
The morning after! Grinning Orlando Bloom enjoys a hotel breakfast after he was spotted wrapping arm around mystery woman on the eve of Bezos' £20m Venetian wedding
An excitable Orlando Bloom has enjoyed brunch after he was spotted embracing a young woman in the back of a Venetian water taxi on the eve of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding.
The British actor, 48, is among a number of the world's most eligible bachelors in Venice for the VIP nuptials, having just split from fiancée Katy Perry.
Orlando was pictured smiling in workout clothes and cap on the terrace of the Gritti Palace Hotel - one of five of the city's most luxurious hotels have been booked out by the Amazon billionaire to host his 250 influential guests.
The star, whose former partner is putting on a brave face while touring Australia with their daughter Daisy, four, spoke to guests as he ate a late breakfast and drank cappuccinos in the Veneto sunshine.
Orlando also laughed wildly while speaking to an immaculately dressed waiter and drank his coffee while looking out on one of the city's canals.
MailOnline can reveal that one of the mystery women spotted with Orlando in Italy last night for the wedding of the decade was Roman Abramovich 's Russian-American ex-wife.
In a set of pictures described as heartbreaking for his Katy Perry's heart, newly-single Orlando was all smiles as left Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's lavish pre-wedding celebration with Dasha Zhukova.
The British actor and Dasha boarded a Venetian water taxi as they jumped in to shelter from torrential rain last night. Orlando, was then photographed embracing a younger brunette friend in the back.
Bloom and other guests had to brave the heavy rainfall as the party's VIPs exited the historic venue to catch a boat ride back along Venice's famous canals to the luxurious five-star Aman Hotel.
Ms Zhukova and Mr Bloom are just good friends. Orlando and his ex Katy Perry have grown close to Dasha and her new husband Stavros Niarchos III, who both live in California.
Dasha shares three children with her shipping scion husband, a Greek professional kiteboarder and the heir to the Niarchos shipping fortune.
The couple married in 2019 - after she found love again when her marriage to Russian oligarch Ambramovich ended in 2017, after nine years of wedlock. They have two children.
A year ago Rupert Murdoch, 94, became her stepfather after he and Zhukova's mother Elena, 68, married.
Fresh off his shock split from popstar Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom enjoyed a night with a mystery woman at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez 's lavish pre-wedding party in Italy on Thursday.
The British actor, 48, was spotted leaving the Madonna dell Orto cloisters with a glamorous brunette after guests were forced to end the night early following a freak thunderstorm in Venice.
It marked a rocky start to the billionaire couple's three-day $20million wedding extravaganza, with Bezos and Sanchez set to say 'I Do' on Friday in front of the likes of Kim Kardashian and Ivanka Trump.
News of Bloom and Perry's breakup was confirmed by sources on Thursday after weeks of rampant speculation.
The couple first got together in 2016 before splitting up and getting back together in 2018.
Bloom proposed to Perry in 2019 and they welcomed daughter Daisy Dove, now four-years-old, in August 2020.
Rumors of 'tensions' between Perry and Orlando began to surface earlier this month.
Several outlets alleged that the singer's poor-performing album 143 and the mocking she faced following her Blue Origin space trip — as well as her ongoing Lifetimes Tour — put 'stress' on the relationship.
The Teenage hitmaker has also recently been seen without her engagement ring in recent weeks.
Furthering the speculation, it was confirmed that Bloom would be attending Sanchez and Bezos' wedding without Perry, who is on tour in Australia.
Neither Perry or Bloom have spoken publicly on the split reports.
Bloom arrived in Venice, Italy on Wednesday afternoon along with the likes of A-list wedding guests like Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady and Leonardo DiCaprio.
He shared a kiss with Kim, 44 — who he once famously 'checked out' while at an event with Katy last year — as he caught up with her and her sister Khloe just before the festivities began.
