The corporation went to air in Northern Ireland on the 15th of September 1924…
To mark 100 years of Beeb services in Northern Ireland, BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle is celebrating with a day of programmes across the schedule on Sunday 15th September, including a specially recorded concert from St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. The Living Air is a fun celebration of the arts and creativity and the BBC’s role in connecting people and places. It will feature performances by the Ulster Orchestra and Codetta and a new musical commission from Neil Martin.
The concert will be presented by John Toal, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey. It will include a fast-paced mix of music, much of it with a local theme, and readings from writers whose work has brought magic to the BBC’s airwaves over the last 100 years. There’ll also be newspaper reports about the start of BBC services in Northern Ireland, a special Fantasia on Ulster Airs by Paul Campbell and a brand new arrangement of a piece by Public Service Broadcasting, which has been created for this BBC centenary event by JF Abrahams.
The Living Air is a showcase for artistic talent and a tribute to everything that broadcasting has made possible – seeking to bring the best of everything, to everyone, everywhere.
The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle and BBC Sounds at 7pm on September 15th, coinciding with the centenary of the actual moment when BBC services began in Northern Ireland in 1924.
