title: New Nintendo 3DS

text: Critics felt the new "Super-Stable 3D" system was successful in improving the consistency and viewing angles of the device's stereoscopic 3D effects, especially in games that require use of its gyroscope. An "IGN" writer noted that "the constant swaying and occasional jolt of my morning train commute has only very occasionally shattered the new systems' stereoscopic spell, and even then, the system quickly adjusts and snaps back into focus". The improved technical specifications of the new systems were also noted, making the device's operating system more responsive and providing modest performance enhancements for existing games such as "Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate".


title: New Nintendo 3DS

text: The incorporation of the Circle Pad Pro's additional shoulder buttons and secondary analog stick into the devices were praised, along with their potential for use in ports of games from home consoles. Opinions were mixed on the design of the C-Stick itself, however; "GameSpot" felt it was "surprisingly responsive" and "IGN" drew comparisons to the similar pointing stick sometimes found on ThinkPad laptops, but felt that while good for occasional functions (such as camera control and aiming in third-person games), it would not function well for more intense use cases (such as first-person shooters) due to its size and lack of grip in comparison to the Circle Pad.


title: New Nintendo 3DS

text: Aspects of the devices' designs were noted; "IGN" felt that the face plate options on the regular-sized models added a level of personalization to the console, but that "[while] face plates will take off with younger gamers in particular, these accessories could just as easily end up in the bargain bin faster than you can say Limited Edition "Perfect Dark Zero" Xbox 360 face plate." Nintendo's decision to exclude this feature from the XL version was also considered odd. "Wired" felt that the new locations for the power button, card slot, and stylus holder were "inconvenient". Critics also felt the switch to MicroSD cards and the relocation of the SD card slot to the battery compartment would make manually transferring data from the previous 3DS models trickier; "GameSpot" lamented on the difficulty of unscrewing the rear cover off the XL, citing "stubborn screws and a panel that practically refuses to detach". Nintendo's decision to not bundle an AC adapter with the new models was criticized, particularly in the case of first-time 3DS owners.


title: New Nintendo 3DS

text: "GameSpot" felt that the New Nintendo 3DS XL was "the best handheld Nintendo's ever made", and recommended it to first-time 3DS owners. In regards to existing 3DS owners, the new systems were recommended to those showing interest in its exclusives or wanting a better overall experience. Giving the console an 8.8 out of 10, "IGN" concluded that "the additional controls and increased processing power set the system up nicely for the future, and if you're late to the 3DS party, you've got a back catalogue that features not just some of the best handheld games in recent years, but some of the best games full stop."


title: New Nintendo 3DS

text: As of December 31, 2016, 9.94 million units of the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL have shipped worldwide.


title: Lori Mattix

text: Lori Mattix (born November 29, 1958), sometimes known as Lori Maddox or Lori Lightning, is a American former child model and "baby" groupie of the 1970s. , she is a partner and buyer for the Glam Boutique in West Hollywood. She is perhaps best known for an interview with "Thrillist" in 2015 in which she made allegations of being involved in sexual relationships with David Bowie, Jimmy Page, and Mick Jagger; these are relationships which would have occurred while she was underage and while the musicians were in their twenties, although her connections to Bowie and Jagger are disputed.


title: Lori Mattix

text: Her experience has been discussed in the Me Too movement, with her story marking a shift of the movement's focus from the film industry to the music industry.


title: Lori Mattix

text: At the age of 13, Mattix began frequenting clubs on Sunset Strip with her friend Sable Starr, particularly the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the Whisky a Go Go, and Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco.


title: Lori Mattix

text: Mattix says that when she was 14 years old, she was introduced to David Bowie while he was in Los Angeles on his Ziggy Stardust Tour in October 1972. When Bowie's tour returned to Los Angeles five months later, on the night before Bowie performed at the Long Beach Arena in March 1973, Mattix claimed, Bowie's bodyguard was sent to pick up her and Starr for a sexual encounter. According to Mattix, as she told to "Thrillist" in 2015, she and Starr met Bowie at the Rainbow Bar before the three went to Bowie's hotel suite and had sex: "...[Bowie] de-virginized me...That night I lost my virginity and had my first threesome."


title: Lori Mattix

text: However, Starr gave a conflicting account of the same night's events, claiming that she alone had sex with Bowie and that Mattix was no longer with them by the time they were at the hotel. Mattix also gave a different account of her encounter with Bowie to music journalist Paul Trynka, in which she claimed that she and Starr sought out the hotel room Bowie was staying in and snuck inside, uninvited. In this account, Mattix claimed that when they found Bowie he was "tired" but they initiated a sexual encounter with him. Mattix claims she continued to see Bowie "many times" in the ten years afterwards.


title: Lori Mattix

text: Mattix's allegations regarding her experience with Bowie have been called into question due to timeline issues; she may have already been in a relationship with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page by the time she claims to have first met Bowie, as Led Zeppelin's 1972 North American tour came to Los Angeles in June, several months before Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Tour arrived for the first time in October 1972. Mattix's account is contradicted by fellow groupie Pamela Des Barres' 1987 memoir "", in which Des Barres recalled Page being in an relationship with the then 13-year-old Mattix by late 1972 and before February 1973, therefore before March 1973 when Mattix claimed to have lost her virginity to Bowie. Mattix also previously claimed that she had lost her virginity to Page. Furthermore, unlike the numerous photos of Page and Mattix together, and the "heavily corroborated and well-documented evidence of their relationship", no photographic evidence of Bowie and Mattix together exists.


title: Lori Mattix

text: A confirmed factual error in Maddix's account of her experience with Bowie is that although she claims to have met John Lennon and Yoko Ono with Bowie at the Rainbow Bar during the alleged encounter in March 1973, Bowie and Lennon never actually met until September 1974.


title: Lori Mattix

text: In June 1972, while Led Zeppelin were in Los Angeles for their 1972 North American tour, the 13-year-old Mattix began a relationship with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Mattix claims the relationship began by her being "basically kidnapped" by Led Zeppelin's tour manager Richard Cole and brought to Page's hotel room. According to "Rolling Stone", Page went to great lengths to keep the relationship a secret due to the possibility of being arrested for statutory rape.


title: Lori Mattix

text: At the insistence of Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant, Mattix was kept in a locked hotel room with a security guard at the door during the band's subsequent U.S. touring. Mattix did not travel with Led Zeppelin while they were on tour but she claimed Page stationed himself in Los Angeles and would frequently fly back there to see her between concerts in the band's private jet, "The Starship", and whenever Page returned to England, Mattix says he called her every day.


title: Lori Mattix

text: According to Mattix, after they had been together for a year, Page was willing to be seen in public with her and began bringing her to concerts. Their relationship lasted for more than two years, ending in 1975. Mattix claimed she ended the relationship when she was 16 years old after finding Page in bed with Bebe Buell. Buell gave an alternate version of these events, claiming that despite the fact that Mattix "had given herself exclusively to Jimmy (Page) from age 14 to 16," she was barred by Page's security from seeing him once he began dating Buell.


title: Lori Mattix

text: Lori Mattix is said by Led Zeppelin biographers to have been referenced by the band in the song "Sick Again", specifically with the lyrics:


title: Lori Mattix

text: However, Robert Plant has said that he wrote the song in general about the many underaged groupies with whom the band were acquainted on their 1973 US Tour, whom he felt sorry for.


title: Lori Mattix

text: Mattix alleges to have engaged in a physically intimate relationship with Mick Jagger when she was 17, whom she claimed to have met in 1975 at a recording session featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, but the claim has since been disputed since the only recording session with Lennon and McCartney after the dissolution of The Beatles took place in 1974 and there is no evidence that Mick Jagger was present at that session.


title: Lori Mattix

text: She has also claimed to have had affairs with Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, T. Rex's Mickey Finn, Angela Bowie, Keith Emerson, Carl Palmer and Jimmy Bain.


title: Lori Mattix

text: In 2015, an interview with Mattix was published in which she detailed the alleged relationships between her and Bowie, and later Page. The issue later became a central debate topic across social media, prompting a widespread review of how such stories should be understood in the #MeToo era.


title: Lori Mattix

text: When asked whether the Me Too movement had changed her opinion on her groupie years, Mattix admitted that she had not seen her relationships as exploitative at the time, but that the movement had forced her to view these years in a different light, and that now:


title: Lori Mattix

text: Commentators have used Mattix's story to highlight the differences between social attitudes in the 1970s regarding the sexual exploitation of minors, particularly regarding people in positions of power, compared to more modern social values. Rebecca Hains, a children's media culture expert, viewed the problem as a symptom of sexism in the music industry, arguing that it is a "sad commentary on our culture that modern masculinity can be so entitled, so toxic, that we are repeatedly put in the position of both loving the art and hating the man behind said art for what he did to women and/or children." Journalist Stereo Williams framed the problem of lax social attention to such crimes as one endemic to the time period – considered unworthy of concern in the 1970s and earlier – but incompatible in a modern era where society has a greater focus on "protecting victims and holding celebrities accountable."


title: Caity Lotz

text: Caitlin Marie Lotz (born December 30, 1986) is an American actress, dancer and singer. She has portrayed Stephanie Horton in "Mad Men", Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series "Death Valley" (2011), Annie in "The Pact" (2013), and Sara Lance/The Canary/White Canary in The CW's Arrowverse television series, where she has appeared in "Arrow", "Legends of Tomorrow", "The Flash", "Supergirl", and "Batwoman". She is also a co-founder of SheThority, a women's empowerment organization.


