is for bisexual, transgender, he is for queer or questioning and the plus is to refer to people who don't identify as cis gender. it's about how you identified within your sexuality or within your gender identity. what about the numbers you are expecting? how do you quantify that?” how do you quantify that? i don't know, i don't volunteerfor pride in london, i work for switchboard, but what we are doing is launching a campaign today that is creating switchboard is a safe space, and using the platform of pride in london to talk about the fact that we are a safe space. what does that mean, being a safe space? if we look at what is going on at the moment, with rising numbers in isolation,

loneliness, mental health in the lg bt loneliness, mental health in the lgbt cue classic amenities, and the increasing reporting of hate crime. we have seen 13% more people this year contacting us, and 12% more people contacting us about isolation and discolouration, we are saying, we are here to turn to, we are here to support you, we are here to provide those calm words when they are needed most. a positive message, hopefully on a positive day for the community. thank you very much. a statue of the american first lady, melania trump, has been unveiled outside her slovenian hometown. commissioned by american artist brad downey and carved from a single treetrunk by a local sculptor, the statue has prompted very mixed reviews, with critics suggesting that the figure looks like a scarecrow. downey said he wanted to highlight melania trump's immigrant status whilst being married to a president sworn to reduce immigration. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell.

we have a lot of fine weather to come across the uk this weekend, but changes are afoot. we have a weather front sinking south, and that is introducing cooler air. it will bring thicker cloud to wales, the midlands and east anglia this afternoon, eventually pushing into southern england during the evening. we will get some light outbreaks of rain and we could see the covers coming on at wimbledon later. some showers this evening in the south—east of england. the front moves away to the channel by the end of the night, and fresher air for most areas. a more comfortable night's sleep for those in the south. sunday starts with dry weather and decent sunshine. cloud in the south—east drifts away through the day, thicker cloud bothering the north sea coasts, keeping things cool for aberdeen and newcastle. and fresher further south.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: murderers who refuse to say where they've buried their victims could be more easily denied parole under a proposed new law. a powerful earthquake has hit southern california for the second time in a matter of days. it's the strongest in the region for 25 years as the two men vying to be pm again attempt to win over members in two hustings today, a bbc investigation discovers some party members are receiving two ballot papers. more than one million people are expected to attend london's largest ever pride march. and at wimbeldon, johanna konta, dan evans, and harriet dart lead british hopes on day six. now it's time for the travel show. coming up on this week's programme: i am dressing up in dublin as cosplay marks its 35th birthday.

ade heads to dubai to explore a record breaker, in full bloom. this place is like the chelsea flower show on steroids. and lucy puts a cardboard kayak to the test in this month's global gadgets. this is pretty sturdy. hello, and welcome to the travel show with me, christa larwood, coming to you this week from dublin, capital city of ireland, home to guinness, u2, and for one weekend only, costumes like this.

it's comic con, ireland. and a big feature is cosplay. this year marks 35 years since the term was first coined in this article by japanese journalist, nobuyuki takahashi. but really, fan costuming began 70 years ago at the first world science fiction convention in new york city, when this couple attended wearing a futuristic costume they designed and made. the cosplay industry is now a multibillion dollar business, with some reports saying it is worth over $20 billion, of £15 billion, worldwide. everyone is here injust incredible costumes, of all shapes and sizes and frankly, it would be a bit rude not tojoin in.

the cosplay experts have got me a costume. oh, this one's for me? thank you very much! so, i'm not sure what this is, the grand reveal... hopefully it's one i recognise. oh, it's totoro, from my neighbour totoro, the studio ghibli film! this one i know and am very happy to wear. very happy cosplayer today. let's go! thousands of people have come for the comic con, ireland edition. many are taking part in the cosplay competitions, hoping to be picked to represent ireland

in the euro cosplay championships. others are here to play their favourite characters. running the cosplay side of things, is guild of nerds. i think years ago, cosplay was seen as sort of an oddity, but now it has become very mainstream, where like 50% of the convention will be in cosplay and i think in the last ten years, there's actually people who have made a living out of it. so, why has it become so big? i mean, how did it turn from a couple of people going to a convention in costume to all this? the internet. and there's some people who may be isolated, and when they come to conventions, that's when they can meet like—minded people and some people when they're actually in costume, they get a bit more confident and their acting in the character, it makes them act like the way they normally wouldn't. pretty much most people i know are introverts, but you see them and they will be extremely hyper. we are going to start things off, anyone who would like to come up in costume and show us something! are you ready to start?

