Videos of the Week: A surfing Zuckerberg, David Attenborough ovation and Michael J Fox goes Back to the Future
IT moguls, iconic naturalists and beloved Hollywood stars caught our eye this week.
Meanwhile, Australia’s outback witnessed a dance record and a UK election candidate showed how far he was willing to go for a vote.
These are our top videos of the week.
Born in the USA
Meta mogul Mark Zuckerberg took to the waves (or boat wake) to celebrate America’s Fourth of July holiday.
Wearing a dinner suit, holding a US flag and chugging a can of Coors, the IT billionaire looked quite at home on the waves.
All with Bruce Springsteen’s 1980s anthem Born in the USA playing in the background.
Zuckerberg is neither a stranger to surfing, nor July 4 stunts.
In 2021 he went viral after posting a video of himself hydrofoiling while holding onto the Stars and Stripes.
Walking in One Direction
Singer Niall Horan got an introduction to Toronto traffic this week and shared his frustration with the world.
The former One Direction member found himself stuck in the Canadian city’s notorious gridlock and filmed himself getting out of his chauffeur-driven car to walk to his concert.
“In all of the years playing shows, I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a venue,” Horan quipped.
Toronto Region Board of Trade president Giles Gherson has said traffic woes are affecting the city’s reputation with businesses.
Sea dog
Not all dogs need to swim to enjoy a refreshing dip.
This beagle made the most of its owner snorkelling around the caves of Kfarabida in Lebanon.
Kfarabida is near a popular, dog-friendly free beach in Batroun, but this pup managed to cool off without getting its snout wet.
Leap of faith
Getting noticed during an election campaign can be a challenge for politicians.
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats in this week’s UK election, launched the final week of his unorthodox campaign with a bungee jump at a football ground in Eastbourne.
“A lot of people are on the cusp of doing something they’ve never done before – taking a leap of faith and voting Liberal Democrat,” Davey posted.
“So I decided to do something I’ve never done before too.”
David Attenborough ovation
It takes a lot to upstage the action on Wimbledon’s famed Centre Court, but legendary naturalist David Attenborough managed the feat this week.
The 98-year-old Attenborough was a guest in the royal box on Monday when play started at the grass-court grand slam.
As he made his way to his seat with his daughter Susan, Attenborough received a standing ovation from the crowd of tennis fans, including from fellow attendee, soccer great David Beckham.
Back to the Future
Michael J Fox reprised his budding rockstar persona from Back to the Future on the weekend, joining Coldplay on stage in front of 100,000 people at Glastonbury.
Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, was brought on to the stage in a wheelchair before joining the band on guitar for the song Fix You.
During an interlude, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin swapped to the lyrics for Johnny B. Goode – the song fans associate with Marty McFly in 1985’s Back to the Future.
The 63-year-old Fox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease a year after Back To The Future Part III was released in 1990. He has since tireless worked to raise awareness and find a cure for the debilitating disease.
Shazza’s return
Australian comedian and actor Magda Szubanski, the famous face of the iconic Kath & Kim character Sharon Strzelecki, joined forces with Google Ads to front an AI campaign.
Her legendary character Shazza – best known for her tidy netball skills and on-screen marriage to the late Shane Warne in the hit ABC series – shows how easy it is to find customers for her so-called Bowled & Beautiful hairdressing business.
“So now I tell all my fellow ontray-preneurs … if I can do it, youse can too … tell ’em Shaz sent ya,” she says at the end of the ad.
Nutbush near miss
It was a hit and a near miss for Birdsville Big Red Bash festival goers this week as they Freeze-Frame danced their way to a world record, but narrowly missed out on the coveted Nutbush City Limits dance honour.
Some 2754 people froze their way to the Violent Femmes classic Blister in the Sun, and easily eclipsed the festival’s previous participation record of 1308.
But while they smashed the Freeze-Frame record, Birdsville revellers fell short of toppling the current Nutbush City Limits record set by 6594 boot-scooters at the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash last year.