title: Caity Lotz

text: Lotz started her career as a dancer, touring with Avril Lavigne and Lady Gaga, and starring in music videos including Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi", David Guetta and Estelle's "One Love", Selena Gomez's "Tell Me Something I Don't Know", T-Pain's "Freeze", JoJo's "Baby It's You", Cascada's "Evacuate the Dancefloor", Kaci Brown's "Instigator", and Wang Leehom's "Gai Shi Ying Xiong". Lotz appeared on "Dancing With the Stars" season 8, as Lady Gaga's backup dancer for the song "LoveGame". Her Avril Lavigne tour performance was released on the video "".


title: Caity Lotz

text: Lotz appeared in TV ads for Jack in the Box, Reebok, and T-Mobile, danced in the web series "The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers", toured with the hip hop theatre production "Groovaloo", and stunt-doubled in films including "Step Up 3D".


title: Caity Lotz

text: In 2005, Lotz joined the girl group Soccx. In 2006, the group released their debut single "From Dusk Till Dawn (Get the Party Started)", which they followed up in 2007 with the single "Scream Out Loud", both of which reached the top 10 in Germany. Their début album, "Hold On", was also released in 2007, and their third single, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", was released in 2008.


title: Caity Lotz

text: Lotz has modelled for "Men's Health" and "Esquire", the latter in conjunction with the website "Me in My Place".


title: Caity Lotz

text: Lotz did her acting training at Sanford Meisner for two years. Lotz began her acting career in 2006 with a small role in the cheerleading film "". She followed that up in 2010 with a part in the third episode of "" and a recurring role in the fourth season of the AMC drama "Mad Men" as Stephanie, Anna Draper's niece. In 2011, Lotz starred as Officer Kirsten Landry, one of the main characters in the MTV horror, black comedy mockumentary series "Death Valley". Lotz performed all her own stunts on the show.


title: Caity Lotz

text: In 2012, Lotz had roles in "Live at the Foxes Den", "Battle of the Year" alongside Josh Holloway and alongside Casper Van Dien and Agnes Bruckner in the supernatural thriller "The Pact", which débuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and has been picked up for distribution.


title: Caity Lotz

text: Starting with the second season of The CW's superhero TV series "Arrow", Lotz appeared as Sara Lance, a character believed dead who returns as a costumed vigilante known as The Canary. Lotz reprised her role as Lance in the spin-off series "Legends of Tomorrow." She would go on to make her directorial debut in the latter series’s fifth season episode “Mortal Khanbat”.


title: Caity Lotz

text: She had the lead role in the science fiction film "The Machine", which had its UK release on March 21, 2014 and had its US release on April 25, 2014. In May 2014, she reprised her role as Stephanie in the seventh season of "Mad Men". She also played Dr. Emily McTier in the film "400 Days", along with her "Legends of Tomorrow" co-star Brandon Routh, in 2016.


title: Caity Lotz

text: Lotz is a martial artist, training in Taekwondo, Wushu, Krav Maga, Arnis and Muay Thai. She is also a practitioner of parkour and tricking.


title: Caity Lotz

text: Lotz announced at Starfury Events: Ultimates Crisis, a fan convention in the U.K. that she and Canadian actor Kyle Schmid are engaged.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Plans were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis and the building opened as the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Its steel frame covers a expanse and the dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of , making it the largest fixed domed structure in the world.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome has routinely hosted major sporting events; it has hosted seven Super Bowl games (and will host its eighth, Super Bowl LIX, in 2025), and five NCAA championships in men's college basketball. In college football, the Sugar Bowl has been played at the Superdome since 1975, which is one of the "New Year's Six" bowl games of the College Football Playoff (CFP). It also traditionally hosts the Bayou Classic, a rivalry game played between the HBCUs Southern University and Grambling State University. The Superdome was also the long-time home of the Tulane Green Wave football team of Tulane University until 2014 (when they returned on-campus at Yulman Stadium), and was the home venue of the New Orleans Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1975 until 1979.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In 2005, the Superdome housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina. The building suffered extensive damage as a result of the storm, and was closed for many months afterward. The building was fully refurbished and reopened in time for the Saints' 2006 home opener on September 25.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: David Dixon (who decades later founded the United States Football League) conceived of the Superdome while attempting to convince the NFL to award a franchise to New Orleans. After hosting several exhibition games at Tulane Stadium during typical New Orleans summer thunderstorms, Dixon was told by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that the NFL would never expand into New Orleans without a domed stadium. Dixon then won the support of the governor of Louisiana, John McKeithen. When they toured the Astrodome in Houston, Texas in 1966, McKeithen was quoted as saying, "I want one of these, only bigger", in reference to the Astrodome itself. Bonds were passed for construction of the Superdome on November 8, 1966, seven days after commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded New Orleans the 25th professional football franchise.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The stadium was conceptualized to be a multifunctional stadium for football, baseball and basketball—with moveable field level stands that would be arranged specifically for each sport and areas with dirt (for the bases and pitchers mound) covered with metal plates on the stadium floor (they were covered by the artificial turf during football games)—and there are also meeting rooms that could be rented for many different purposes. Dixon imagined the possibilities of staging simultaneous high school football games side by side and suggested that the synthetic surface be white. Blount International of Montgomery, Alabama was chosen to build the stadium.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: As the dome was being constructed, various individuals developed eccentric models of the structure: one was of sugar, another consisted of pennies. The so-called "penny model" traveled to the Philadelphia Bicentennial '76 exhibition. New Orleanian Norman J. Kientz built the model with 2,697 pennies and donated it to the Superdome Board of Commissioners in April 1974.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: It was hoped the stadium would be ready in time for the 1972 NFL season, and the final cost of the facility would come in at $46 million. Instead, due to political delays, construction did not start until August 11, 1971, and was not finished until August 1975, seven months after Super Bowl IX was scheduled to be played in the stadium. Since the stadium was not finished in time for the Super Bowl, the game had to be moved to Tulane Stadium, and was played in cold and rainy conditions. Factoring in inflation, construction delays, and the increase in transportation costs caused by the 1973 oil crisis, the final price tag of the stadium skyrocketed to $165 million. Along with the state police, Elward Thomas Brady, Jr., a state representative from Terrebonne Parish and a New Orleans native, conducted an investigation into possible financial irregularities, but the Superdome went forward despite the obstacles.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The New Orleans Saints opened the 1975 NFL season at the Superdome, losing 21–0 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first regular-season game in the facility. Tulane Stadium, the original home of the Saints, was condemned for destruction on the day the Superdome opened.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The first Super Bowl played in the stadium was Super Bowl XII in January 1978, the first in prime time.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The original artificial turf playing surface in the Superdome was produced and developed by Monsanto (which made the first artificial playing surface for sports, AstroTurf) specifically for the Superdome, and was named "Mardi Grass".


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome replaced the first generation "Mardi Grass" surface to the next-generation FieldTurf surface midway through the 2003 football season on November 16.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome was used as a "shelter of last resort" for those in New Orleans unable to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina when it struck on August 29, 2005. During the storm, a large section of the outer covering was peeled off by high winds. The photos of the damage, in which the concrete underneath was exposed, quickly became an iconic image of Hurricane Katrina. A few days later, the dome was closed until September 25, 2006.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: By August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients and a man who is believed to have committed suicide by jumping from the upper-level seats. There were also unconfirmed reports of rape, vandalism, violent assaults, crack dealing/drug abuse, and gang activity inside the Superdome. After a National Guardsman was attacked and shot in the dark by an assailant, the National Guard inside the Superdome used barbed wire barricades to separate themselves from the other people in the dome. On September 11, New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass reported there were "no confirmed reports of any type of sexual assault."