if i rub this lamp, will i get three wishes? only if you say, "i wish." how about questions instead? but you still have to start them with, "i wish." 0h, 0k, well, iwish for you to tell me... tell me a little bit about the costumes and the competition here because it seems fierce to me. well, honestly, we are all... we are all big nerds. we love what we love. we all love anime, we all love videogames, we all love movies. like myself with aladdin, i have non—stop. .. non—stop been listing to the aladdin songs. on repeat, 24/7. oh dear! so now you get to, kind of, come and show your passion for this? yes, a lot of people here, we have our day jobs which go into our hobby, a lot of people can spend a lot of money. but some people — some people who start out especially, they could use their own clothes at home, your costume could be just a tank top and shorts,

something very basic. and, boom! you are cosplaying! so have you heard, just anecdotally, like, oh such and such spent like 2 grand on a dress? or... yeah! no, that's happened. that has happened a lot of times. back to the competition, and there has been a development. they have allowed me to come up on the judge's panel, and i even get to give my own specialjudge's award. a very wide array of costumes so far, including some pretty gory ones. contestants are judged on effort and performance for portraying the character, with those making their outfits from scratch gaining extra points. we all get to pick one place. oh, god! you've chosen all my picks! but it means i'm like, on point with myjudging. so that's good!

despite all the fun, there has been controversy over recent years about some cosplayers getting the wrong kind of attention, with accusations of sexual harassment, inappropriate behaviour and body shaming and offence. that's why this slogan, "cosplay is not consent", has started to appear at many conventions along with a set of rules that mean that nobody should be touched or photographed without their permission. hello, everybody! first of all, may i say, everybody‘s costumes were just incredible! thejudges' choice award to go to rachel smith, with her character, yennefer from witcher iii, looking incredibly awesome in black! for the winners, it is national cosplay glory. for the other entrants, there's always next year. i knew only very little about cosplay before i came here, but i feel like it had a crash

course and i found it to be such an interesting community of creative people but the most important thing that seems to have come across today, is the passion, and the dedication that people have towards embodying these characters they love so much. well, if you fancy popping on a costume and morphing into a character for the day, here's your travel show guide for places to strut your stuff around the world. the biggest event of the year for many cosplayers is the san diego comic con, with tickets selling out in minutes. the four—day event hosts its own masquerade contest in which you can win significant cash prizes. however, the standard is very high, and the panel ofjudges often includes hollywood costume makers. the cosplay scene in india

is rapidly growing, with comic con events taking place in delhi, hyderabad, bengaluru and mumbai. expect impressive costumes as many cosplayers take full advantage of the army of high—skilled, and relatively inexpensive tailors, who work throughout the country. if you'd rather be fully immersed in the world of those you are portraying, then maybe larping, or live action role—play, is more up your street. the largest global larping event is the conquest of mythodea, and takes place in germany where 15,000 people come together for a five—day—long mediaeval re—enactment. or if dressing up just isn't for you, then the british museum is currently hosting the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside ofjapan. the immersive exhibition explores the manga's global influence, from anime, to the origins of cosplay. still to come on the travel show: lucy takes to the water in a cardboard boat.

and ade's in dubai, to explore one of the biggest outdoor gardens in the world. i'm not even messing about, i feel like they are speaking to me. so don't go away. welcome back to the travel show, now before we go any further i have to show you this incredible costume by sarah. sarah, why don't you give us a twirl? so tell me, how on earth did this costume come to be? well i saw it on a video, it was like on youtube of like, this guy, a designer, who made loads of dresses for little girls that like, transformed, and i just really wanted one! but he doesn't make them for older people so i was like, i will make my own, i will figure it out and i'll do it myself. so underneath there is a coat

hidden, and the coat is reversed so you stick your hands through and pull it up out the back, and wear it literally like a coat and then you pull the dress up and hide it, so it goes like that. oh, there you go! and so for you, what do you enjoy about making these costumes? ijust love to make things with my hands, like i love the physical aspect of it, ijust love spending time on it and it's something i really enjoy. so, how it take to make something like this? well, for me, this one took about two weeks, like, full, every day working on it. what does being part of a community like this mean to you? to me, it is like a really big family. when i was in school i didn't really have many friends and, was really lonely, and no—one understood, like... and i was into all these comics and disney and superheroes and no—one else was, and then i found out about comic con and cosplay and i came to my first event, and it was like, everyone swarms you, and they're like, "oh my god, join our little group!" this is a family, all these