Bloom and Brady, who are among the wedding's most eligible bachelors, grabbed a water taxi together while heading to Sanchez and Bezos' doomed pre-wedding soiree at Madonna dell Orto on Thursday.
Also in attendance were Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Kris Jenner, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
The star looked to be in high spirits despite the recent news of his and Perry's split
As the thunderstorm moved in, guests ran for cover under the vaulted cloisters as lightening bolts flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled overhead at the end of what was a torridly humid day with temperatures nudging 96.8° Fahrenheit.
Torrential downpours and a strong wind left guests soaked as they then dashed for water taxis which had been scrambled a good 45 minutes ahead of the midnight finish time.
The strong gusts of winds whipped table cloths away and sent waiters scurrying for umbrellas to protect the VIP attendees.
Bride-to-be Lauren was surrounded by tuxedo-clad gentleman carrying blue umbrellas over her as she exited the party venue amid the downpour.
The TV personality, 55, had on a striking off-the-shoulder dress with a dramatic gold corset cinching in her already tiny waist.
One onlooker said: 'It just goes to show you can have all the money in the world but you cant control the weather - although an Italian saying says a wet bride is a happy and lucky bride.'
Bezos, 61 — who popped the question in 2023 with a $3 million engagement ring — was seen following closely behind Lauren with an umbrella over his head.
In footage obtained by DailyMail.com, Lauren appeared to be in high spirits despite the rain ending their soiree early.
Bezos and Sanchez are set to tie the knot on Friday, June 27 in Venice, Italy after a two-year engagement.
The Amazon billionaire and his bride-to-be are said to have invited 200 people to their three-day Italian wedding.
Along with Kim Kardashian, Ellie Goulding, Khloe Kardashian and Ivanka Trump, the star-studded guest list includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom and Tom Brady.
Earlier this week, a copy of the couple's invite was leaked with one very specific request made on behalf of the couple.
They've asked guests not to buy them any presents and told them they'll be making donations to multiple charities working to stop Venice from sinking on attendees' behalf instead.
Bezos is thought to be spending roughly $15 to $20 million on his and Sanchez's Italian nuptials.
On Thursday, a source closely connected to the organization of the week's events revealed to DailyMail.com exclusively that Bezos and Sanchez are already legally married.
'They have been married for at least a month, more than a month. The marriage is fully legal and took place in America under American law,' the insider revealed.
They added: 'When they were planning the wedding, they were clear about the fact that they were already secretly married.
'There is no application for a wedding license from the couple because it was not required.
'Whatever happens at the wedding on Friday, it will not be a wedding. Under Italian law, it will not be a wedding celebration, any vows said or rings exchanged will have no legal meaning.'
The source also claimed that Jeff had personally confirmed that he and Lauren are already legally married, and that they had also signed a pre-nuptial agreement to protect his $244 billion fortune.
Greenpeace and the UK-based collective Everyone Hates Elon have joined protests in Venice attempting to disrupt, or even prevent, the planned wedding celebrations of Amazon founder Bezos this week.
' Jeff Bezos is the second-richest man in the world yet is reported to pay a 1.1 percent true tax rate,' the two groups said in a joint statement.
'The multi-million-dollar wedding is reportedly happening over three days, with the wedding ring alone worth as much as $5million.'
A spokesperson from Everyone Hates Elon said: 'As governments talk about hard choices and struggle to fund public services, Jeff Bezos can afford to shut down half a city for days on end just to get married.'
'If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,' one gigantic banner read in St. Mark's Square.
Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro and regional governor Luca Zaia have spoken out in favor of the nuptials, which have been dubbed, 'the wedding of the century,' pointing out that the celebrations are expected to bring $23-34million to local businesses.
'This is a city that handles 150,000 people a day,' Zaia told Italian daily Corriere della Sera. 'George Clooney, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, Alexandre Arnault, Elton John and many others got married here.'
Bezos has also pledged to make sizable charity donations, including $1.16million to Corila - an academic consortium dedicated to studying Venice's lagoon ecosystem - according to Corriere della Sera and Italy's ANSA news agency.