title: Caesars Superdome

text: United States Navy sniper Chris Kyle claimed that during the hurricane, he and another sniper climbed to the top of the dome and killed 30 armed looters during the chaos following the event. This claim has never been independently verified, and there is no evidence of dozens of people being slain by a sniper or gunman, with commentary noting that it would be unlikely that 30 people would have been killed without anyone noticing it or reporting it to the media or the police. Kyle's story had been reported in a number of publications, including the "New Yorker", with Kyle relating the story to other military personnel.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome cost $185 million to repair and refurbish. To repair the Superdome, FEMA put up $115 million, the state spent $13 million, the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District refinanced a bond package to secure $41 million and the NFL contributed $15 million.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: After being damaged from the flooding disaster, a new Sportexe MomentumTurf surface was installed for the 2006 season.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, the NFL announced that the Saints would play their home opener on September 24, 2006 in the Superdome against the Atlanta Falcons. The game was later moved to September 25.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The reopening of the dome was celebrated with festivities including a free outdoor concert by the Goo Goo Dolls before fans were allowed in, a pre-game performance by U2 and Green Day performing a cover of the Skids' "The Saints Are Coming", and a coin toss conducted by then-President George W. Bush. In front of ESPN's largest-ever audience at that time, the Saints won the game 23–3 with 70,003 in attendance, and went on to a successful season, reaching their first ever NFC Championship Game.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In 2008, new windows were installed to bring natural light into the building. Later that year, the roof-facing of the Superdome was also remodeled, restoring the roof with a solid white hue. Between 2009 and 2010, the entire outer layer of the stadium, more than of aluminum siding, was replaced with new aluminum panels and insulation, returning the building to its original champagne bronze colored exterior. An innovative barrier system for drainage was also added, allowing the dome to resemble its original facade.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In addition, escalators were added to the outside of the club rooms. Each suite includes modernized rooms with raised ceilings, leather sofas, and flat-screen TVs, as well as glass brushed aluminum and wood-grain furnishings. A new $600,000 point-of-sale system was also installed, allowing fans to purchase concessions with credit cards throughout the stadium for the first time.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: During the summer of 2010, the Superdome installed of the UBU Speed S5-M synthetic turf system, an Act Global brand. In 2017 Act Global installed a new turf in time for the NFL Season. For the 2018, 2019 and 2020 NFL seasons Turf Nation Inc located in Dalton, GA have supplied the synthetic turf system for the Superdome, The Superdome has, as of 2017, the largest continuous synthetic turf system in the NFL.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Beginning in 2011, demolition and new construction began to the lower bowl of the stadium, reconfiguring it to increase seating by 3,500, widening the plaza concourse, building two bunker club lounges and adding additional concession stands. Crews tore down the temporary stairs that led from Champions Square to the Dome, and replaced them with permanent steps. Installation of express elevators that take coaches and media from the ground level of the stadium to the press box were also completed. New bunker lounges on each side of the stadium were built. The lounges are equipped with flat-screen TVs, granite counter tops and full-service bars. These state-of-the-art lounges can serve 4,500 fans, whose old plaza seats were upgraded to premium tickets, giving those fans leather chairs with cup-holders. The plaza level was extended, closing in space between the concourse and plaza seating, adding new restrooms and concession areas. The renovations also ended the stadium's ability to convert to a baseball configuration. The renovations were completed in late June 2011 in time for the Essence Music Festival.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Naming rights to the Superdome were sold for the first time in 2011 to automaker Mercedes-Benz, renaming the facility Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mercedes-Benz did not renew the contract, and in July 2021 it was announced that the naming rights would be sold to Caesars Entertainment, under which it was renamed Caesars Superdome.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On July 27, 2012, a statue was unveiled at a plaza next to the Superdome. The work, titled "Rebirth", depicts one of the most famous plays in Saints history—Steve Gleason's block of a Michael Koenen punt that the Saints recovered for a touchdown early in the first quarter of the team's first post-Katrina game in the Superdome.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome hosted the Super Bowl XLVII football game on February 3, 2013. A partial power failure halted game play for about 34 minutes in the third quarter between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. It caused CBS, who was broadcasting the game, to lose some of its cameras as well as voiceovers by commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. At no point did the game go off the air, though the game had no audio for about two minutes. While the lights were coming back on, sideline reporter Steve Tasker reported on the outage as a breaking news situation until power was restored enough for play to continue.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On February 8, 2013, it was reported that a relay device intended to prevent an electrical overload had caused the failure. The device was located in an electrical vault owned and operated by Entergy, the electrical utility for the New Orleans area. That vault is approximately one quarter mile away from the Superdome. A subsequent report from an independent auditor confirmed the relay device as the cause. The Superdome's own power system was never compromised.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: During the 2016 off-season, the smaller videoboards formerly located along the end zone walls above the upper seating bowl were replaced with two large Panasonic HD LED displays that stretch wide and tall that are much easier to see throughout the bowl. Other upgrades included a complete upgrade to the Superdome's interior floodlighting system to an efficient LED system with programmable coloring, light show effects, and instant on-off; in normal mode the stadium will have a more vibrant and naturally pleasing system resembling natural daylight.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In November 2019, phase one plans were approved by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, commonly known as the Superdome Commission, for a $450 million renovation. The renovation, designed by Trahan Architects (founded by Victor F. "Trey" Trahan III, FAIA), will include atriums that will replace the ramp system, improved concourses, and field-level end zone boxes. The first phase of work began January 2020 and includes installing alternative exits and constructing a large kitchen and food-service area.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On September 21, 2021, thick black smoke was seen rising from the top of the Superdome while renovations and maintenance were underway by workers on the roof. One person was injured in the blaze that initially started when a pressure washer caught fire. Firefighters brought the fire under control within an hour. No structural damage occurred to the building, and future events were not impacted.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome is located on of land, near the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has an interior space of , a height of , a dome diameter of , and a total floor area of .


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome has a listed football seating capacity of 76,468 (expanded) or 73,208 (not expanded) and a maximum basketball seating capacity of 73,432. However, published attendance figures from events such as the Super Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. The basketball capacity does not reflect the NCAA's new policy on arranging the basketball court on the 50-yard line on the football field, per 2009 NCAA policy. In 2011, 3,500 seats were added, increasing the Superdome's capacity to 76,468. The Superdome's capacity was 78,133 for WrestleMania 34.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome's primary tenant is the NFL's New Orleans Saints. The team regularly draws capacity crowds.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The NFL has hosted seven Super Bowls at the Superdome, most recently Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The Superdome is scheduled to host Super Bowl LIX in 2025.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The 1976 Pro Bowl was held at the Superdome on Monday, January 26, 1976. It was the NFL's 26th annual all-star game.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Bowl Championship Series National Championship Games were played at the Superdome four times. The College Football Playoff semifinal game is played every three years in the stadium. The CFP national championship game was played at the stadium once. Two other bowl games are also played there annually: the Sugar Bowl and New Orleans Bowl. The stadium also now hosts the Louisiana Kickoff. Florida State was victorious 24-23 over LSU in the first matchup of the inaugural kickoff.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome also hosts the Bayou Classic, an annual rivalry classic between the state's two largest historically black colleges and universities, Grambling State and Southern. Tulane University played their home games at the stadium from 1975 to 2013 (except 2005) before moving to on-campus Yulman Stadium.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In 2013, the Arena Football League New Orleans VooDoo played their last six home games of the season at the stadium. From 1991 to 1992, the New Orleans Night of the AFL played at the stadium.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The annual Louisiana Prep Classic state championship football games organized by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association have been held at the Superdome since 1981, except in 2005 following the extreme damage of Hurricane Katrina (moved to Independence Stadium in Shreveport) and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (moved to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana). The first state championship game in the stadium matched New Orleans Catholic League powers St. Augustine and Jesuit on December 15, 1978. The Purple Knights won their second Class AAAA title in four seasons by ousting the Blue Jays, 13–7, in front of over 42,000 fans.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Since the Superdome's reopening in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the increased success of the New Orleans Saints, the Superdome has developed a reputation for having a very strong home field advantage. While all domed stadiums possess this quality to some degree, the Superdome is known to be extremely loud during games, especially during offensive drives by the visiting team.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: During a pregame interview before the Minnesota Vikings' opening game of the 2010 NFL season against the Saints, Brett Favre, reflecting on the Vikings' loss to the Saints in the 2009 NFC Championship Game, said of the Superdome: "That was, by far, the most hostile environment I've ever been in. You couldn't hear anything." It was during that loss that some of the Vikings players elected to wear earplugs, including Favre. It was the first game of the season that they had chosen to do so.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: When the plaza level seats remained moveable, the capacity for baseball was 63,525 and the field size was as follows: to both left field and right field, to both left-center field and right-center field, to center field, and to the backstop. The bowl was reconfigured in a renovation from 2006 to 2011, which replaced the moveable seats with a pre-cast concrete deck and moved the seating closer to the field, creating 3,500 new seats in the lower bowl. This made the bowl more suitable for football, but less accommodating for baseball.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The first baseball game in the Superdome was an exhibition between the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros on April 6, 1976.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Superdome officials pursued negotiations with Oakland Athletics officials during the 1978–79 baseball off-season about moving the Athletics to the Superdome. The Athletics were unable to break their lease at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and remained in Oakland. Superdome officials met with the Pittsburgh Pirates in April 1981 about moving the club to New Orleans when the Pirates were unhappy with their lease at Three Rivers Stadium.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In the mid-1990s, the Superdome was planned to be the home of the yet-to-be named New Orleans team, a charter franchise of the United League (UL) which was a planned third league of Major League Baseball (MLB).


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The American Association New Orleans Pelicans played at the Superdome during the 1977 season. The Pelicans' season attendance was 217,957 at the dome.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros played an exhibition game on April 6, 1976. The New York Yankees played exhibition games at the Superdome in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. The Yankees hosted the Baltimore Orioles on March 15 and 16, 1980. 45,152 spectators watched the Yankees beat the Orioles 9–3 on March 15, 1980. The following day, 43,339 fans saw Floyd Rayford lead the Orioles to a 7–1 win over the Yankees. In 1981, the Yankees played the New York Mets, Philadelphia Philles and Pittsburgh Pirates in the dome. In 1982, the Yankees played the Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers and late in 1982, the Yankees considered opening the 1983 regular season at the Superdome if Yankee Stadium would not be ready yet after renovations. The 1983 New York Yankees also played the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays in the Superdome that year. The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals closed the 1984 spring training season with two games at the dome on March 31, 1984, and April 1, 1984. In what was a preview of the 1989 World Series, the Oakland A's played the San Francisco Giants in two games on March 28–29, 1989. In 1991, the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Oakland A's in two games on March 22–23, 1991. The A's also played the New York Mets in two contests on March 26–27, 1993. In 1994, the Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees in two games on April 1–2, 1994. The last professional baseball games played in the Superdome occurred on April 3–4, 1999, when the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins played a two-game series dubbed the "New Orleans Major League Baseball Classic."


