We’ve only just managed to calm down after the craziness of Brazil and X Games Barcelona crops up. It’s all kicking off next week but are you ready for it? We definitely are but what’s going on? Well, we’ve put a nice little post together so you know what’s going on at what time, how to buy tickets and the all important one – HOW TO WIN TICKETS!

So, aside from all of the usual stuff that’s going on that we should talk about, I should probably say that this is a pretty big deal as it’s the first summer X Games to hit our European shores. After the rider list was released for the event everyone seemed to go pretty nuts, as it’s a VIP list for the first European Summer X Games but who’s made it? Did I say it was the first European one? Here it is:

GOPRO BMX FREESTYLE BIG AIR
Andy Buckworth
Vince Byron
Chad Kagy
Steve McCann
Kevin Robinson
Colton Satterfield
Morgan Wade
Zack Warden

BMX FREESTYLE PARK
Kyle Baldock
Drew Bezanson
Pat Casey
Scotty Cranmer
Daniel Dhers
Chase Hawk
Sergio Layos
Ryan Nyquist
Daniel Sandoval
Gary Young

BMX FREESTYLE STREET
Simone Barraco
Stevie Churchill
Bruno Hoffmann
Alex Kennedy
Chad Kerley
Dan Lacey
Garrett Reynolds
Paul Ryan
Sean Sexton
Jeremiah Smith

BMX FREESTYLE VERT
Jamie Bestwick
Vince Byron
Austin Coleman
Chad Kagy
Mykel Larrin
Steve McCann
Dennis McCoy
Simon Tabron
Zack Warden
Coco Zurita

MOTO X BEST WHIP
Nate Adams
Josh Hansen
Thomas Pages
Ronnie Renner
Jeremy Stenberg
Edgar Torronteras

MEN’S ENDURO X
Geoff Aaron
Destry Abbott
Joan Barreda
Taddy Blazusiak
Mike Brown
Ricky Dietrich
Jack Field
Max Gerston
Dani Gibert
Alfredo Gomez
Cory Graffunder
Colton Haaker
Graham Jarvis
Kornel Nemeth
Wally Palmer
Bobby Prochnau
Kyle Redmond
Taylor Robert
Bryan Roper
Ryan Sandoval
Gary Sutherlin
Jonny Walker
Cody Webb
Peter Weiss

WOMEN’S ENDURO X
Chantelle Bykerk
Maria Forsberg
Louise Forsley
Tarah Gieger
Livia Lancelot
Kacy Martinez
Carmen Segura
Gabriela Seisdedos
Jolene Van Vugt

MOTO X FREESTYLE
Nate Adams
Rob Adelberg
Wes Agee
Taka Higashino
Adam Jones
Thomas Pages
Libor Podmol
Dany Torres
Javier Villegas

MOTO X SPEED & STYLE
Nate Adams
Lance Coury
Ronnie Faisst
Mike Mason
Jose Miralles
Mat Rebeaud
Edgar Torronteras
André Villa

MOTO X STEP UP
Matt Buyten
Brian Foster
Josh Hansen
Wally Palmer
Libor Podmol
Ronnie Renner

FORD RALLYCROSS
Steve Arpin
Ken Block
Brian Deegan
Liam Doran
Tanner Foust
Toomas Heikkinen
Sverre Isachsen
Bucky Lasek
Anton Marklund
Bryce Menzies
Dave Mirra
Travis Pastrana
Nani Roma
Patrik Sandell

REAL WOMEN
Ingrid Backstrom – skiing
Hana Beaman – snowboarding
Leticia Bufoni – skateboarding
Maya Gabeira – surfing
Coco Ho – surfing
Jess Kimura – snowboarding
Mimi Knoop – skateboarding
Michelle Parker – skiing

SKATEBOARD BIG AIR
Jake Brown
Mitchie Brusco
Bob Burnquist
Jagger Eaton
Italo Penarrubia
Edgard Pereira
Tom Schaar
Elliot Sloan

MEN’S SKATEBOARD PARK
Pedro Barros
Taylor Bingaman
Curren Caples
Greyson Fletcher
Rune Glifberg
Alain Goikoetxea
David Gonzalez
David Gravette
Omar Hassan
Ben Hatchell
Aaron Homoki
Kevin Kowalski
Bucky Lasek
Andy Macdonald
Brad McClain
Tom Remillard
Ivan Rivado
Ryan Sheckler
Grant Taylor
Raven Tershy

