using the architecture of the buildings just perfectly. 90 installations have magically transformed landmarks, with visitors urged to enter a world of childish delight. organisers say the displays draw on australian culture and the local environment. the inspiration was really the creative act in kind of a cosmic sense and also in an individual sense as an artist and then beyond that became the australian flora and fauna and nature and geology and all the things that make it such a unique place. last year, nearly 2.5 million people enjoyed the event, bringing a $100 million boost to the economy. with the spotlight remaining on sydney for the next three weeks, that could soon be outshone. what a great way to shake off the winter blues. as for the weather

here, no winter blues but possibly bank holiday once. in an arab rule plans this weekend, plenty of sunshine and warmth around but some dark clouds particularly in england and wales. the risk of a few severe as thunderstorms. but the most they will only be a small portion of the weekend. they towards wales and the south—west into the later stages of the day. warm wave have sunshine. 25 in the highlands. a little cooler down the east coast. nor north—east scotland, low cloud. more severe storms pushing up from france, lightning, the risk of flooding, gusty winds. humid night in southern areas. a few showers lingering into sunday morning. potentially drifting to northern ireland. wales, central and southern england, most likely to seek thunderstorms on sunday.

sunshine in between. the northern half of the country having another fine day. way that sunshine, another lovely warm one. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: counting has begun in ireland's referendum on abortion, with exit polls suggesting a vote of more than 2—1 in favour of relaxing the law — the official result is expected this evening. the no campaign has already admitted defeat. a government programme to protect afghan interpreters who helped british troops has been condemned by mps as an utter failure offering no meaningful assurances of protection. he scrapped the talks on thursday — now president trump suggests his nuclear summit with the north korean leader may happen after all. tsb has again apologised after it was revealed that some customers are still struggling to make online payments five weeks after problems first began. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. coming up on this week's show:

i find out how to stop holiday selfies putting animals at risk. poachers hunt them in the forest because they are quite cute. she is holding my hands, yes, follow chico. we are hunting for icebergs on a budget. plus we go underground in search of london's hidden rivers. we are so far down there we can hear the circle and district line running through. this week we are talking selfies.

taking a photo of your travels to share on social media is an essential part of the trip for many people, and some go to great lengths to get that perfect snap. but now major charities and social media giant instagram are asking tourists to stop and think before you snap a photo of animals wherever you are in the world. i am heading to the wildlife friends foundation, three hours drive south of thailand's capital bangkok to find out what is being done to help animals who are being used in the tourist industry. the 165 acre complex houses a rescue centre and thailand's first wildlife hospital. there is also a refuge for elephants. so there are plenty of photo opportunities. if i go instagram and search for "elepha nt selfie", under that, there are almost 15,000 posts. i click on the hashtag, i get a warning that says" protect

wildlife on instagram, animal abuse and the sale of animals and their parts are not allowed on instagram." the age asked people to beware. it is an issue charities are trying to tackle on the ground. how big a problem is this? is huge, let me show you a few things i have come across in my time working here in thailand. here we have a gibbon being used as a photo prop, it is very common to see a baby gibbon or a slow loris being carried around, and people will pay money to be carried around. this is a liger, which is a cross between a lion and a tiger. this guy is riding it. a lot of these animals are beaten

into submission. this animal here, he is on a very short chain, but they are huge, dangerous animals, they have massive canines and huge claws, and if the animal does have a little flint in its mind to think, oh, i want to attack this person, but the bid what would happen to you. —— god forbade what would happen... this is a family, we don't know of the animal has diseases or vice—versa, these guys could have a common cold and that is very easy to be transmitted between the great apes. infant animals are particularly vulnerable to the photo proper trade. —— to the photo prop trade. here in the wildlife hospital, babies that have been rescued or abandoned are cared for in the nursery. this vet takes the behind—the—scenes to meet them. 0h, hi, little guy! can you tell me a bit about these, way they so popular in the photo prop industry? when they are born their fur is completely orange,

and they have the pink face, they are so cute, they are very popular for people to be taking a photo. they are still cute now! how old is vincent now? for now he is six months old. looking after animals like vincent is painstaking work. some have complex needs, like slow loris chin. he was kept as a pet, and vets here say a poor diet and lack of sunlight caused him to develop bone disease. high! sorry to wake you. so the loris is on the endangered list. poachers hunt them in the forest because they are quite cute. they have the big guys. —— big eyes. in the south of thailand, all thejurors places, they are quite popular to bring them to take a photo to the tourist, and pay money for them.