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Busch Challenge/Winn-Dixie Showdown was a college baseball tournament held in the Superdome from 1987 to 1999. LSU, Tulane and University of New Orleans played an in-state team and out-of-state teams from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas in the annual tournament. The in-state team was Louisiana-Lafayette. The out-of-state teams were Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Cal State Fullerton, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Houston, Lamar, Miami (FL), Mississippi State, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oral Roberts, South Alabama, Southern California, Southern Mississippi, Texas A&M, UCLA.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The NCAA has hosted the Men's Final Four at the Superdome six times in 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2012, and 2022. The stadium hosted regional semifinals and finals in 1981 and 1990, as well as first- and second-round games in 1999 and 2001.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The NBA's New Orleans Jazz used the Superdome as their home court, from 1975 to 1979. In 1977, the Jazz set a then-record in attendance for an NBA game, with 35,077 watching the Jazz led by Pete "Pistol Pete" Maravich against the Philadelphia 76ers, led by fellow future Hall of Famer Julius Erving.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Tulane used the Superdome as its primary home court from its opening in 1975 through 1982. It played occasional games there in the 1990s against high-profile opponents before the opening of the New Orleans Arena (now the Smoothie King Center) in 1999.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On October 14, 1975, the Dome hosted Muhammad Ali Appreciation Day. The Muhammad Temple of Islam 46 in New Orleans organized the activities, with Ali's appearance as the day's highlight. Speakers included Dr. Na'im Akbar, Wallace D. Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome hosted the September 15, 1978 fight some called the Ali rematch where Muhammad Ali won the world Heavyweight title for the third time by beating Leon Spinks in front of a crowd of 65,000. It was Ali's last professional win.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Leonard–Durán II, also known as the "No Más Fight", took place on November 25, 1980, at the Louisiana Superdome. In the match, Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Roberto Durán to regain the WBC Welterweight Championship. The match gained its famous appellation in the end of the eighth round when Durán turned away from Leonard, towards the referee and quit by saying "No más" (Spanish for "No more").


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On December 3, 1982, the Superdome hosted the Carnival of Champions. In the first of two co-main events, Wilfredo Gómez would defend his WBC world Jr Featherweight championship against WBC's world Bantamweight champion Lupe Pintor. In the second, Wilfred Benítez defended his WBC world Jr Middleweight championship against the former WBA Welterweight champion of the world Thomas Hearns.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The USSR National Gymnastics Team performed for the first time in Louisiana in 1976. The Superdome event featured Olga Korbut, Nelli Kim, Nicolai Andrianov and Alexander Dityatin.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: At the 1995 U.S. Gymnastics National Championships, Dominique Moceanu became the youngest Women's All-Around National Champion in U.S. history at 13 years old, a record that still stands. John Roethlisberger also won his fourth and final U.S. Men's All-Around National Championship.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round from 1977 to 1980, 1998 to 2002, 2009 and 2012. On June 4, 1977, 40,000 fans watched Jimmy Weinert win the sixth of 12 races for a $250,000 purse. of dirt were piled into the center of the Superdome for the event.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome was scheduled to host a rugby union match on August 1, 2015, between English Premiership team Saracens and New Zealand's Super Rugby team Crusaders. The match was organized by RugbyLaw, organizers of the National Rugby Football League. The match was cancelled, however, as USA Rugby, the governing body of the sport in the United States, refused to approve the artificial turf playing surface.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome's first soccer matches occurred on September 5, 1976. In a doubleheader, two local club teams (Costa Rica and Olympia) squared off, followed by a post-season North American Soccer League matchup between the New York Cosmos and the Dallas Tornado. Pelé and Kyle Rote, Jr. led their respective teams, but it was Werner Roth and Ramon Mifflin who notched goals for New York in the Cosmos' 2–1 victory.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The U.S. women's national team met China in the Superdome on December 16, 2015, in what was both the final match of the USWNT's post-World Cup Victory Tour, as well as Abby Wambach's last game for the national team. China won, 1–0, in front of 32,950 fans: a record-setting attendance for a soccer match in Louisiana. On October 19, 2017, the USWNT played an international friendly against the Korea Republic, defeating them 3–1. Alex Morgan scored in the 40th minute for the United States, tallying her 78th career goal.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome was renowned for hosting many of Mid-South Wrestling's large, "Blow Off" events that were culminations of weeks or months of feuds and rivalries. Bill Watts was the promoter of this territory and gained much notoriety from promotion of his events in the Superdome.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: April 19, 1986, saw Jim Crockett Promotions (in association with Bill Watts' UWF and All Japan Pro Wrestling) host the first of three annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournaments. 24 teams competed in a single day show with an afternoon 1st rounds and finals in the evening. The tournament final saw The Road Warriors prevail over Magnum T. A. and Ron Garvin. Besides tag team tournament the Superdome attendance of 13,000 saw NWA World Champion Ric Flair retain the title via disqualification from Dusty Rhodes and Mid-South North American Champion Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Buzz Sawyer.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: WCW held its sixth Clash of the Champions on April 2, 1989. The event saw Ricky Steamboat defeat Ric Flair in a two out of three falls match 2–1 to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, arguably one of the greatest matches of all time. Clash VI was held on the same day as WrestleMania V and on free TV in an attempt to hurt the PPV rating.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome has twice-hosted WrestleMania, WWE's flagship pay-per-view. It first hosted WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, which notably featured Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker's long-standing winning streak at the event. WrestleMania returned to the Superdome in 2018 for WrestleMania 34.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The New Orleans Sun Belt Nets were a charter franchise of World TeamTennis (WTT). The Nets played in the Superdome during the 1978 season.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: In 1996, the stadium hosted the AAU Junior Olympics wrestling competition. In February 1997, the Dome hosted the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state wrestling championships.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Between August 28 and September 14, 1975, the Superdome continued to celebrate its grand opening, with appearances by Bob Hope, Chayl Jhuren, Telly Savalas, Dorothy Lamour, Karen Valentine, and Raquel Welch. The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, the Charlie Daniels band, the O'Jays, the Isley Brothers, the Temptations, Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds, and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus also performed.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On October 3, 1975, June Carter, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter performed in the Dome. Fans included then Governor Edwin Edwards, wife Elaine, children Anna, Victoria, Steven and David, and Edwards' grandchildren.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome's 1977 New Year's Eve celebration opened with The Emotions and Deniece Williams, followed by Earth, Wind and Fire.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: On May 29, 1977, the First Annual Superdome KOOL Jazz Spectacular featured Aretha Franklin, Al Green, The Spinners and The Mighty Clouds of Joy. Jimmie "J.J." Walker from the TV series "Good Times" was the guest M.C.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Since 1981, the Krewe of Endymion has hosted its Mardi Gras ball and concert, the Endymion Extravaganza, at the Superdome. It traditionally serves as the culmination of the krewe's parade.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The Superdome hosted Jimmy Buffett in 1976, Willie Nelson in 1977, the Commodores and Fats Domino in 1978, Kenny Rogers in 1979, Hank Williams Jr. 1981, and Lil Wayne in 2018.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Governor Edwin Edwards held his third inaugural ball at the Superdome on March 12, 1984. Headline acts included Doug Kershaw and Susan Anton.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: Because of a booking mixup, the Jets performed a full set to an empty Superdome in the summer of 1987.


title: Caesars Superdome

text: The annual Essence Music Festival has been held in the Superdome every year since 1995 (with the exception of 2006, when it was held in Houston, Texas due to Hurricane Katrina repairs, and 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).


title: Amy Carter

text: Amy Lynn Carter (born October 19, 1967) is the daughter of the thirty-ninth U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his first lady Rosalynn Carter. Carter entered the limelight as a child when she lived in the White House during the Carter presidency.


title: Amy Carter

text: Amy Carter was born on October 19, 1967, in Plains, Georgia. In 1970, her father was elected Governor of Georgia, and then in 1976, President of the United States. She was raised in Plains until her father was elected governor, whereupon she moved with her family into the Georgia Governor's Mansion in Atlanta. She later moved to the White House when her father was elected U.S. president.


title: Amy Carter

text: Carter attended majority black public schools in Washington during her four years in the White House; first Stevens Elementary School and then Rose Hardy Middle School. Mary Prince (an African American woman convicted of murder, and later pardoned) was her nanny for most of the period from 1971 until Jimmy Carter's presidency ended.


title: Amy Carter

text: After her father's presidency, Carter moved to Atlanta, where her senior year of high school was at Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. She was a Senate page during the 1982 summer session. Carter attended Brown University but was academically dismissed in 1987, "for failing to keep up with her coursework". She later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) from the Memphis College of Art and received a master's degree in art history from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1996.


title: Amy Carter

text: In January 1977, at the age of nine, Carter entered the White House, where she lived for four years. She was the subject of much media attention during this period, as young children had not lived in the White House since the early 1960s presidency of John F. Kennedy (and would not again do so after the Carter presidency until the inauguration of Bill Clinton, in January 1993, when Chelsea moved in.)


title: Amy Carter

text: While Carter was in the White House, she had a Siamese cat named Misty Malarky Ying Yang, which was the last cat to occupy the White House until Socks, owned by Bill Clinton. Carter also was given an elephant from Sri Lanka from an immigrant; the animal was given to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Carter attended public schools, including Stevens Elementary School and Hardy Middle School.


title: Amy Carter

text: Carter roller-skated through the White House's East Room and had a treehouse on the South Lawn. When she invited friends over for slumber parties in her treehouse, Secret Service agents monitored the event from the ground.


title: Amy Carter

text: Carter did not receive the "hands off" treatment that most of the media later afforded to Chelsea Clinton. President Carter mentioned his daughter during a 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan, when he said he had asked her what the most important issue in that election was and she said, "the control of nuclear arms".


title: Amy Carter

text: Once, when asked by a reporter whether she had any message for the children of America, she looked at the reporter square in the eyes, thought for a few moments, and said, "No."