WOMEN’S SKATEBOARD PARK
Lizzy Armanto
Allysha Bergado
Leticia Bufoni
Ianire Elorriaga
Karen Jonz
Julie Kindstrand
Mimi Knoop
Alana Smith
Elissa Steamer
Nora Vasconcellos

STREET LEAGUE SKATEBOARDING
Tom Asta
Chris Cole
Austyn Gillette
David Gonzalez
Nyjah Huston
Sean Malto
Billy Marks
Matt Miller
Fran Molina
Shane O’neill
Luan Oliveira
Chaz Ortiz
Torey Pudwill
Peter Ramondetta
Dylan Rieder
Paul Rodriguez
Bastien Salabanzi
Tommy Sandoval
Ryan Sheckler
Mikey Taylor
Ishod Wair

SKATEBOARD VERT
Marcelo Bastos
Mitchie Brusco
Bob Burnquist
Sandro Dias
Pierre-Luc Gagnon
Bucky Lasek
Andy Macdonald
Danny Mayer

Ok, ok, so that’s one hell of a rider list but when does it happen? Well…

THURSDAY MAY 16th
Skateboard SLS Select Series 11.30am – 2.30pm
Skateboard Park Elimination 3.00pm – 5.15pm
Skateboard Vert Final 6.00pm – 7.45pm

FRIDAY MAY 17th
Skateboard SLS Street Qualifier 2.30pm – 5.15pm
BMX Freestyle Vert Final 6.00pm – 7.45pm
MOTO X Speed & Style Final 7.30pm – 20.45pm
Skateboard Big Air Final 9.00pm – 10.30pm

SATURDAY MAY 18th
Skateboard Park Women’s Final 12.00pm – 1.45pm
BMX Freestyle Park Final 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Skateboard SLS Street Final 4.00pm – 6.00pm
MOTO X Enduro X Men’s Round 6.00pm
MOTO X Enduro X Women’s Final 7.00pm
MOTO X Enduro X Men’s Final 7.15pm
MOTO X Freestyle Final 7.30pm – 9.15pm

SUNDAY MAY 19th
BMX Freestyle Street Final 12.00pm – 1.45pm
Skateboard Park Final 2.00pm – 3.45pm
Rally FORD Rally Cross Final 4.00pm – 5.45pm
MOTO X Best Whip Final 7.00pm
MOTO X Step Up Final 7.15pm
GoPro BMX Freestyle Big Air Final 8.30pm – 9.45pm

COMPETITION TIME!!

What more do you need to know?! I guess you might be wanting tickets to the event. If you’d like to buy some then I suggest you follow THIS LINK and you should be able to get some. If you don’t feel like paying for them and just want to win some then we might be able to help you out! We are giving away tickets to the following:

2 x Moto X Finals
2 x BMX Street Finals
2 x BMX Vert Final
8 x Rallycross
2 x BMX Big Air Final
2 x BMX PArk Final
2 x Skate Park Qualis
2 x Skate Big Air Finals
2 x Street League Finals
2 x Skate Vert Finals
2 x Street League Qualis
2 x Skate Park Finals
2 x Street League Selection

All you have to do to win them is comment below on which tickets you’d like to have! We will pick winners from the comments – it’s really that easy! But remember, you have to be 18+, we won’t be paying for your travel or accommodation and all entries have to be in by Thursday May 9th at 3pm (GMT) as we’re picking winners and getting in touch with them by Friday morning. If you’ve won, you NEED to get back to us by Friday at 1pm (GMT) otherwise we’ll find someone else that will take them! We know that’s not a lot of time but it’s the only way we can make sure that the tickets go to someone who definitely wants them.

Get entering, get excited and make sure you stayin the conversation on Twitter and Instagram with the #xgamesnow hash-tag! We’ll also be having highlights galore on site!