Earlier this month, anti-Bezos banners were hung in Venice from St. Mark's Tower with 'Bezos' in blue capital letters and a red X over it as part of a 'No Space for Bezos' campaign, a play on Bezos' Blue Origin spaceflight venture.
More outrage was sparked Thursday as Bezos and Sanchez's wedding guests descended upon the Madonna dell Orto for the rain-soaked pre-party.
The chaos caused by the star-studded event reportedly forced canals to shut down and tourists to cancel reservations in Venice.
According to one business owner who runs a kayak renting service in the area, the bridges were 'closed off' to make way for Lauren, Jeff, and their guests, leaving customers unable to reach them.
'We had a party of clients booked for Thursday night. But they were unable to get through to us because the bridges were all closed off,' they shared.
'Despite them having booking, the police wouldn't let them pass. It was party of five Americans, and they had booked an hour and a half for $100 each and so we had to cancel.
'The party involved was on a tight schedule and couldn't rebook so we will have to refund them and so we have lost money.'
In addition to the bridges, the Venice local claimed that the canals were also shut gown and that police on jet skis turned them around when they tried to get through.
They added that there was 'no real notification from the council that the canal would be closed.'
'I don't begrudge [Jeff and Lauren] for getting married, but this has cost us money and of all the places in Venice they had to choose the one by us,' they added.
Photos also showed police presence all over the Italian city, including officers on jet skis in the canals, as water taxis went back and forth taking Lauren and Jeff's guests from their hotels to the event.
Around 20 activists were seen protesting hours before the pre-wedding party in St Mark's Square, the iconic heart of Venice.
Protesters held signs that read, 'We are the 99 percent we have the power,' 'the planet burns,' while someone even waved an extinction rebellion flag.
Sanchez and Bezos arrived in Venice for their wedding on Wednesday.
They were photographed outside the luxurious five-star Aman Hotel — where some suites cost nearly $14,000 per night — after being dropped off by a water taxi along with 50 of their 200-something guests.
They hosted a drinks reception with a playlist of romantic music, blasting More Than A Woman by the Bee Gees. They then continued to play tunes like Nina Simone's I'm Feeling Good, Lovely Day by Bill Withers and Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
Earlier that day, in the private garden of the hotel, which is surrounded by a 10ft brick wall, staff could be heard working to erect marquees, ready for a weekend of celebrations.
Oprah gave a glimpse at her smaller frame as she attended a party later on Thursday while sporting a purple and white-colored ensemble with small cutouts on the sides
Her hair was parted in the middle and effortlessly flowed down past her shoulders in light curl; seen above with Gayle King
Some of the celebrity guests that landed a spot on the guest list include Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio and the Kardashian/Jenner clan
They also put a VIP jetty up outside the Aman Hotel for guests to use when they arrived.
Days before their Venice arrival, Sanchez and Bezos kicked off their wedding-week by throwing a rowdy foam party on board his $500million superyacht Koru on Sunday.
Read More
BREAKING NEWS
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom 'split' after seven years as insider reveals how singer is coping
Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com of the lavish celebration show the loved-up couple covered in little more than soap suds as they relished in the summer sunshine.
Bezos proposed to Sanchez on the same superyacht more than two years ago in May 2023.
While it's unclear when exactly they started dating, Lauren and Jeff's romance was first exposed by the National Enquirer in January 2019, while they were both married to their now-exes.
Soon after it was revealed, the billionaire businessman divorced his wife of more than 25 years and the mother of his four children, Mackenzie Scott, while Lauren left her husband, Patrick.
At the time, the bombshell report from the Enquirer claimed that Lauren and Jeff had been involved in an eight-month affair, which involved him 'whisking his mistress off to exotic destinations on his $65 million private jet, sending her raunchy messages and erotic selfies, and having secret rendezvous at palatial private estates.'