title: Amy Carter

text: On February 21, 1977, during a White House state dinner for Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, nine-year-old Amy was seen reading two books, "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" and "The Story of the Gettysburg Address", while the formal toasts by her father and Trudeau were exchanged. Some saw it as an affront to foreign guests.


title: Amy Carter

text: Carter later became known for her political activism. She participated in sit-ins and protests during the 1980s and early 1990s that were aimed at changing U.S. foreign policy towards South African apartheid and Central America. Along with activist Abbie Hoffman and 13 others, she was arrested during a 1986 demonstration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for protesting CIA recruitment there. She was acquitted of all charges in a well-publicized trial in Northampton, Massachusetts. Attorney Leonard Weinglass, who defended Abbie Hoffman in the Chicago Seven trial in the 1960s, utilized the necessity defense, successfully arguing that because the CIA was involved in criminal activity in Central America and other hotspots, preventing it from recruiting on campus was equivalent to trespassing in a burning building.


title: Amy Carter

text: Carter illustrated "The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer", her father's book for children, published in 1995.


title: Amy Carter

text: In September 1996, Carter married computer consultant James Gregory Wentzel, whom she had met while attending Tulane; Wentzel was a manager at Chapter Eleven, an Atlanta bookstore, where Carter worked part-time. The couple moved to the Atlanta area, where they focused on raising their son, Hugo James Wentzel (b. 1999).


title: Amy Carter

text: Since the late 1990s, Carter has maintained a low profile, neither participating in public protests nor granting interviews. She is a member of the board of counselors of the Carter Center that advocates human rights and diplomacy as established by her father.


title: Paul Sciarra

text: Sciarra worked at venture capital firm Radius Ventures, LLC. In 2008 he quit his job, along with Ben Silbermann, to create Cold Brew Labs. That same year, Sciarra, Silbermann and Evan Sharp launched Pinterest, and Sciarra became the President and CEO. In 2012, he left the company but remained on as an advisor.


title: Paul Sciarra

text: After leaving Pinterest, Sciarra took a role as an entrepreneur-in-residence at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.


title: Paul Sciarra

text: Sciarra resides in San Francisco, California. According to "Forbes", he was worth an estimated $550 million in 2016.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: The phrase "little green men" (; ; ) refers to masked soldiers of the Russian Federation in unmarked green army uniforms and carrying modern Russian military weapons and equipment who appeared during the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: The term first arose during the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, a period from late February to March 2014, when such forces occupied and blockaded the Simferopol International Airport, most military bases in Crimea, and the parliament in Simferopol. The term also sometimes used to refer to Russian troops during the War in Donbas, as the Kremlin denied their official involvement or presence of their troops in the region, and they wore unmarked uniforms or disguised themselves as pro-Russian separatists.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: Russian media referred to them with the euphemism "polite people" () due to their well-mannered behavior, as they kept to themselves and mostly made no effort to interfere with civilian life.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: The Russian Federation initially denied that these were Russian military forces, but on 17 April 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin finally confirmed the presence of the Russian military. Furthermore, numerous sources, including Russian state media, have confirmed that the "little green men" were a mix of operatives from the Special Operations Forces and various other Spetsnaz GRU units. It likely also included paratroopers of the 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade of the VDV, and Wagner Group military contractors. While their status as troops acting under the orders of the Russian government was continually denied, their nationality was not. Alexander Borodai, Prime Minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, stated that 50,000 Russian citizens fought in the Donbas up to August 2015, and argued that they should receive the same benefits as Russia's other war veterans (while still proclaiming that the government did not send them).


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: In March 2014, the Finnish magazine "Suomen Sotilas" ("Soldier of Finland") published an analysis of the weapons and equipment seen on photos of "little green men".


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: The article points to a number of weapons and pieces of equipment that it asserts are issued only to armed forces in the Russian Federation:


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: The article goes on to conclude that with a very high probability "these troops are the 45th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the VDV" based in Kubinka, Moscow.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: Other media have published a photo of an unmarked Russian soldier armed with a VSS Vintorez taken as proof of deployment of Russian special forces.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: Initially, President of Russia Vladimir Putin stated that the men in green were not part of the Russian Armed Forces, but groups of local militia who had seized their weapons from the Ukrainian Army. The SACEUR of NATO Allied Command Operations General Philip Breedlove said that these "green men" were in fact Russian troops.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: In March 2014, Putin continued to maintain that there was no pre-planned intervention, but that "the heavily armed, tightly coordinated groups who took over Crimea's airports and ports at the start of the incursion – they were merely spontaneous 'self-defence groups' who may have acquired their Russian-looking uniforms from local [military] shops ("voyentorg")". According to the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners, Ukrainian law does not allow the selling or carrying of firearms other than for hunting.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: On 17 April 2014, President Putin admitted publicly for the first time that Russian special forces were involved in the events of Crimea, for the purposes of protecting local people and creating conditions for a referendum. Later, he admitted that the Russian Armed Forces had blocked the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea during the events.


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: In response to the question of the presence of Russian troops in Crimea, Russian Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu said, "Regarding the statements about use of Russian special forces in Ukrainian events, I can only say one thing – it's hard to search for a black cat in a dark room, especially if it's not there," and added cryptically that searching for the cat would be "stupid" if the cat is "intelligent, brave, and "polite"".


title: Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)

text: In April 2015, retired Russian Admiral said that the "little green men" were members of Russian Spetsnaz special forces units. According to his information, Russian troop deployment in Crimea included six helicopter landings and three landings of Ilyushin Il-76 with 500 troops.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia (), legally incorporated as "Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A. Operadora, Sociedad Unipersonal", is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Founded in 1927 and based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main base of Madrid–Barajas Airport.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia, with Iberia Regional (operated by an independent carrier Air Nostrum) and with Iberia Express, is a part of International Airlines Group. In addition to transporting passengers and freight, Iberia Group carries out related activities, such as aircraft maintenance, handling in airports, IT systems and in-flight catering. Iberia Group airlines fly to over 109 destinations in 39 countries, and a further 90 destinations through code-sharing agreements with other airlines.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: On 8 April 2010, it was confirmed that British Airways and Iberia had signed an agreement to merge, making the combined operation the third largest commercial airline in the world by revenue. Shareholders of both carriers approved the deal on 29 November 2010. The newly merged company, known as International Airlines Group (IAG), was established in January 2011, although both airlines continue to operate under their respective brands.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia, Compañía Aérea de Transportes was incorporated on 28 June 1927 with a capital investment by the financier Horacio Echevarrieta and Deutsche Luft Hansa of 1.1 million pesetas. Flight operations started on 14 December 1927. Within a year, the company was sponsored by the Spanish government to provide postal transport between Madrid and Barcelona. During the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, the aviation companies in Spain were combined and became state-controlled as a general interest public utility, coming into effect in early 1928. As a consequence, Iberia was merged into Compañía de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas "S.A." (CLASSA) and ceased activities as an independent airline on 29 May 1929. The name "Iberia" continued to be registered although the company airline did not have a fleet or commercial operation under its own brand.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, Spanish Navy captain and Director-General of the company Daniel de Araoz y Aréjula received the order from General Kindelán to organize an airline for the air transport in nationalist-held territory during the course of the war. Daniel de Araoz y Aréjula traveled to Germany to get support and material for the restoration of the company as independent airline, thus six Junkers Ju 52 from Deutsche Luft Hansa arrived, which were acquired by Iberia at the end of the conflict, in addition to material to help the operations. As the name "Iberia" was still registered, it was used when operations began in 1937 towards the end of the war. During the conflict Iberia was a purely domestic airline, with headquarters in Salamanca the airline operated flights to cities in the nationalist side, Spanish North Africa, Spanish West Africa and Morocco. After the war, at the end of the 1930s, the airline served the Seville–Larache–Cabo Juby–Las Palmas, Barcelona–Saragosa–Burgos–Salamanca–Seville–Tetuan and Palma–Barcelona–Vitoria runs using Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. On 1 May 1939, Iberia operated its first regular service to an international destination as an independent civil airline with a flight Madrid-Lisbon.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 1940, the government gave the monopoly of national air transport to Iberia (this fact changed 6 years later when the government liberalized the national air traffic for the private airlines), this privilege helped the company to start building as an important international airline, which had not been until then. The airline was nationalised on 30 September 1944 and became part of Instituto Nacional de Industria. The policy of the company was to separate itself from the German orbit to which it had been linked in its first years, and establish relations with the United States in terms of aircraft purchase and supplies of aeronautical material for the operation. Thus that year the purchase of seven DC-3 and three DC-4 was finalized, with the purpose of expanding the network in Europe and accomplishing the company's first transatlantic flight. This was achieved in 1946, Iberia was the first airline to fly between Europe and South America after World War II, using a Douglas DC-4 to operate flights between Madrid and Buenos Aires. This flight was the first of an expansion of flights between Latin America and Europe through Spain carried out by the company, with destinations like San Juan de Puerto Rico, Caracas, Ciudad de México and La Habana. The bad diplomatic relations of the francoist regime delayed some destinations until the beginning of the 50s.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia incorporated four more DC-4s to its fleet during the first half of 1950, enabling both the strengthening of current services and the launch of new ones. With the Pact of Madrid in 1953, visa requirements were eliminated for US visitors to Spain. This stimulated the start of transatlantic flights between Spain and United States the following year. The airline phased in the first of three Super Constellations in June 1954. The aircraft was named "Santa María" to commemorate Columbus' first voyage and was deployed in the inauguration of the new Madrid–New York service two months later, on , the same day that Columbus left the port of Palos de la Frontera. The amendments to Article 6 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 14 June 1954 made in Paris on 30 June 1956 about non-scheduled air services enabled mass tourism using chartered aircraft since allowing European member states to carry out this type of operation with international flights between their territories. This favored the airline given that it had in its territory several highly sought after destinations, mainly those on the eastern and southern Mediterranean coast and in the Balearic and Canary Islands, highly demanded by seaside tourism which began with this type of operation.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 1959, the Spanish airline Aviaco became a part of Iberia by controlling two thirds of its capital in a capital increase. Aviaco had been created in 1948, after the national air traffic had been liberalized for Spanish private companies in 1946.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 1961, Iberia had 9 Super Constellation in the fleet, that year came into service the first DC-8-50, the four-engined jet airliner was progressively incorporating until reaching the number of 8 aircraft of the 50 series variant. Iberia was gradually incorporating jets of short and middle range, such as Sud Aviation Caravelle, and Douglas DC-9. The Super Constellations were removed and sold in 1966 and, two years later, three DC-8-63 with more seat capacity were incorporated into the fleet. By 1969, the long range fleet of Iberia was composed by 11 DC-8. In the early 1970s the jumbo jets Boeing 747s and Douglas DC-10s came to the company during an expansion of the intercontinental routes, specially to Central America. By the middle of this decade the airline flew to almost all Latin American capitals.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: With the expansion in Latin America the company had followed a policy of purchasing shares and establishing agreements with several Latin American airlines such as Compañia Dominicana de Aviación, Aérolíneas Peruanas, PLUNA and Air Panamá Internacional. At first, the intention of this policy could be to create a strong distribution network for intercontinental routes passengers, but as the airline was controlled by the state the Franco regime used this investment policy to get support in Latin America. Iberia gave material, capital and logistical support to those flag-carrier airlines. By 1971, these investments resulted in the loss of 14 million dollars. Iberia also bought the short-middle range trijet Boeing 727-200 in 1971, of which the company had 35 aircraft and was used until 2001 like the other short range jet bought by the company in the late 60's, the Douglas DC-9.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 1987, Iberia, together with Lufthansa, Air France and SAS Group, founded Amadeus, an IT company (also known as a Global Distribution System) that would enable travel agencies to sell the founders' and other airlines' products from a single system.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: This year Iberia planned a fleet renewal in the middle range fleet with the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 and Airbus A320 replacing the Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 727 respectively. In June 1990, the carrier bought 16 Boeing 757s for  billion, including spares and training; twelve more aircraft of the type were taken on option as a part of the deal.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In the 90's, Iberia followed a policy of buying shares of Latin American flag carriers. Its intention was to control the entire Latin American market and become one of the largest airlines on the worldwide scene.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: The investments started in June 1990 with the buy of a 30% stake in Aerolineas Argentinas. In 1991 Iberia bought a 45% stake in Viasa for $81million and a 35% stake in Chilean Ladeco The airline continued making progress in setting up Europe's first international airline frequent-flyer programme in 1991, with the creation of "Iberia Plus."