Here goes…

Nitro Circus Live
Photo: Ray Chuss

There wasn’t a better place in London for Nitro Circus other than the o2 Arena. It’s insanely oversized and walking up to it you’re already expecting things to be over-the-top and large, so when you know you’re watching Nitro Circus, you expect insanity. Aside from watching everyone else in my office take their seats in the highest tier the o2 has to offer, I sat down two rows from the front with a perfect view of Travis Pastrana that you could count the freckles on his face. If you were keeping up with our Instagram updates, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The show kicked off with as much hype as you would expect from a clan of action sports athletes fuelled on Red Bull and the crowd was equally as crazy. With motocross riders throwing themselves around, guys in cool-boxes flying across the room, scooters, BMXs, oversized skateboards and wheelchairs defying the laws of physics, we were definitely treated to a show that I would only expect Houdini to pull off with as much ease. Travis and co. do a great job of hyping up the audience but the real stars are the athletes pulling the tricks but there were a few stand-outs.

…it was an annoying relief when they landed…

As you may have guessed, Wheelz is the easy choice (if you don’t know about Wheelz then you should read our blog post about him here). He’s easily one of the most inspiring people that you’ll ever meet. He’s had to endure a lot in his life but he’s never had the smile wiped off his face – unless he gets knocked out for three minutes, which happened at a recent show! With Wheelz throwing himself off a huge jump it’s hard not to be impressed by the man. Tom Pages was also incredible throughout the night. He’s one crazy Frenchman with a pair of testicles you could probably see from the moon. With tricks thrown here, there and everywhere, it was hard not to have him as one of the standouts. Travis Pastrana also grabbed two unsuspecting victims from the crowd and put them both on a motocross bike with a professional rider. ’3 guys 1 bike’ probably won’t cause an internet sensation but in the o2 Arena, it was more than nail biting. After making the crowd think that it was never going to work with a clip from a previous show of guys crashing, it was an annoying relief when they landed. Not only that but triple backflipping on a BMX, tandem backflip on a scooter and tricycle, it was a pretty crazy night to say the least.

Rider: Adam Jones
Photo: Ray Chuss

My only problem with the show is that skateboarding isn’t as well represented as the other sports. In motocross, MTB, BMX, scooter and inline, you have the best of the best there to show off. I’m not putting a downer on the guys and girls skateboarding in the show, they’re incredible but in terms of big names in the sport, they could do with a few more. It’s lacking the extra numbers that are made up with the other athletes – but maybe that’s just a personal problem!

If you’re heading to the show wanting it to quench your thirst for action sports before your next fix then be prepared to be disappointed. It won’t quench it, it will only make you more thirsty. It’s a delightful position to be in! All in all it’s an incredible show and not one that I had expected at the o2. They’re already planning and plugging Nitro Circus Live 2013 and it’s apparently going to be bigger and better! No idea how that’s going to be possible but something tells me I’ll be first in line to buy my ticket.

Definitely go to this, it’s f*cking awesome.

Nitro Circus Live – London : Featuring Travis Pastrana a Motocross video by MOTO

2013 DATES

Tuesday Nov 26th – Manchester Arena
Thursday Nov 28th – Birmingham NIA
Friday Nov 29th – London Earls Court

Pre-sale goes up to visitors to www.nitrocircuslive.com from Wednesday and on sale generally on Friday morning.
Prices are:

London
£35 / £40 / £45 / £50
Manchester and Birmingham
£35 / £40 / £45
Ticket Hotline is
0844 8718803

So in honour of how crazy and entertaining this is we’re running a little competition – Challenge Travis!. We’ve got a stash of prizes to give away to three winners and all you have to do is think of a trick. Just think of a trick that could be as mad as anything that you reckon would be good to see Travis perform when he and the Nitro Circus head to London town. To enter though you have to do some simple tweeting. Just hit the RT button after you’ve seen the Mpora Twitter shout about the comp and change *Add random trick* to be whatever your trick is! Simple!

The Mpora tweet will read as follows:
*Add random trick* to #ChallengeTravis @ Nitro Circus! RT & fill in the trick to win Nitro Circus DVDs, t-shirts & hats!
So your tweet could be:
RT @Mpora *Backwards Front flip 1800* to #ChallengeTravis @ Nitro Circus! RT & fill in the trick to win Nitro Circus DVDs, t-shirts & hats!

So, like I said, we’ve got three sets of prizes to giveaway and it’s all kicking off on Twitter now! If you want some more information on Challenge Travis then head over to the Red Bull site to find out more but if you just want to get involved right now, then check out the Mpora Twitter and get involved!
You’ve got one week which means it’ll all end next Friday (July 27th)!