The outlet said that it had tracked them 'across five states and 40,000 miles, tailing them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and 'quality time' in hidden love nests.'
Following the Enquirer's accusations, Jeff fired back by writing a lengthy essay to the publication's CEO, David Pecker, in which the mogul accused the company of blackmailing him.
'Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I've decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten,' he wrote.
'[After] intimate texts messages from me were published in the National Enquirer, I engaged investigators to learn how those texts were obtained, and to determine the motives for the many unusual actions taken by the Enquirer.
'We were then approached with an offer. They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn't stop our investigation.'
He shared alleged emails sent to him by Enquirer staffers, in which they described the racy images they had 'obtained during their newsgathering' in detail.
'If in my position I can't stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?' Jeff continued.
While Jeff and Lauren are set to say 'I do' in front of guests on Friday, a source revealed to DailyMail.com this week that the couple are already married; seen in 2021
The A-list couple got engaged more than two years ago in 2023
'Of course I don't want personal photos published, but I also won't participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks, and corruption. I prefer to stand up, roll this log over, and see what crawls out.'
As for how Jeff and Lauren met, it was said that it was Lauren's husband Patrick who was the first to introduce the two at an Amazon studios party for the movie Manchester By the Sea in 2016.
Her production team was then hired to film footage for Jeff's rocket company, Blue Origin, in 2018.
'Patrick and Lauren have socialized with Jeff Bezos and his wife for a few years, because both [former] couples have houses in Seattle,' a source told Page Six after their affair was brought to light.
'Then Lauren was hired to work on one of Jeff's projects, Blue Origin, a space-launch company. She has been shooting aerial shots for Jeff.'
Despite the start of their romance being shrouded in accusations of blackmail and extortion, cheating allegations, and an explosive affair, the couple did not let it defer them.
In fact, after splitting from their respective partners, Jeff and Lauren didn't wait long to start flaunting their love all over the globe.
They were seen for the first time together publicly in May 2019, when photographers caught them enjoying a romantic date night in New York City, and they made their first official appearance as a couple at Wimbledon that July.
Since then, the couple has not tried to hide their romance, and for the last five years, they have continuously jetted off on a slew of lavish getaways together, shared tons of adorable, PDA-filled photos together on social media, gushed over one another nonstop in interviews, and attended a slew of star-studded events side by side.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Sun
Influencer mum-of-4 slammed for 'embarrassing' style choices aged 37 insists she won't stop wearing beloved belly tops
AN INFLUENCER mum who's regularly trolled over her wardrobe choices has insisted she won't stop wearing her beloved belly tops. Anna Saccone Joly regularly shares videos and pictures of herself and her family - husband Jonathan and their four kids - on her social media pages. 2 2 But she's found herself targeted over her wardrobe, which has included a tonne of crop tops since she had a "mummy makeover", including a tummy tuck, in August 2023. Lots of people in the comments on Anna's videos have insisted she's too old, at 37, to be wearing the stomach-baring ensembles. "The belly tops are embarrassing at nearly 40," one person insisted. "Give your children's clothes back to them!" another added. "If you don't like others comments & opinions…" a third commented. "Stop flaunting it over social media then - go be a mother to your kids instead of trying to be one of them!!!" However, YouTuber and influencer Anna hit back at the comments as she lip-synced along to Billy Joel's My Life, pretending to sing: "I don't care what you say anymore this is my life. "Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone!" "I guess I didn't realise we were meant to dress like old maids in our late 30s," she added in the caption. And others agreed with her in the comments section of the TikTok, encouraging Anna to wear exactly what she wants. Woman Undergoes 5 Life-Changing Surgeries "You can never be too old to wear a belly top," one wrote in the comments. "Agree!" Anna replied. "So pretty and even with surgery you should