Places Behind the Races: Silverstone Edition
Prepare for the race weekend ahead by catching up on everything pop culture in Britain right now
Welcome or welcome back to ‘Places Behind the Races’ :) Throughout the 2025 season, Formula 1 will be visiting 24 different locations across 21 different countries. The global expanse of the sport is one of its best features, but I find that we don’t often talk about the places behind the races. With that in mind, I thought I would delve into everything fun and trending in the many locations that Formula 1 visits. From events and national holidays to movies and food trends, I have you covered. So, let’s get to it!
Events & holidays
BST Hyde Park - This weekend, Noah Kahan and Sabrina Carpenter will be taking over Hyde Park in London as part of the ‘BST’ events across the summer. England has actually been having nice weather recently, so hopefully the sun will continue shining for these outdoor concerts!
Wimbledon - One of the best sporting events of the year is also happening this weekend in the form of the infamous Wimbledon tennis championship. Although the event started last week, this weekend will see competitors fight it out in the ‘Third Round’ and ‘Round of 16’. British favourites like Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and *Jack Draper* have been successful in the first round, as well as current tennis megastar, Carlos Alcaraz, so it’s safe to say some fascinating tennis lies ahead.
London Pride - Pride returns to the streets of London this year with artists like Chaka Khan and Eurovision 2025 winner JJ headlining the festival. Maltese Eurovision entry, Miriana Conte, will also be performing (yes, the ‘Serving Cant’ girl), and I can’t think of a better person in current pop culture to be added to this lineup. The parade is set to bring 500 groups and around 35,000 participants together to march in solidarity, led by LGBTQ+ community groups celebrating significant milestones and anniversaries, alongside distinguished supporters, showcasing the rich history and continuing progress of London's diverse LGBTQ+ communities.
UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 - While the Euros are being held in Switzerland this year, Saturday marks the first game of the tournament for England as they play France at the Stadion Letzigrund so expect the pubs across the country to be full of football fans rooting for the girls to bring another Euro trophy home!
Top 10 Songs This Week (Official Charts)
Manchild - Sabrina Carpenter
Dior - MK ft. Chrystal
Love Me Not - Ravyn Lenae
Victory Lap - Fred Again, Skepta & PlaqueBoyMax
Pink Pony Club - Chappell Roan
Rein Me In - Sam Fender & Olivia Dean
Undressed - sombr
Blessings - Calvin Harris, Douglas
Ordinary - Alex Warren
Family Matters - Skye Newman
Top 10 TV Shows This Week (Netflix)
Squid Game: Season 3 - New games. Old foes. Player 456 and the Front Man clash in a final showdown of moral dilemmas and pulse-racing challenges. Who will emerge victorious?
The Waterfront - A prominent North Carolina fishing family wades into treacherous waters to keep their crumbling business empire afloat.
North Shore - When a U.K. minister's daughter dies mysteriously in Sydney, a London detective must team up with his Australian counterpart to unravel the mystery.
Murder on the Internet - Exploring the dark side of digital romance, this documentary investigates the dangers of online dating as millions turn to the internet to find love.
Dept. Q - A brash but brilliant cop becomes head of a new police department, where he leads an unlikely team of misfits in solving Edinburgh's cold cases.
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Season 2 - A new batch of hopefuls face fierce competition, high expectations and even higher kicks as they vie for a spot with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Ginny & Georgia: Season 3 - As Georgia's trial sends shockwaves through Wellsbury, Ginny and Austin become entangled in a web of lies and betrayal, where no one emerges unscathed.
Ms. Rachel - Come learn, play, sing and grow with Ms. Rachel in a fun series of interactive lessons teaching letters, numbers, colors, shapes — and so much more!
WWE Night of Champions: 2025 - Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena clashes with CM Punk one last time. Superstars fight for the crown in the King and Queen of the Ring Tournament Finals.
Baby Farm - A young pregnant woman accepts help from a high-profile organization offering support – and becomes a prisoner in their sinister plot.
Top 5 Movies This Week (Netflix)
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise - An engine fire leaves 4,000 passengers stranded at sea without power and plumbing in this wild documentary about the infamous "poop cruise" of 2013.
KPop Demon Hunters - When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.