oh, you poor guy! he wants to climb now. that give you some exercise. jim gets daily physiotherapy can and get used to the sunlight again. slowly he is condition is improving. in the wild these animals would hold on to their mothers throughout infancy, so they instinctively cling on to each other to try and recreate the warmth and security they would get from their parents. this is our baby, one male and one female. why does he want that one? don't try and steal it! the owner brought her from the market, this means her mother was killed by a poacher. so sad. they have got each other now. they know they have each other, and that is a good thing for them.

look at these sweet baby macaques. i love how affectionate they are with each other. removing the young animal from its parent impacts their behaviour for life. i am taken to meet two indonesian orangutans whose staff are trying to reach each wild habits too. maggie was found abandoned near the rescue centre. chico grew up in the photo prop industry and was kept as a pet. he was given to the team here when he became too big to handle. into the trees, wrapped in vines and stuff like that. we were hoping that he would copy maggie who is more wild, chico is a little bit more fond of humans, he is coming to say hello now.

0k. should i be worried? hi, chico! just stay calm. 0h, chico is holding my hands. hello, chico! i think chico likes my shoes. i did not quite expect that, human interaction, he is like a small child. does that hark back to the days when he was used as a photo prop or a pet? he does have an unnatural attachment to humans. he would have been poached from the wild as a very young infant, he has been with humans most of his life. we are trying to erase that to a certain extent. but the stark reality of a photo prop animal, it is not all fun and games like we saw that, he was having fun with you, but if he did that to a tourist he would be beaten with a stick. so chico could never probably be released back into the wild. i would not like to say never but it

would be a long process to rehabilitate him to a state where he would be a release candidate. it is great to see chico, and i want to know how to help other animals like him. what people should do when they see things like this is safely try and take video footage or photographs, the location, the animal so we can identify the species, if they have a high level of protection. it then needs to be reported to the relevant authorities and ourselves here, because we can inform the department of national parks and the authorities to act. and if you are taking a photo with an animal, the advice is to keep a safe distance and assess the condition it is being held in. there are national parks in centuries throughout thailand —— parks and sanctuaries. where people can experience wildlife in a responsible way. here at the foundation, tourists are encouraged to roll up their sleeves,

get dirty and help care for the rescued animals. and that is far more rewarding than taking a selfie to share with your friends. it is hard going here, but i think she is enjoying it. i might be getting a bath to. if you are planning a trip to thailand, here is our guide of things to think about before you go. may — october is thailand's rainy season. there are obvious downside to that, but don't forget it also means smaller crowds and cheaper prices, and the rain only tends to come in short, sharp bursts. also if you choose your dismayed and carefully, it may not affect you at all. — your —— your destination carefully. on some of the islands like koh samui the downpours do not arrive until september. if you have to be in bangkok there is still indoorfun to be had. we enjoy cooking in one of the city's slums,

and the markets in the city are largely undercover. this one is kitsch and fun and some of the street food there is wonderful. kick boxing is thailand's national sport and a visit to one of the big arenas is rarely a boring experience. tickets to flights cost around just over 30 us dollars. if you are feeling brave you can book yourself into one of the camps that will train you up and hide anew into a kick boxing machine. offer something more mindful, spend some time getting in touch with your inner monk. some monasteries like this one here in the north—east allow tourists to stay in exchange for a small donation and a little bit of elbow grease. you will need to be respectful and follow all the rules, but you might pick up a little spiritual enlightenment along the way. still to come on this week's travel show:

we will be finding out why this italian village is so unlucky. and simon is back with his tips on italian train travel and the cheapest way to see an iceberg. next up, to the uk where a new exhibition called london mystery has opened showing a reconstruction of a temple built by the romans in the third century alongside the banks of one of the city's rivers. that river was long ago paved over and forgotten, like many in the capital. but one man wants londoners and tourists are know more about the city's hidden rivers. we went to meet him. i have been living in london for about 39 years. but it was not about seven years ago i first discovered these hidden rivers. and ijust wanted to write and illustrate about them to show them to other people, londoners, tourists. river flows down from

hampstead heath to whitefriars. —— blackfriars. one of my favourite parts of the river is here on hampstead heath, this is the beginning of the river fleet. you can see the water bubbling up from here, it is very exposed in streams and ponds. the history of london is very much bound up with the river fleet as well. the romans used it, it was used for powering mills, and people started to use it to throw rubbish away, and smithfield market, they were throwing off cuts of meat and blood into the river. dead animals were thrown into the river, and then it became foul and stinking, and so they had to cover it up. when i was writing the book i had to get inside the sewers to see. we got donned up in overalls, hard hats, waders, a small oxygen supply. the thing that surprised me most

was that it was not as smelly as i thought it was going to be. these sewers, they started building them in the 1860s. beautifully engineered. the tiles down there are still in very good condition given their age. in places it is big open caverns with huge metal doors. there are some narrow little corridors that you have to sort of scoot through. one interesting thing ifound was that we were so far down there we could actually hear the circle and district lines rumbling through. and another part of what makes the river fleet so special is that it has shaped the way that some of the roads have run. the paths would run down the side of the river and road is now follow the same route. there are still traces of the river, if you know where to look. where buildings have in constructive around the stream, not over the stream. there are manhole covers where you can peer down and see the river or the sewer as it

now is, below. i would imagine that most of the commuters coming out of king's cross station are totally unaware that there is a river flowing in front of them here, although subterranean, of course. here is an example of the river fleet, as it curves around king's cross. it reflects on the architecture here, the hotel to my left is curved as it follows the line of the river. above me here is the holborn viaduct, and it is a great reminder that there is still a river flowing underneath. this viaduct was built by the victorians in the 1860s. the problem was because we are in quite a steep river valley here, horse drawn vehicles found it difficult getting from one

side to the other, down the hill, up the hill. so they built this viaduct to alleviate the problem. i am standing here by the thames and at this point, blackfriars bridge, is where the river fleet flows into the thames. i think when people walk around london they are not aware of how many hidden rivers there are. i wanted to show people little clues and signs in the history of what is just beneath our feet. time to our global guru, simon calder, to answer your travel questions. welcome to the slice of the show that tackles your questions about getting the best out of travel. coming up, where should friends from the uk and new zealand converge

to celebrate their 40th birthday? and hunting for icebergs on the cheap. first, all eyes are on russia, where the football world cup takes place in the second half ofjune and the first half ofjuly. fans with a ticket for at least one game can explore the country not just during the tournament but for two weeks before and afterwards. next, tina eager is off to italy. she will be staying in the beautiful and historic city of bologna, but she wants to make day trips to venice, florence and ravenna. i have seen conflicting advice about conserving tickets on trains and whether it is necessary. should i reserve now, reserve later, orjust buy a ticket on the day of travel? bologna is the railway hub for northern italy and you can reach venice in 90 minutes on a high—speed train. book a super economy ticket

in advance on the website and you could pay less than 30 euros there and back. turn up on the day and it will cost you more than twice as much. florence is also served by high—speed train in less than half an hour. but i recommend when you come back from florence to bologna, you use the old slow railway line, which winds through spectacular scenery. and ravenna is just a few minutes away, with plenty of trains and, it you turn up and go, it will cost you just eight euros each way. emma adelson lives in the uk, and a long with another british friend, wants to meet up with a friend from new zealand to celebrate their 40th birthdays in september. the question is, where? we are looking for somewhere between the uk and new zealand with warm weather, a pool, maybe even a beach. it is proving tricky

to find somewhere that will work for all of us. thailand offers a combination of easy access, good beaches and low costs. the trouble is, in september, the weather will be hot and humid. so my top choice for both low—cost overall and a great experience is greece. in september, you and your british friend will be able to get there and back for next to nothing. so you might want to subsidise your new zealand friend for her much longer, more expensive trip. base your selves in athens for a cultural trait and then head out for an island escape. finally, john ash from exeter in south—west england has a simple question. for a cut—price encounter with a floating mountain of ice, head for canada's iceberg alley. this is a patch of sea extending from the coast of labrador down to stjohn‘s on the island of newfoundland.