be able to show off you new look," another added. "I would wear one in winter if I was you!" a third said. "We spend our entire young lives being judged for what we wear and look like," someone else commented. "Getting to a point where you are comfortable and confident in a style that works for you is the goal. How to blast belly fat WITHOUT going to the gym or dieting Chew your food This mindfulness trick is used to focus your brain on the food you are eating - how it tastes and feels - rather than scoffing it in a hurry. If the brain does not register that you have eaten, you'll soon crave more food. Avocado a day Eating avocado every day can fight visceral fat in women, which collects around the organs in the stomach and can lead to diabetes, heart attack, and some cancers, according to a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study of 105 people. Avoid fizzy drinks Losing belly 'fat' may just be a case of preventing bloating, which can be onset by fizzy soft drinks. Instead, keep hydrated with water. Reduce alcohol Alcohol does no favours at all for our health or figures. It is 'empty calories', meaning it contributes to your calorie intake without giving any nutritional benefit. Hangovers can also lead you to eat more fatty foods, while putting you off exercising. Sleep more Various studies have shown that if you're not sleeping well, it can cause weight gain. People are more likely to crave junk food when they are sleep deprived because, not only are they in need of an energy boost, but their appetite hormones are all over the place. Reduce stress Stress causes an imbalance of hormones, particularly cortisol. This hormone has been linked with obesity and excess belly fat. Find ways to reduce your stress to avoid the so-called 'stress belly'. "I recently lost some weight and now wear tops similar to this. "I'm 37 and have spent literally DECADES hating my body - I freaking earned the right to wear whatever the hell I want." "You look great, it's flattering on you," another said. "Clothing doesn't have specific ages. Not sure why anyone cares lol!" "I'm 36 and wear whatever I like!" someone else wrote. "I WILL NOT LIVE MY LIFE IN THE OPINION OF OTHERS!! All the haters are just JEALOUS!!! PERIOD." "If I looked as good as you, I'd be rocking that outfit everyday," another commented. "You do you hun!"


BreakingNews.ie
12 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Tens of thousands expected to take part in Dublin's Pride parade
Tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in Dublin's Pride parade on Saturday. The organisers said the event also celebrates a milestone 10 years of marriage equality. Advertisement Thousands will make their way through Dublin city for the annual parade ahead of speeches and entertainment in Merrion Square's Pride Village. President Michael D. Higgins has sent a message to all those celebrating Pride today and across the summer — President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) June 28, 2025 The parade will start at O'Connell Street at around 12:30pm, and travel along Eden Quay and Custom House Quay before crossing the Talbot Memorial Bridge, up Lombard Street and Westland Row before finishing at Merrion Square. The non-ticketed festival at the Pride Village will include music, food stalls, acts and speeches on the main stage. In his last year as president, Michael D Higgins offered his warmest greetings to all those marking Pride 2025. Advertisement He said: 'This annual celebration is a vital affirmation of the rights, dignity, and joy of our LGBT+ communities. 'It is a time, too, to remember with gratitude the courage of those who paved the way for progress when marching was not safe, who gave voice to truths that were long silenced, and who set the foundations for the inclusive Ireland that we continue to strive towards today. 'In recent years, great strides have been made in advancing the rights and recognition of LGBT+ people in Ireland. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dublin Pride (@dublinpride) 'In celebrating Pride this year, we are also marking the 10th anniversary of the Marriage Equality referendum, a moment that spoke of the kind of Ireland we aspire to be: inclusive, generous, an Ireland that is unafraid to affirm the equal worth of all of our citizens. 'Yet, we must also acknowledge that the journey is not complete. Advertisement 'A truly inclusive society is one where all can live authentically and creatively, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, where all can participate fully, and where all voices are not only heard but valued, in all their richness and diversity. Ireland Weekend weather to be warm with next week bringing... Read More 'Pride remains a vital expression of that vision in challenging us to deepen our commitment to human rights, to solidarity, and to the kind of republic that cherishes all of its people equally. 'In a time when hard-won rights are being questioned in many parts of the world, such vigilance and unity are more vital than ever.' There will be road closures in the city centre. Advertisement


