000,0009,180,000$266.008.71
4BusanBlack Panther4,564,7041,800,000,0003,149,000$232.008.56
5ClevelandAvengers8,133,6793,000,000,0006,546,000$324.008.37
5SavannahForrest Gump3,713,5821,100,000,0007,092,000$280.008.37
7BrugesIn Bruges1,444,721149,700,0005,172,000$270.007.39
8Oxford UniversityHarry Potter423,853507,200,0007,980,000$378.007.27
9MatamataLord of the Rings, The Hobbit180,491268,800,000783,000$49.007.2
10Beverly HillsPretty Woman, Clueless6,768,7632,800,000,0006,100,000$956.007.16
10Lake ComoStar Wars, House of Gucci1,951,742989,300,0006,885,000$507.007.16

The most iconic film location across the globe is Petra, which can be found in Jordan’s Southwestern desert. The famous archaeological site is most well-known for appearing in the third Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and is featured in over 1.7 million Instagram posts. Petra has also been viewed on TikTok over 1.1 billion times and received over 10.4 million searches on Google between August 2022 and July 2023.  For those wanting to visit the site, it will cost you around $105 on average for a hotel nearby.

The second most iconic film location is Notting Hill, which can be found in West London. The vibrant and trendy area is most well known for appearing in films such as Love Actually, and, of course, the self-titled Notting Hill. Notting Hill is featured in almost 1.7 million Instagram posts and has been viewed on TikTok over 400.5 million times, as well as garnering over 7.8 million Google searches between August 2022 and July 2023. A hotel in the area will set you back around $159 per night.

Also in second place is Salzburg, which is one of Austria’s most famous cities. The baroque city is most well-known for being the filming location of the classic musical The Sound of Music. Salzburg is featured in over 3.6 million Instagram posts and has been viewed on TikTok over 1.6 billion times, as well as accumulating almost 9.2 million Google searches between August 2022 and July 2023. Anyone wishing to visit the city should expect to pay around $266 per night for a hotel room.

Further findings:

  • The most popular film location on social media is Cleveland, Ohio. The US city is featured in over 8.1 million Instagram posts and has been viewed on TikTok over 3 billion times.
  • The film location that people are searching for the most on Google is Petra, with over 10.4 million searches being made between August 2022 and July 2023. 
  • The Tabernas Desert is the most affordable film location for visitors, with hotel costs averaging $71 per night.  The cheapest month to visit is March, with a 25% drop in price, and the most expensive month is August, with a 69% rise in price.
  • When it comes to famous Canadian film locations, any Twilight fans will be pleased to know that Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, located in Squamish in British Columbia, is featured in both parts of Breaking Dawn. Visitors can stay in a hotel in Squamish for a current average of $247 per night. 

Featured image: Stawamus Chief Provincial Park

UK PM Johnson: You May Need Vaccination Proof To Enter Pubs

51%

Only days after it was announced that 51% of British adults have received at least one doses of their COVID vaccine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that people may need to present a vaccination certificate in order to go to the pub. One month ago, Johnson had said that this would not be the case.

One Year Later

When the UK first entered lockdown one year ago, Johnson recognized he was “taking away the ancient, inalienable right of free-born people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub” but now he is suggesting limits on how many of them will be given back that right.

British political analyst and commentator Jonathan Sacerdoti says the UK’s vaccination program has been impressive, beating the rest of Europe by far. “This has been for three main reasons,” he explains. “Firstly, the UK implemented skillful procurement of vaccines, which enabled the country to ensure a plentiful if varying supply level of the newly developed vaccines. Having finally broken free of the European Union after years of Brexit back-and-forth, the UK was able to make its own decisions just in time, and signed early and favorable contracts with vaccine manufacturers.”

AstraZeneca

“Secondly, the UK also invested in developing its own vaccine, the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. This has offered a far cheaper alternative to the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine which the UK is also using, and is far easier to transport. It does not require the deep refrigeration that some other vaccines do, and it can therefore also be administered in pharmacists and smaller medical practices, or even in old age homes, rather than only in mass vaccination centers. Despite some concerns over possible blood clots as a side effect, the vaccine is widely accepted to be safe and effective. It has enabled the UK to make progress with vaccinating its population quickly, and promises to help vaccinate poorer countries around the world.”

Extended Dosage Gap

“Thirdly, the UK made the controversial decision to extend the gap between the two vaccine doses each person needs, from 21 days to 12 weeks. This was not backed up but he vaccine makers’ research, but was based on wider knowledge of immunology and how other vaccines have been developed. At the time it was seen as highly controversial and even risky. But ongoing testing for antibodies has shown a continued, strong immune response even with the prolonged gap. This single decision has enabled the country to effectively provide a high level of protection to double the number of people in the same time. As long as vaccine supply and availability continue uninterrupted, the second doses will be given within 12 weeks and the population will continue to benefit both individually and as a whole.”