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 1994, the bad results of Aerolineas Argentinas, which presented a positive balance in its commercial exploitation but nevertheless hid a significant deficit with losses in non-operating activities, led Iberia to increase its ownership participation to 85%. With this increase in participation, the Argentine state renounced its "golden share", allowing Iberia to have full fiscal control of the company. Iberia began a reduction in the size of the company, a liquidation of the national and overseas offices, and the technical sale of its entire fleet composed of 28 aircraft in a ""sale and lease back"" operation. Argentine sources indicates that the purchase capital of Aerolíneas Argentinas was charged to its own financial liability. This, together with the aforementioned sales, generated a big controversy, giving rise to criticism of the Argentine government for the privatization of the company. The truth is that during the period that Aerolíneas Argentinas was owned by Iberia (1990–1995), the Spanish airline allocated more than 1200 million dollars in the Argentine flag carrier and kept the airline operating despite the poor results. Meanwhile, the Argentine government refused to invest more capital and expressed its desire to get rid of a large part of its shares. Iberia carried out major reforms in the structure of the company, which by that date was outdated with, among other things, extortionate personnel costs. Some of these changes included the development of a free booking program, the complete computerization of the management system, the introduction of business class on domestic flights, and the creation of a new hub in Ezeiza International Airport for long range regional flights to Latin American destinations. In 1995, before the process of privatization of Iberia, Aerolineas Argentinas was transferred to the Spanish government through INI, which would later become SEPI. In 2001, the Argentine flag carrier was sold to the Spanish company Grupo Marsans.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 2008, the president of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner expropriated the company to Grupo Marsans with the symbolic pay of 1 argentine peso ($0.57) and renationalized the airline. In July 2017 the ICSID condemned Argentina to pay 320 million dollars to Grupo Marsans for having paid a lower price than the real value of the company. On 7 April 2010, the president of the Spanish Court of Auditors presented at the Spanish Parliament the figures of the investment in Aerolíneas Argentinas between 1990 and 2001, which was estimated at €2100 million.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: The plans to make the Iberia group the dominant airline in the Latin American market also failed in Venezuela. In 1997 the board of directors of Viasa, in which Iberia was the majority, decided to suspend the flights of the company, arguing that the situation was unfeasible. Iberia announcing that the company was not going to continue providing more capital into Viasa if its local partner, the Venezuelan state-owned group FIV, was not going to do the same. By then Iberia had invested more than 250 million dollars in the Venezuelan flag carrier without having any profit. In February 1997, the agreement for the liquidation of Viasa that accumulated a 200 million dollars debt, with a capital of only 2 million dollars, was announced. Iberia and the Venezuelan government had the intention of liquidating the company to avoid bankruptcy. Iberia offered to write off the 150 million dollar debt that Viasa had accumulated to the Spanish carrier in exchange for keeping its fleet of four DC-10s and five Boeing 727s. The agreement included compensation for the staff after the liquidation, which had a cost of 20 million dollars.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Regarding Ladeco, Iberia was a minority shareholder (35%) and did not intervene in its management. Initially Iberia had the intention of achieving the merger of Ladeco with Lan Chile, but Chilean antitrust laws prevented it. Later, in 1995, Lan Chile made a major acquisition of Ladeco shares and acquired 57.6% of the company, this operation was approved by the Chilean antitrust prosecution, and then began a merger process in which Iberia losses some rights acquired during its time as shareholder of Ladeco. In 1997, Iberia sold its shares in Ladeco after had made a $22 million investment.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: The company ordered 76 aircraft from Airbus in February 1998, which at the time was the largest single Airbus order. The following year it bought Aviaco and inherited that airline's fleet.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: By the end of the 90's, Iberia owned as majority shareholder the Spanish airlines Aviaco, Viva Air, Binter Canarias and Binter Mediterráneo, and Latin American airlines Aerolíneas Argentinas, Austral, Viasa and Ladeco.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: During 2001, Iberia was privatised and shares were listed on stock exchanges. By 2002, when Iberia celebrated its 75th anniversary, it had carried nearly 500 million people in its history. In July 2004, Iberia announced it had decided to move its Latin American hub from Miami, Florida to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: On 5 February 2006, Terminal 4 at Madrid - Barajas Airport was turned over to Iberia and fellow Oneworld alliance members. This provided much-needed expansion capabilities for Iberia. Iberia represents around 60% of the airport's traffic. In 2005, the airline and its regional branch Air Nostrum transported 21,619,041 passengers via Madrid – Barajas Airport.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: On 12 November 2009, Iberia confirmed that it had reached a preliminary agreement to merge with British Airways. The merger between the two carriers would create the world's third-largest airline in terms of revenue. On 8 April 2010, it was confirmed that British Airways and Iberia had agreed to a merger, forming the International Airlines Group, although each airline would continue to operate under its current brand.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In November 2012, Iberia announced plans to reduce the number of employees by 4,500 and its fleet by five long-haul and 20 short-haul aircraft.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In 2012, Iberia established its own low-cost airline Iberia Express, which operates short- and medium-haul routes from its parent airline's Madrid hub, providing feeder flights onto Iberia's long-haul network. The airline began operating on 25 March 2012 and shares its head office with Iberia in Chamartín, Madrid. In 2013, the headquarters of both airlines were moved to a new offices in Ciudad Lineal, Madrid, and the corporate images have been changed as part of the renewal process.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: The company head office is in the MV49 Business Park in Madrid. This facility is in proximity to the intersection of the "Autopista de Circunvalación M-30" and "Avenida de América". In 2013 the company moved its head office from the former "Campos Velázquez", in the Salamanca district of Madrid, to save money.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: On 3 April 2001, Iberia was privatised and included in the IBEX 35 stock index of the Madrid stock exchange. The core shareholders were: Caja Madrid– 23.45%, British Airways 13.2%, SEPI– 5.20%, El Corte Inglés– 2.90%. British Airways raised its stake in Iberia by purchasing American Airlines' remaining shares, reportedly paying £13m for the small shareholding. This increased BA's total stake in Iberia to around 10% and preserved its two seats on the Iberia board.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In July 2008, British Airways and Iberia announced plans to merge, wherein each airline would retain its original brand. The agreement was confirmed in April 2010, and in July, the European Commission and United States Department of Transportation permitted the merger and the two airlines began to co-ordinate transatlantic routes with American Airlines. On 6 October 2010, the alliance between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia formally began operations. At the time it was estimated the alliance would generate an estimated £230 million in annual cost-saving for BA, in addition to the £330 million which would be saved by the merger with Iberia. The merger was finalised on 21 January 2011, resulting in the International Airlines Group (IAG), the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest airline group in Europe.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Prior to merging, British Airways owned a 13.5% stake in Iberia, and thus received ownership of 55% of the combined International Airlines Group; Iberia's other shareholders received the remaining 45%.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: The merger has been controversial. British Airways operates two funded principal defined benefit pension schemes in the UK. British Airways admits that one of the most serious financial risks it suffers is the challenging pension schemes' combined deficit. The last actuarial valuation was £3.7 billion, a value even greater than IAG's capitalisation. In addition and according to the "Pensions Act" for the year 2004, should it be necessary, the United Kingdom's Pension Regulator could force Iberia or IAG to give additional financial support to British Airways' retirement pension schemes. In its "Annual Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2011" BA declared that "negative movements in pension asset values and financial returns from these assets may increase the size of the pension deficit".