The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
Inside the strangest football stadiums in Europe including one beside Hitler's bunker and another with a STEAM TRAIN
FANCY WATCHING a game of football on the side of an active volcano? Or maybe you would prefer the 90-minute experience of sitting high up a mountain pass, perched on a slender goat trail? 25 25 The thing about new grounds these days is that while they cost billions of pounds to build, more often than not they all look the same and lack uniqueness or character. There is something thrilling and wonderful about watching a match played in bizarre or strange surroundings – locations far removed from the pristine, copycat comfort of the Premier League. Author Leon Gladwell went on a two-year voyage to discover and photograph 100 of Europe's wackiest and strangest venues, travelling more than 130,000 miles across 71 trips. He has collected them all into a glossy new book European Football's Greatest Grounds. And SunSport has put together 10 of the most remarkable, bucket-list places on the continent where you can go and watch the Beautiful Game. Campo di Calcio Zuel (Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy) The Trampolino Olimpico, a ski jumping hill in the Dolomites, was opened in 1923 and was used as a venue during the 1956 Winter Olympics. The faded Olympic Rings are still visible from the bottom of the 49-metre high launch ramp. Yet there is no chance of Eddie 'The Eagle' flying over the goalposts because the jump has been closed for 35 years. During the summer months, when the snow has melted, the area below is used for junior football, thanks to the installation of a football pitch by Serie A giants AC Milan. It also has a key place in movie history – it was the scene of a famous ski jump by James Bond in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only. 25 25 25 Campo Gerini (Rome, Italy) Italian stadiums might look old and rundown but that is part of their charm and romanticism. Anyone who grew up watching the Italia '90 World Cup on TV will instantly recognise some of the famous yet tired arenas that hosted the world's best footballers 35 years ago. One of the nation's quirkiest grounds can be located in its capital Rome, eleven kilometres south-east of the Colosseum, in the second-largest urban park in Europe. Campo Gerini hosts various football factions seven days a week, from junior sides right through to senior matches in Italy's ninth tier. Some of the pitches are located next to a decaying aqueduct built in 50 BC during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Yet the future of the area is in doubt after 40 hectares of land (the equivalent of 60 football pitches) were sold to private individuals, including a supermarket entrepreneur, in 2023. 25 25 Eriskay (Scotland) Eriskay is a remote island in the Outer Hebrides and is barely four kilometres in length. With a population of just 143, it is one of the smallest regions to support a football club. And Barnet's old uphill slope is nothing compared to this imperfect playing surface. The bumpy, bobbly Cnoc Na Monadh pitch, with his wobbly touchlines, has a 'wee hill in the corner' and as such, one of the corner flags is as high as the crossbar. Occasionally, stray sheep might make a beeline for the centre circle and after every winter, groundstaff have to painstakingly remove all the local wildlife's POO. Fifa's World Football Museum gave Eriskay worldwide recognition in 2015, branding it as one of the eight most remarkable places in the world to play football. Post-match drinks can be enjoyed in the island's only pub, Am Politician, which is named after the celebrated shipwreck. 25 25 Feldstrasse (Hamburg, Germany) Hamburg's historic SC Hansa 11 club has a unique claim to fame – it is next door to a gargantuan Nazi-built Second World War BUNKER. Two artificial pitches in this inner-city sports ground are flanked by the astonishing Flakturm IV. This air raid shelter was built in the 1940s under orders from Adolf Hitler to protect the country from Allied air attack. An anti-aircraft gun has long gone from the imposing concrete blockhouse tower and it has since been converted into a public rooftop terrace, which doubles up as a live music venue. On the other side of the ground is the Millerntor-Stadion, which is home to Bundesliga side, FC St. Pauli, a must-see destination for all football hipsters. 