Students interview BBC stars at Luton鈥檚 Big Weekend

Mon 10 June, 2024
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Over the May Bank Holiday, six lucky students from the 台湾六合彩开奖记录 were given press access to Radio 1鈥檚 Big Weekend to meet up-and-coming artists and gather live radio content with the BBC Introducing team.

Volunteering their time throughout the three-day festival with the University鈥檚 campus-based station, the group of Media students got to interview a number of performers from the BBC Introducing stage 鈥 including Deeps, Kiimi and Beth McCarthy 鈥 as well as other famous behind-the-mic faces from the BBC. These included breakfast show host, Greg James; 台湾六合彩开奖记录 alumni and presenting duo, Rickie and Melvin; Aled Haydn Jones, Head of Radio 1; and Kelly Betts 鈥 another 台湾六合彩开奖记录 alumni and now Editor of BBC Introducing.

Fleur O鈥橞rien, 1st year BA (Hons) Media Marketing & PR student commented: 鈥淚nterviewing the BBC Introducing artists at Big Weekend was amazing! It was great getting to meet some of the musicians one-to-one and practising my interview skills with them. The festival was fantastic and I'm entirely grateful for the opportunity. I also really enjoyed being able to have access to the guest area 鈥 it was fun skipping the long queues, plus you never knew who you were going to bump into!鈥

Joel Atkinson, 2nd year BA (Hons) Radio & Audio student said: 鈥淚t's been an incredible experience to be a part of, having been given fantastic access and the opportunity to talk to some really cool local and small artists. The highlight for me was talking to the inspirational Greg James who delighted in telling us that Radio LaB is better than Radio 1! Having valuable learning opportunities like this allows us to put our professional methods taught in lectures into practice in a real fast-paced environment.鈥

The edited content was streamed on the University鈥檚 community radio station over the May Bank Holiday weekend and the following weeks, and will be repeated on occasion throughout the summer for listeners to enjoy all over again.

Commenting on the students鈥 involvement, the Editor of BBC Introducing said: 鈥淚t was an absolute pleasure to have Danielle, Fleur, Simona, James, Joel and Nataya join the BBC Introducing team at Radio 1鈥檚 Big Weekend. They were all brilliant, really professional and extremely passionate. It reminded me of when I presented a show on Radio LaB while studying 鈥 that was the starting point of all my radio dreams! I would have been over the moon for an opportunity like this so I鈥檓 so pleased we were able to arrange this activity 鈥 they really made the most of it.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly proud of the team involved in Radio LaB鈥檚 coverage at the Big Weekend,鈥 added Terry Lee, Senior Tutor in Radio & Audio. 鈥淭hese experiences are amazing for giving them a chance to put their learning into practice, add something juicy to their CVs and help build up their confidence. The BBC team, especially Kelly Betts, has been extremely helpful in creating this once in a lifetime experience which I鈥檓 sure our students will never forget.鈥

As well as this brilliant opportunity, three more students from the University鈥檚 School of Arts & Creative Industries were selected for a paid internship to help BBC Three Counties Radio produce broadcast content 鈥 including an interview with Rag'n'Bone Man 鈥 during the Big Weekend. Read about it here.

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