friends, and it's so nice ‘cause everyone's just... relates so well and you get along with everybody. it's your tribe? exactly! and you put together this one as well? idid. it's worked out well, thank you so much for showing your amazing costume! thank you! and now for global gadgets with lucy. summer has sort of, almost nearly arrived in the uk, so today i have three gadgets that could help you make the most of the long sunny days, whether you're at home or on your holidays. first up it's the solgaard life back solar. the company released their first crowd funded backpack in 2016, and this is a new upgraded version. it powers your devices when you are on the move and the battery pack slots in nicely here and can recharge itself by the solar panel on the front. if it is an overcast day which in london, is a lot of the time, it can still be charged by a micro usb.

now the company says it is good for up to five full phone charges, but if you are relying solely the solar panel, it will take more than 2a hours to fully charge. other features include secret compartments for your passport, travel documents and whatever else, but while the bag is advertised as being antitheft, is a usb port in one of the side pockets which might not be the safest place to charge a device. all in all, though, it is a potentially useful option if you are going to spend long days out and about with nowhere to charge a device. next, both are widely known for the earphones and speakers but not stylish fashion items. that could all be about to change with frames. it's their new line of sunglasses with speakers built into the side arms, so you can listen to music without anything covering your ears. they‘ re actually pretty clever, so there's a built—in speaker in both of the arms, the sound comes out here and is then directed into your ears. and the quality is surprisingly very good. you do get a tiny bit of audio leak

but it's about the same as you would get with a lot of other earphones out there, they also connect via bluetooth, although it's worth noting it is all too easy to hit that connection button when taking them off and putting them on again, so watch out for that. if i'm being honest, they are probably not going to replace your everyday earphones, and being sunglasses, they are not much use indoors, plus battery life is limited to around 3.5 hours. but as an accessory, they are fun, they're stylish, they're new, and they're discreet. what if you are more of an expedition type? here is something a bit more adventurous. the onak is a new brand of foldable canoe. it is made from a special type of polypropylene which the manufacturer claims is 100% recycla ble. to help me assemble it i brought along my friend, outdoor tech expert, kieran. so this is it. what do you think? are you ready to help me put this thing together? let's give it a crack. let's do it! weighing 17 kg packed down, the canoe is light enough

to wheel around. would you say that a love of the great outdoors is compatible with a love of tech, do the two work together? i think they do. i know a lot of purists would say you get out to the outdoors to escape technology, and a lot of technology these days is seen as something that dislocates you from your environment but a lot of the tech i like best helps you to get out, it connects you with your surroundings. so the onak canoe, for example, will enable people to go and see things they will have never have seen before. there are loads of gadgets like that. they just enable you to get out and explore more. so are you sure you don't want to join me? unfortunately there's only one lifejacket so you are on your own this time. here we go. you are free! it's pretty sturdy! the company says it can be used just like any other canoe but obviously you need to take the usual precautions. so i'm out here on the very calm

waters of regent's park boating lake and i have got my lifejacket on. so far, so good. no leaks and i feel pretty safe sitting inside the canoe. if say, you have limited storage at home but you love the outdoors, you love going on the water, this is definitely worth considering! thanks, lucy! well, to finish off, we've got the perfect place to put that solar backpack to good use. the sun beats down in dubai pretty much all year round so you wouldn't think it is the best place to grow flowers but that hasn't stopped them creating one of the world's biggest outdoor gardens. we sent ade to go check it out. heading through the entrance here, at the miracle garden, three things immediately strike you. first, the smell, then it's the colour, and then it's the scale. this place is enormous!

since it opened on valentine's day back in 2013, almost 8 million people have come to take a look around the miracle garden. and i am off to meet the man whose idea it all was. it's full of surprises, where did you get your inspiration? actually, my inspiration, first of all, i am a landscaping engineer. and since i was a child, always reading about heaven, paradise, and it is filled with flowers, so always this idea in my brain, and always when i see my kids playing, you know, games on screens, on tv, i always... it comes to my mind, really i need something for people to go out. so this has inspired me to create something to take people outside, to take people to nature. and it is on such a grand scale!

so many flowers here! how many flowers do you have in this park? we are always sustaining above 50 million flowers. 50 million flowers? yes. this place must take a lot of water, where do you get it from and how do you keep it sustainable? we are using the recycled water from dubai municipality, so all the grey water over the city, the municipality recycle it and pump it to us and from our side we refilter this water and convert it to very high quality water. and what about your challenges? what is the biggest challenge for you? actually, the biggest challenge is just the wind. if we have strong wind, it is really our best challenge. we can't control it. we can control pests, we can control irrigation, temperature, everything can be controlled but not the wind.

