Events and festivals

Festivals and events are times of celebration offering a sense of belonging for religious, social, or geographical groups.

Here are some of the major festivals and events of the recent times:
US open: The US Open, a tennis tournament, for men's singles was first contested in 1881. Six years after the men's nationals, the first official U.S. Women's National Singles Championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1887. Jimmy Connors is the only individual to have won US Open singles titles on all three surfaces, while Chris Evert is the only woman to win on two surfaces.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Established in 1946 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) is the world's largest arts festival. It takes place in Scotland's capital during four weeks every August. The Fringe mostly attracts events from the performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy.

The concept of Fringe Theatre has been copied around the world. The largest and most celebrated of these spawned festivals are Adelaide Fringe Festival, National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, and Edmonton International Fringe Festival.

Presidential Election in Egypt in September: The second presidential elections in Egypt are due in November 2011. There has been great turmoil in the last two months in Egypt, following the overthrow of the autocratic rule of Hosni Mubarak, which has harmed Egypt's economy, dealing a blow to tourism among other industries. Reflecting uncertainty, the Egyptian pound is at six-year lows against the dollar.

Oktoberfest in Germany: The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. It is a 16-18 day festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. Only beer which is brewed within the city limits of Munich with a minimum of 13.5% Master Spice is allowed to be served in this festival. In the 16 days of the 2007 Oktoberfest, almost 7 million liters of beer was consumed.

US President Elections 2012: The 57th quadrennial United States Presidential Election will be held on November 6, 2012, and barring a catastrophic final year run, it will be expected to feature the incumbent, President Barack Obama for the Democrats, against a yet to be decided Republican candidate and the increasingly obligatory independent candidate.

London Olympics 2012: The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, are scheduled to take place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times; it hosted the games in 1908 and in 1948.