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Due to Brexit, Iberia has been forced to prove that it is still a Spanish airline, despite being merged with British Airways. The consequence for not doing so is their potential inability to fly within the European Union.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia has a 9.49% stake in low-cost carrier Vueling which is based near Barcelona, with parent company IAG owning the remaining 90.51%. This was done to ensure that IAG does not have 100% of the shares in Vueling, but that the shares are split between its divisions. Iberia also has a 0.95% share in Royal Air Maroc.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia is allied with American Airlines, Qantas, Avianca and British Airways, and it was allied with Grupo TACA. On 1 September 1999, the company joined the Oneworld alliance.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia formerly owned Aviaco, which operated most domestic routes. It was founded on 18 February 1948 and operated until 1 September 1999. Iberia also owned Binter Canarias, until the Spanish government began the privatisation of the subsidiary. Hesperia Inversiones Aéreas bought the airline from Iberia in July 2002. A second airline using the Binter name, Binter Mediterraneo, was formed as a subsidiary of Iberia in 1988 with routes from Melilla to Málaga, Almeria, Valencia and in its last year, with Madrid. The airline was acquired by Air Nostrum in 1998 and merged into its operations, at that time the airline had a fleet of CN- 235.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia was a founding partner in the computerised air ticket reservation system, Amadeus, with an 18.28% stake . Iberia is also active as a tour operator through its Viva Tours and Tiempo Libre units, and with Cacesa, it supplies parcel shipment services.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: In addition, Iberia is an aircraft maintenance company, servicing its fleet and those of another 48 companies, including some leading European airlines. Iberia is a supplier of aircraft handling services at all Spanish airports and two in Equatorial Guinea; its airline clients number more than 200 and has 7300 employees.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: , Iberia (excluding its subsidiaries Iberia Regional and Iberia Express) operates an all-Airbus fleet, composed of the following registered aircraft:


title: Iberia (airline)

text: At the 2019 Paris Air Show, IAG agreed to purchase 14 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, 8 for delivery to Iberia and 6 to Aer Lingus, with options for a further 14 of the aircraft.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: All aircraft in the fleet are configured in a two class layout with Business and Economy cabins. Iberia currently markets three distinct business class variations, depending on flight length. In March 2009, Iberia announced that during the course of 2009–2011 it would renovate its economy class on all its planes as well as designing a new business class for its long haul planes. Iberia was one of the last remaining major airlines to equip all of its intercontinental routes with personal entertainment screens. , the Airbus A330-200 and -300, and A340-600 fleets are equipped with personal IFE. In-flight catering is provided by Do & Co.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Business Class is available on Spanish domestic and inter-European flights. Seats are exactly the same as in the economy cabin, but with the middle (B and E) seats blocked off. Business Class tickets also include improved ground service (priority check-in, security, boarding, baggage handling, and lounge access.)


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Business Plus is offered on long-haul flights to the Americas and Southern Africa. Business Plus offers lie-flat seating and international business class amenities.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: Iberia has moved more to an American, or "a-la carte" model for domestic and European flights, offering a buy on board service called "Tu Menú" in economy for meals, snacks and beverages. Mid-haul flights to Dakar, Moscow, and Tel Aviv as well as long-haul intercontinental flights are fully catered in Economy with the exception of alcohol.


title: Iberia (airline)

text: , a total of 37 aircraft operated by or for Iberia have been written off in accidents and a shoot-down since 1939. Several Iberia aircraft have also been hijacked. These incidents and accidents include the following:


title: Manneken Pis

text: Manneken Pis (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it was designed in its current form by the Brabantine sculptor and put in place in 1618 or 1619.


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Manneken Pis" has been repeatedly stolen or damaged throughout its history. The current statue is a replica dating from 1965, with the original being kept in the Brussels City Museum. Nowadays, it is one of the best-known symbols of Brussels and Belgium, inspiring many imitations and similar statues. The figure is regularly dressed up and its wardrobe consists of around one thousand different costumes. Due to its self-derisive nature, it is also an example of "belgitude" (French; ), as well as of folk humour ("") popular in Brussels.


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Manneken Pis" is an approximate five minutes' walk from the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), at the junction of the / and the pedestrian /. This site is served by the "premetro" (underground tram) station Bourse/Beurs (on lines 3 and 4), as well as the bus stops / (on line 95) and Cesar de Paepe (on lines 33 and 48).


title: Manneken Pis

text: The original name of the statue was "Menneke Pis" or "Menneke Pist". In fact, in the Brabantian dialect of Brussels (known as Brusselian, and also sometimes referred to as Marols or Marollien), "een" "manneke" means a small man, whereas "een" "menneke" means a little boy (it is the diminutive of "men", meaning boy), though in modern Flemish (the local variant of Dutch), "menneke" also means a small man (it is synonymous to "mannetje"). Nowadays, the name "Manneken Pis" (Dutch, ; "Little Pissing Man"; also used in English) is official in both French and Dutch.


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Manneken Pis" is sometimes given the nickname of in French or in Dutch (both meaning "Little Julien"), which in fact refers to a now-disappeared fountain of the "Little Julien" ("Juliaenkensborre"). This stems from a confusion by the 19th-century historians Alexandre Henne and Alphonse Wauters, who mistook the two well-distinct fountains because of their proximity. Due to its long history, the statue is also sometimes dubbed ("the oldest bourgeois of Brussels") in French.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The earliest mention of the existence of "Manneken Pis" can be found in an administrative document from 1451–52 about the water lines supplying the fountains of Brussels. From the beginning, the fountain played an essential role in the distribution of drinking water. It stood on a column and poured water into a double rectangular basin of stone. The only representations of this first statue can be found, very schematically, on a map by the cartographers Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, in which the fountain appeared to be installed directly on the street and not on a corner as it is today. "Manneken Pis" is depicted again in a painting from 1616 by the court painters Denis Van Alsloot and Antoon Sallaert representing Brussels' Ommegang of 1615, as well as in a preparatory drawing to this painting, in which it is dressed as a shepherd.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The first statue was replaced by a new bronze version, commissioned in 1619 by Brussels' city council. This bronze statue, on the corner of the / and the /, was conceived by the Brabantine sculptor (1570–1641), father of the architect and sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy the Younger and the famous sculptor François Duquesnoy. It was probably cast and installed in 1620. During that time, the column supporting the statue and the double rectangular basin collecting water were completely remodelled by the stone cutter Daniel Raessens.


title: Manneken Pis

text: During its history, "Manneken Pis" faced many hazards. It survived undamaged the bombardment of Brussels of 1695 by the French army, but the pipes having been affected, it could not deliver its water for some time. A pamphlet published the same year recounts this episode. This text is the oldest attesting that "Manneken Pis" had become "an object of glory appreciated by all and renowned throughout the world". It is also the first time that it served as a symbol for the people of Brussels. It is also traditionally said that after the bombardment, it was triumphantly placed again on its pedestal. On that occasion, the following passage from the Bible was inscribed above its head: ("The Lord placed me on a stone base, and now I raise my head above my enemies").


title: Manneken Pis

text: As shown by an engraving by Jacobus Harrewijn, dating from 1697, the fountain was no longer located on the street, but in a recess at the corner of the / and the / and was protected by a gate. In 1770, the column and the double rectangular basin disappeared; the statue was integrated into a new decor, in the form of a stone niche in rocaille style, originating from another dismantled fountain of Brussels. The water simply flowed through a grating in the ground, which was replaced by a basin in the 19th century. In its new setting, "Manneken Pis" gives the impression of being smaller than in its original layout.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The whole structure is protected by railings, the last version of which dates from 1851. The latter prevented access to water, relegating the fountain to a decorative and symbolic role. It is also the case, around the same time, of the other fountains in Brussels. This correlates with efforts by the City of Brussels, starting in 1855, to allow for the distribution of drinking water in homes.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The figure has repeatedly been the object of theft or attempted theft. Legend has it that the statue was removed in 1745 and found in the Flemish town of Geraardsbergen (). As a sign of their appreciation, the people of Brussels gave this city a replica of the statue. In reality, the first attempted theft was made in 1747 by a group of French grenadiers stationed in Brussels. The population rebelled against this deed and threatened a bloody revenge. To calm things down, the King of France, Louis XV, offered a gentleman's gown of brocade, embroidered with gold, to "Manneken Pis". He also authorised the statue to carry the sword, and decorated it with the Cross of St. Louis.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The statue was stolen in 1817 by the fugitive Antoine Licas. The perpetrator was heavily punished; he was condemned to forced labour for life, and was first tied for an hour to stocks on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt. The original statue was broken into eleven pieces during this abduction and was restored by a specialised welder, under the supervision of sculptor Gilles-Lambert Godecharle. The pieces were matched and used to make a mould in which the bronze statue was poured. The statue was then screwed onto a new base marked "1620 – REST 1817".