this place is like the chelsea flower show on steroids. but you know what i'm looking forward to? it's when all these people leave and i get to hang out with the gardeners and find out how they keep everything looking so immaculate. this place takes on a completely different aura at night, it is actually quite scary. those giant animals staring down at you, they feel more lifelike. it hasjust gone 10:00, and it's only myself here and 200 gardeners that work all night to keep this place looking pristine. i'm going to find one of them now. hello, ade!

how are you? nice to meet you. lovely to meet you, this place is so different at night. of course it is. what is going on here? it seems like it's raining, should i have brought my umbrella? no need for that, just we are doing our irrigation work. we wait til the people leave the garden and then we start our irrigation. is there anything i can do to help? of course, you can do! as you can see here, we are approaching the sunflower. you can see how it is blooming, it is nice... it's beautiful! so we need to keep it beautiful, as you said. how we would do that, of course, we need to get rid of the dried ones. to trim it, prune it from time to time. so if you like, you can try by yourself. so, i'm looking for these dried sunflowers where the leaves are... i was speaking to one of the gardeners

earlier and he said, you almost develop this relationship and a connection with the plants. i'm not even messing about, i feel like they are speaking to me. you know, these ones are saying, "stay away from me with those scissors! "stay away from me, you madman!" now, this looks a little bit more complicated than what i was doing earlier. yes, of course. why is he shaving the clock? i will not allow you to do it. oh, come on! and the clock, is it accurate? it is accurate, of course, it is connected with the gps, you can check your time now. let's have a look. 10:46... 10:a6, yes. good job, yeah? it is almost time for bed for me but the team of gardeners will be working here throughout the night until the

gardens reopen to the public at 10:00 tomorrow morning. making sure that all of those millions of flowers are in blooming, tip—top condition. that's all we have on this week's programme, but coming up next week on the travel show: mike is on australia's great barrier reef, looking at some of the amazing work being done to protect it. ok, and here we go, we havejust started our descent, below all we see is blue. ifeel a little bit nervous. as well as finding out how eco—submarines can be the future of underwater sightseeing. so, do join us then and don't forget in the meantime you can catch up with us on our social media feeds, where you can share your travels with us and the rest of the world. until next time, from me, christa larwood, the travel show team and the cosplayers of dublin, it's goodbye.

there is a lot of fine weather to come across the uk this weekend. some areas will be favoured by the sunshine more than others. the south coast will be a good place to be. a glorious start in brighton. we might see our top temperature here. yesterday we got up to 28 at london heathrow. it was cooler to the north, 16 degrees under this band of cloud, which is a cold weather front that will continue pushing south

today and overnight. this afternoon, the front pushing down into males, the front pushing down into males, the midlands, east anglia. some decent sunshine to come, temperatures into the mid 20s. underneath that front the low 20s, and behind the front high teens. that front might squeeze some rain for wimbledon later. late afternoon, early evening. more cloud than yesterday. and a cooler day, a high of 23. sunshine along the south coast, some showery outbreaks of rain pushing into south wales, south midlands into east anglia. behind the front, brightening up for north wales, northern england, and sunshine to bring our after to a close. a few showers around in the north and east, and quite cool as

well, with a strong breeze full stop highs of 13—15. in the evening, look out for some showers in the south—east of england. the front sinks away to the south by the end of the night. a fresh start to sunday, particularly to the south. sunday, particularly to the south. sunday dawns with sunny spells for many. the day remains fine on the whole. a few showers possible across northern scotland. a few across the higher ground of northern england. a few sharper ones for the pennines. some thicker cloud, 1a in newcastle. average temperatures into the week ahead as well.

this is bbc news — i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11: murderers who refuse to say where they've buried their victims could be more easily denied parole under a proposed new law. a powerful earthquake has hit southern california for the second time in a matter of days. it's the strongest in the region for 25 years. as the two men vying to be pm again attempt to win over members in two hustings today — a bbc investigation discovers some party members have received two ballot papers. more than! million people are expected to attend london's largest ever pride march. at wimbeldon — johanna konta, dan evans, and harriet dart — lead british hopes on day six. and at 11.30, join us for dateline london — where carrie gracie and her guests will discuss whether hong kong is losing the battle for hearts and minds