Grenfell: Uncovered - Survivors, witnesses and experts tell the story of the tragic fire that engulfed a residential tower block in London — and the investigation that ensued.
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie - After a mysterious meteor crashes in Adventure City, the plucky pups gain slick new superpowers and fend off a sinister scientist.
The Equalizer 3 - Robert McCall vows to stop an Italian crime syndicate from brutalizing and extorting the residents of a small coastal town that has won his heart.
Top 5 Movies This Week (Box Office)
F1 - In the 1990s, Sonny Hayes was Formula 1's most promising driver until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, the owner of a struggling Formula 1 team convinces Sonny to return to racing and become the best in the world. Driving alongside the team's hotshot rookie, Sonny soon learns that the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.
28 Years Later - It's been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped from a biological weapons laboratory. Still living in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amid the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. When one of them decides to venture into the dark heart of the mainland, he soon discovers a mutation that has spread to not only the infected, but other survivors as well.
How To Train Your Dragon - On the rugged isle of Berk, a Viking boy named Hiccup defies centuries of tradition by befriending a dragon named Toothless. However, when an ancient threat emerges that endangers both species, Hiccup's friendship with Toothless becomes the key to forging a new future. Together, they must navigate the delicate path toward peace, soaring beyond the boundaries of their worlds and redefining what it means to be a hero and a leader.
Elio - Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador to the rest of the universe, he starts to form new bonds with eccentric aliens while discovering who he's truly meant to be.
Lilo & Stitch - Stitch, an extraterrestrial entity, comes to planet Earth after he escapes his prison, where he tries to impersonate a dog. Things take a turn when Lilo adopts him from an animal shelter.
Food Trends -
Pistachio - I’m not sure if it’s a UK thing or a worldwide thing, but pistachios are having their moment! Every cafe or restaurant I go to at the moment seems to have a pistachio-flavoured dish, whether it be ice cream, cheesecake, ‘Dubai Chocolate’, lattes or salads - it’s a sad state of affairs for my friend with a nut allergy. I have to admit, though, I caved to the trend. I had some ‘Dubai chocolate strawberries’ (essentially just strawberries with chocolate and pistachio sauce on top) at a local food market, and it was delicious!
Pad Thai - Thai food in general has been taking off in the UK, especially in the past decade or so. My favourite Thai dish is a classic red or green Thai curry, but Pad Thai is a fan favourite here at the moment. For those who don’t know, Pad Thai is a stir-fried noodle dish, usually made with rice noodles, eggs, tofu, and typically shrimp or chicken, combined with a sweet, sour, and salty sauce, and often garnished with peanuts and bean sprouts. Rosa’s Thai seems to be the most loved Thai restaurant chain in the UK right now.
Gyros - Greek food is another international cuisine that has had a boom in the UK in recent years, and I have to say that I am fully on board with this. I adore Greek food, and nothing beats a good Gyro (as a veggie, I usually opt for a Halloumi version) or some oregano fries. Gyro is a Greek dish of roasted meat served in a pita, usually with tomato, onion, and tzatziki, a cold, creamy sauce made from yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, and various spices. I feel like I have never had a bad Gyro, so I would definitely recommend it as a safe takeaway option.
Ramen - Ramen has taken over the UK, probably thanks to the growth of Wagamama (always amazing food there, too). Although I haven’t eaten much of it myself (I’m more of a rice-based dish girl), I have so many friends who are obsessed with it, and it does look delicious! It is a Japanese noodle soup dish that can be quite versatile, but is usually made up of wheat-flour noodles in a meat or fish-based broth, often flavoured with soy sauce or miso, and topped with various ingredients like sliced pork, dried seaweed, and green onions.
Fish and Chips - finally, a dish that we didn’t steal! And to be fair, you can’t beat a classic bit of fish and chips (speaking as my previous self who was not a vegetarian…). This one is exactly what it says on the tin, although the fish is usually battered, which isn’t made explicitly clear in the name. As a seaside town girl, I will be biased and say that I’ve probably had some of the best fish and chips in the world, and no, it wasn’t from a fancy place, and no, the south of England doesn’t do it as good as we do up north. Overall, a solid choice for food, just make sure you go to the right places for it!