you can fly to stjohn‘s from london in about six hours. at the optimum time to be there is late may, when a flight will cost you around £500 return. if you want to know where to go and when, then the travel show is here to help. just email the travel show, and i will do my best to find you an answer. from me, simon calder, the global guru, goodbye for now and i will see you next time. finally this week, we meet the residents of this village in southern italy. the village is said to be so cursed it is unlucky to say its name. that is it for this week. join us next week, when... christer visits amsterdam were 23 million visitors

are expected by the end of the decade. to find out how this historic city plans to cope the crowd. and in the meantime you canjoin us on oui’ adventures or share your travels with the travel show team on social media. until then, from all of us here in thailand, it is goodbye. hello there. it's a bank holiday weekend forecast which, if you've got any outdoor plans, contains a good deal of dry, sunny and warm weather. but some of you have may have to dash for cover at times, particularly across england and wales where there will be the risk of some thunderstorms, and some of those could

be pretty severe. already had the odd rumble of two so far today. through the rest of the day, showers will be focused through parts of the midlands towards east anglia and the south—west, where they could be quite nasty in places. brightening up across eastern areas after a cool and cloudy start, still remaining quite misty around some northern and eastern coasts of scotland. but western scotland, particularly the highlands, 25, and maybe 26 to 27 towards the south—east of london. so looking good for the premiership final in the rugby at twickenham. and a bit of sunshine and warmth at times at swansea for the biggest weekend on radio one, but there is the risk of those storms. one or two could be crossing the area as we go through the middle part of the afternoon. but as we go into tonight some even worse storms could be pushing out of northern france, with frequent lightning, gusty winds, hail as well, and the risk of flash flooding. they will drift away northwards into the midlands and parts of mid—wales as we go through the night. they will be hit and miss, many places will still stay predominantly dry, and certainly for northern england, scotland, northern ireland, a largely dry story through the night into the morning, where temperatures could drop back into single figures with a bit of mist and low cloud forming.

a muggy night towards south, temperatures in the mid teens. into sunday, there could be some residual showers from overnight across parts of england and wales, maybe one or two drifting into northern ireland as well. but as temperatures lift through the day with some sunny spells, across the south, this is where we could see further thunderstorms developing, although the south—west probably having a better day than today. much of northern england — away from liverpool, manchester, where we could still see some showers — but much of northern england, scotland, and for a time northern ireland dry with some sunshine and warm once again. how do we compare with the rest of europe? if you are heading into europe, lots of thunderstorms across many western areas. around the coasts in the mediterranean it should be dry and sunny, and temperatures fairly comparable with what we will have here in the uk — in the low to mid 20s. let's go forward into bank holiday monday, and the focus of the showers in the uk will be a little further north — northern england, southern scotland, northern ireland, even here there will still be some dry and bright moments with some sunshine breaking through the cloud. sunniest of all will be the north—west highlands of scotland, as is the case all weekend, and feeling lovely in that sunshine.

a bit more low cloud around the coast, but southern areas of england and wales will be drier, sunnier and warmer once again. women should have the choice for a safe abortion, this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. the main group opposing the relaxation of ireland's strict abortion law concedes that it's lost the referendum by an overwhelming margin. women should have the choice for a safe abortion, simple as that. i don't think we should have to be looked upon that the only reason you can have an abortion with any light

on it is if we are attacked. this is a referendum on the right to life, "an utter failure" — mps say measures supposed to protect afghan interpreters who assisted british troops have failed to help any of them relocate to britain. five weeks after disruptions were first reported, some tsb customers are still having problems making payments online. countdown to kick—off as liverpool fans pour into kiev for tonight's champions league final. jurgen klopp says winning is in liverpool's dna as the reds aim to stop real madrid from winning a third successive title.