The remarkable amusement park is the brainchild of La Machine, a street theater company famous for such creations as the 15-meter spider that crawled through Liverpool, in Britain, as part of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008.

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Other artists in the top five in previous years include Florence and the Machine and La Roux (Sound of 2009), Duffy and the Ting Tings (Sound of 2008), Klaxons (Sound of 2007), Bloc Party (Sound of 2005), Franz Ferdinand (Sound of 2004) and Dizzee Rascal (Sound of 2003).

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Which reminds me of a story Oscar de la Renta once told me about Daisy Fellowes, the stylish Singer sewing machine heiress.

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