25 25 Grigoris Lambrakis Municipal Stadium (Athens, Greece) The best stadiums are not really the ones located off a motorway, far out of town, next to a shopping centre, with ample parking spots. The most interesting ones exist within a deprived community, perhaps next to a housing estate, in a hustling, bustling city, which has been dwarfed by the skyward creep of urbanisation. Athens Kallithea FC's ground, known locally as El Paso, is one such neighbourhood spot and some lucky fans can watch action in Greece's top division from their apartment block windows. Otherwise punters can perch on limestone cliffs that roll around half the pitch, standing behind coils of barbed wire and iron railings. In the mid-1960s, Sergio Leone's spaghetti-western classic For a Few Dollars More, starring Clint Eastwood, was released in Greece under the name Duel in El Paso. Kallithea used that nickname and to this day, they run on to the pitch to the dustbowl strains of Ennio Morricone's haunting score. 25 25 Gryluvollur (Hveragerdi, Iceland) There is no danger of flooding or soggy pitches for Iceland lower-league side FC Hamar. That is because underneath their hillside ground are boiling underground rivers hot enough to cook an EGG. Situated on the slopes of the Grændalur volcano, fumarole vents near the touchline and in neighbouring backyards belch plumes of sulphuric steam into the air. A Gryla geyser lies dormant just 70 metres from the pitch and until the late 1990s, it would often shoot boiling jets of water up to 12 metres high during matches. At least for those who live in this alien landscape in the little village of Hverageroi (which translates as 'hot spring garden'), players can use the gases to steam-dry their match-day kits. 25 25 25 Janosovka (Cierny Balog, Slovakia) Ideally, a football ground needs to have good, reliable transport links – but there is one in Slovakia which takes that concept to its extreme. One slumberous village in Cierny Balog actually has a STEAM TRAIN that passes directly by, just metres from the pitch and only a few feet from one of the grandstands. A busy logging railway used to haul timber up and down the valley for more than 80 miles of narrow gauge track for almost 75 years. These days, it is a heritage railway for tourists but the line goes straight through the ground of this semi-professional club. There are no confirmed accidents involving trains at the ground but the chairman often jokes that a few of his wingers should hop on and off to get them up the line a bit quicker. Yet anyone planning a Rory Delap-style long run-up for their throw-ins might think again… 25 25 Kvarlis Tsentraluri Stadioni (Kvareli, Georgia) Kvareli Duruji FC in Georgia's fifth division play football inside the walls of a medieval CASTLE. The rural 17th-century fortress, which has an iron-studded entrance gate, has wooden grandstands and can house up to 2,500 fans. Legend has it that a player once went down headfirst into a sinkhole that emerged during one match in 1978. That has since been filled in and bricked over but underneath the pitch are tunnels and rooms that were built to store earthenware vessels used for the fermentation and ageing of local wine. When Gladwell went there, a special friendly match was arranged in his honour and his son Noah was allowed to play – even though he ended up missing a key penalty. 25 25 25 Valloyran (Sandavagur, Faroe Islands) Those who live in the Faroe Islands can get to church on time on a Sunday – and then, after their prayers, have a little kickabout next door. One of the country's 26 grounds – in the seaside fishing village of Sandavagur – is overlooked by a beautiful red-roofed wooden church and cemetery. There are so few seats that it is essentially standing room only around this tiny football field – but you could choose to watch from your car given how close you can park behind one of the goals. The artificial pitch ensures few games are called off but spectators have to wrap up warm in the face of the fierce Faroese weather. 25 Yenisehir Stadyumu (Gumushane, Turkey) The city of Gumushane, which is 3,970ft above sea level, lies on the ancient Silk Road, the historic trade route from China to Turkey. To reach their football club, you have to endure a hair-raising zig-zagging journey along the Zigana Pass in the Pontic Mountains. Fans can either watch from the grandstands or, to avoid buying a ticket, find a spot up on the uphill goat paths. Pity the poor groundsman who has to work with a pitch that sees little sunlight due to the towering walls of red rock that encircle the ground. It is one of the most remote places to visit in Europe, several hours outside of Black Sea resort Trabzon, but also one of the most special. 25 25