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Manneken Pis" experienced similar misadventures in the 20th century. Two attempted thefts occurred in 1955 and 1957. Some accounts say that it has been stolen up to seven times; in January 1963 by students of the Antwerp student's association "De Wikings" of the Sint-Ignatius Handelshogeschool (Higher Business Education), now part of the Antwerp University, who "hijacked" the statue for five days before handing it over to the Antwerp authorities. The local and international press covered the story, contributing to the students' collection of funds donated to two orphanages. The case did go further, however, and the base was replaced identically by the former foundry of "La Compagnie des Bronzes de Bruxelles", to which the statue was anchored by a reinforced bronze attachment.


title: Manneken Pis

text: Things were more serious when it disappeared in 1965; the statue had been broken by the thief and only the feet and ankles remained. In June 1966, the Antwerp magazine "De Post" received an anonymous phone call, signalling that the "body" was in the Charleroi Canal. It was found there by divers, sent by the magazine, and was brought back to Brussels on 27 June. Restored once again, the statue was sheltered and the original version is now kept and displayed on the second floor of the Brussels City Museum, at the King's House, on the Grand-Place. In the meantime, a replica of the statue had already been commissioned by Brussels' authorities and cast by "La Compagnie des Bronzes". The new statue was thus installed in place of the old one and this version still adorns the niche on the Rue du Chêne to this day.


title: Manneken Pis

text: In late 2018, it was discovered by city technician Régis Callens that the basin of the statue had developed a leak, leading to a reported of water being used per day. The leak occurred for an unknown number of years, unnoticed among the several hundred water features in the City of Brussels and was only later discovered with the help of Shayp water monitoring technology. The statue received a temporary fix in March 2019, with a permanent recirculating system set to be installed. The solution was announced during Brussels Water Week where city officials cited the situation as motivation to check for similar problems in other fountains.


title: Manneken Pis

text: There are several legends behind "Manneken Pis", but the most famous is one involving Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-Over-Heembeek, a northern part of the City of Brussels). To give themselves courage, the soldiers placed the infant lord in a basket which they hung from a large oak tree overlooking the battlefield. While his men were in dire straits, the little duke rose up in the basket, and from his perch, urinated onto the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle. The fountain perpetuates the memory of this victory. The name of the / ("Oak Tree Street"), at the corner of which the statue is located, recalls the famous tree.


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Manneken Pis" is dressed in costumes, several times each week, according to a published schedule, which is posted on the railings around the fountain. Since 1954, the costumes are managed by the non-profit association "The Order of the Friends of Manneken Pis", who review hundreds of designs submitted each year, and select a small number to be produced and used. His wardrobe consists of around one thousand different costumes, many of which could previously be viewed in a permanent exhibition inside the Brussels City Museum, located on the Grand-Place, immediately opposite the Town Hall. In February 2017, a specially designed museum, at 19, /, called "Garderobe MannekenPis", opened its doors.


title: Manneken Pis

text: Although the proliferation of costumes is of 20th-century origin, the occasional use of costumes dates back almost to the date of casting. The oldest evidence of the tradition of dressing "Manneken Pis" dates back to 1615; during the Ommegang of Brussels organised that year in honour of Archduchess Isabella, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, "Manneken Pis" was dressed in a shepherd's costume. He received his first costume on 1 May 1698 from the Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria, on the occasion of the festivities of one of the Guilds of Brussels. The oldest costume on display in the City Museum, the gentleman's gown offered by King Louis XV, is also of 17th-century origin. In 1756, an inventory indicates that "Manneken Pis" had five complete costumes. From 1918 to 1940, he was offered some thirty costumes. But it was especially after 1945 that the movement took on an exceptional dimension; he had more than 400 costumes in 1994, more than 750 in 2005, and more than 950 in 2016.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The costume change on the figure is a colourful ceremony, often accompanied by brass band music. Many costumes represent the national dress of nations whose citizens come to Brussels as tourists; others are the uniforms of assorted trades, professions, associations, and branches of the civil and military services. As well as historical clothing, the wardrobe also contains modern costumes, such as ones of Dracula, Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus. In the past, the costume was cut without a cutting pattern. The sleeves were padded with cotton wool and ended with gloves. It is only since 1945 that a pattern allowed the making of more fitted costumes.


title: Manneken Pis

text: The "Order of the Friends of Manneken Pis" was founded in 1954 and has more than 150 members. The objective of the Order is to stimulate the cultural, tourist, philanthropic and commercial development of Belgium in general, and more particularly to preserve the traditions linked to "Manneken Pis". The Order is always present during the ceremonies surrounding the presentation of new costumes and during the statue's official greetings and anniversaries.


title: Manneken Pis

text: On certain folkloric occasions (e.g. Saint-Verhaegen, Meyboom plantation), "Manneken Pis" is hooked up to a keg of beer. Cups are filled up with the beer flowing from the statue and given out to passers-by.


title: Manneken Pis

text: Although Brussels' "Manneken Pis" is the best known, others exist all across the country. As early as the 17th century, the statue was the subject of decorative replicas. The Brussels City Museum exhibits a copy which was crafted by Jacques Van den Broeck in 1630, probably from a cast of Duquesnoy's statue. Another local copy, from 1636, currently in a private American collection, is attributed to the German founder Daniel Haneman. Similar statues can also be found in the Flemish cities of Koksijde, Hasselt, Ghent, and Bruges, as well as in the Walloon municipality of Braine-l'Alleud (where it is called "El Gamin Quipiche", meaning "The Peeing Kid" in Walloon).


title: Manneken Pis

text: There is an ongoing dispute over which "Manneken Pis" is the oldest; the one in Brussels or the one in Geraardsbergen. According to tradition, Geraardsbergen was in a rebuilding phase after the devastating passage of Jean II de Croÿ's troops in the spring of 1452, during a war opposing the city of Ghent and the Burgundian duke Philip the Good. On that occasion, the spout from one of the city's fountains, in the shape of a copper lion's head, was taken by the people of Ghent. The aldermen of Geraardsbergen thus had their own "Manneken Pis" made in 1459 to replace it. The statue was cast in brass by Reinier Van Tienen, based on a model designed by Gillis Vander Jeught.


title: Manneken Pis

text: It can be assumed that the first version of Brussels' "Manneken Pis", dating from before 1451, served as inspiration to Geraardsbergen's statue. Looking at the age of the current statues, both of them are replicas; the one in Brussels dating from 1965 and the one in Geraardsbergen from 1985. The design of Geraarsbergen's original statue, however, which dates from 1459, is anterior to that of Duquesnoy's statue, dating from 1619. It is on this basis that Geraardsbergen asserts that its "Manneken Pis" is the oldest, but since there was probably already a "Manneken Pis" in 1452 in Brussels, the tradition might thus be slightly older there.


title: Manneken Pis

text: Since the 20th century, numerous copies or imitations of "Manneken Pis" have been created abroad. It is necessary to distinguish the official copies offered by the City of Brussels from copies and imitations carried out privately by admirers of the little statue. Official copies were offered to:


title: Manneken Pis

text: A replica of "Manneken Pis" has pride of place in the lobby of the police station of Poitiers, France, commemorating the fact that this city was, for 26 days, the seat of the Belgian government during World War II. Similar copies of the statue exist in the Danish town of Bogense, as well as in Chiayi Park in Taiwan. Another working replica stands on the platform of Tokyo's Hamamatsuchō Station. There, the statue is a great source of pride for station workers who dress it in various costumes—traditional and otherwise—at different times of year.


title: Manneken Pis

text: In September 2002, a Belgian-born waffle-maker set up a replica in front of his waffle stand in the Orlando Fashion Square mall, in Orlando, Florida. He recalled the legend as "the boy who saved Brussels from fire by extinguishing it with his urine" (confusing the legend with an incident in "Gulliver's Travels" perhaps). Some shocked shoppers made a formal complaint. Mall officials said that the waffle-shop owner did not follow procedures when he put up the statue and was therefore in violation of his lease.


title: Manneken Pis

text: In contrast, there is a similar statue in Rio de Janeiro, in front of the quarters of Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, a famous Brazilian football club. There, the presence of the statue is taken lightly, and it has even been adopted as a mascot by the club. Fans usually dress it with the club's jersey, after important wins.


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Manneken Pis" is not the only peeing statue in Brussels. Since 1987, it has had a female equivalent, "Jeanneke Pis" ("Little Pissing Joan"), located on the eastern side of the / ("Fidelity Alley"), a narrow cul-de-sac some long leading northwards off the restaurant-packed /, in central Brussels. The bronze sculpture represents a little girl with short pigtails, squatting and urinating on a blue-grey limestone base. It feeds a small fountain and is now protected from vandalism by iron bars. It is, however, less illustrious than its masculine counterpart.


title: Manneken Pis

text: "Het Zinneke", sometimes called "Zinneke Pis", another bronze sculpture in central Brussels, depicting a dog urinating against a marker, can also be seen as a reference to "Manneken Pis". It is, however, not associated with a fountain. "Zinneke" is a nickname chosen to represent people from Brussels. The word means "mutt" or "bastard" in Brusselian dialect, and originally referred to the city's stray dogs that hung around the streets by the Lesser Senne (a tangent canal of the river Senne, which circumnavigated Brussels along the city walls) until the end of the 19th century. It is located at the junction of the / and the /, not far from the /.