EU Lags

Meanwhile, the European Union is lagging far behind in its rate of vaccination, causing a rift between the bloc and its recent ex-member state the UK. Threats of banning or controlling exports of vaccines manufactured in the EU to countries which are far ahead in their programs has caused a diplomatic war of words. The UK determined to have its commercial contracts fulfilled regardless of the EU’s weak performance in acquiring and administering vaccines. The EU is desperate to claw back more vaccines for use in its own countries, despite slow progress in administering them.

Jonathan Sacerdoti is a British broadcaster and social commentator, widely featured on British and international television and media. He provides commentary for a wide range of TV stations including regular appearances on the BBC (including on their international show Dateline London) and the UK’s Sky News. He also appears on Channel 4 News, Al Jazeera English, NDTV in India, France 24, i24News Cheddar News and others. He has been published by the Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, the New Statesman and Jewish Chronicle. He is also a well-known campaigner on racism issues. 

Intelligence Squared U.S. Begins Season Debating Saudi Arabia, Iran & Turkey – In NYC & Online September 12

Saudi Arabia and Iran are vying for regional dominance, as the latter pursues nuclear weapons. Turkey is cozying up to Russia and China. Instability, conflict, and proxy wars have engulfed Syria, Yemen, and beyond. How should the United States respond to changing power, proxy wars, terrorism, and human rights issues in the Middle East? On Thursday, September 12, America’s debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. launches their fall season with a debate not one, but three motions, all investigating 
“Shifting Power in the Middle East”:

Motion 1: Is Trump right on Saudi Arabia?
Motion 2: Is the world safer without the Iran Nuclear Deal?
Motion 3: Is Turkey an asset to NATO?

In this latest installment in Intelligence Squared U.S.’s new “Unresolved”
series, debaters must declare their “yes” or “no” stance on each separate motion, allowing for both sharp disagreements and unexpected
alliances. The debaters will be:
* Michael Doran, senior director on the National Security Council under
President Bush* Reuel Marc Gerecht, former CIA case officer* Bernard
Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton* Brett McGurk, the State Department’s former Special Presidential Envoy for the Global
Coalition to Defeat ISIS* Barbara Slavin, the director of the Future of Iran Initiative

The debate will be held at NYC’s Symphony Space and stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast “Intelligence Squared U.S.” On September 12, online viewers can tune in at IQ2US’s website: https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/unresolved-shifting-power-middle-east

 WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates “Unresolved: Shifting Power in the Middle East”
WHEN: Thursday, September 12 / 7:00-8:45 PM EDT
WHERE: Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, New York, NY
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/  

Debaters Bios: * Michael Doran, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Michael Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in Middle East security issues. Doran served as a senior director on the National Security Council under President Bush and was responsible for helping to devise and coordinate U.S. strategy on a variety of Middle East issues, including Arab-Israeli relations and U.S.
efforts to contain Iran and Syria. He also served in the Bush
administration as a senior adviser in the State Department and a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Pentagon. 

* Reuel Marc Gerecht, Senior Fellow, The Foundation for Defense of
Democracies & Fmr. CIA Case OfficerReuel Marc Gerecht is a former
case officer for the CIA, where he served as a Middle Eastern targets
officer with the CIA’s directorate of operations. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan organization
centering on national security, where he focuses on Iran, sanctions,
terrorism, and the Middle East. He is the author of “Know Thine Enemy: A Spy’s Journey into Revolutionary Iran” and “The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists, and the Coming of Arab Democracy,”
among others.  

* Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies and the
director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary
Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton University. After working as a post-doctoral research fellow at Oxford University in
Islamic Studies, he joined New York University in 1998 as associate
professor before taking up his post at Princeton. He became a
Guggenheim fellow in 2010 and is co-editor of the book, “Saudi Arabia in Transition; Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change.” 

* Brett McGurk, Fmr. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISISBrett McGurk served as Special Presidential Envoy for
the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS at the U.S. Department of State, where he helped build and then lead the coalition of 75 countries and four
international organizations in the global campaign against ISIS. He served in senior positions in the Bush and Obama administrations and has led some of the most sensitive diplomatic missions in the Middle East over
the last decade. McGurk is currently the Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne
distinguished lecturer at the Freeman Spogli Institute and Center for
Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. 

* Barbara Slavin, Director, The Future of Iran Initiative, The Atlantic CouncilBarbara Slavin is the director of the Future of Iran Initiative and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The author of
“Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to
Confrontation,” she is a regular commentator on U.S. foreign policy and
Iran on NPR, PBS, and C-SPAN. Previously, Slavin served as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Slavin
is a career journalist, and currently writes as columnist for
Al-Monitor.com, a website devoted to news from and about the Middle
East.   

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)
A non-partisan, non-profit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was
founded in 2006 to address a fundamental problem in America: the
extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Their mission is to
restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public
discourse. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million
American households through multi-platform distribution, including
radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 160 debates and
counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to “think
twice” on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News
correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008.