BBC Radio 1

Summary

  • Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Greg James has completed his global mission to get hold of one person from every country around the world to tell coronavirus to do one!

  • In just one week, we’ve heard from all 193 UN recognised countries.

  • It's rare that everyone in the world is affected by the same thing at the same time, but it feels as though we can all agree we need coronavirus to go away.

  • And Greg saw this as the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together.

  • Join the conversation on social using the hashtag #upyourscorona

  1. A casual 193 countries laterpublished at 10:24 BST 29 July 2020

    It's taken a week and all of your help, but we've done it! 193 countries completed, 1 blimp deployed, and now a ridiculous billboard at Piccadilly Circus to celebrate.

    Here are some of your reactions - join the conversation on social using the hashtag #UpYoursCorona

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  2. And finally, Steven just represented the UK 🇬🇧published at 10:03 BST 29 July 2020

    Last Wednesday truck driver Steven had an idea. He told Greg, "I think we should go a bit more international with it, and get listeners to ring in from around the world, we need a list, and we can tick them all off!"

    And so a silly global mission was born.

    Greg said, "I was initially excited and thankful, but now I'm loosing some hair, and some of the team haven't slept for a week."

    So there really was only one person to shout "Up Yours" on behalf of the UK.

    And with that, that's 193 countries ticked off in just 7 days!

    We salute you Steven.

  3. The final few!published at 10:03 BST 29 July 2020

    We've brought together so many people in the last few minutes! Here's a roundup of everyone we've had on:

    • Rayhan has been on with LOADS of energy. Calling from Uzbekistan, she gave us a huge shoutout representing her 34 million fellow Uzbeks!
    • Idra came on live from Niger and gave us a shoutout(ish) thanks to a bit of spontaneous French from Greg!
    • Juviano was on from Guinea-Bissau. He gave us a big shoutout representing "the most beautiful country in the world".
    • International calls in Tuvalu are very difficult - it's in the middle of the South Pacific so connection is poor - but we got a voice note from Silafaga who works for the Tuvalu Government Media!
    • Bonus Fact - The total land area of Tuvalu is 10 square miles. That’s around 2/3 the size of Truro, Cornwall.
    • Then Radio 1 listener Mark gave us a contact in Mauritania, so we spoke to Lance, who's a project supervisor in the construction.
  4. Greg just checked in with the Up Yours call centre ☎️published at 09:47 BST 29 July 2020

    Behind-the-scenes is a dedicated call centre whose task it is to hit up everyone who has got in touch using the Up Yours form.

    Sophie told Greg: "My heart is racing right now I can’t explain".

    "Everyone is going a bit wild right now we’ve been calling anyone we can, to find the last few countries."

  5. "Guinea Bissau is a real problem area..."published at 09:37 BST 29 July 2020

    Progress update from Greg

    Greg James
    Presenter, BBC Radio 1

    "...And Tuvalu could well be the one that ruins the whole challenge. You have to book a phone line to try and get someone. We have 25 minutes left, and we are going to see what happens."

  6. Fun facts about Kazakhstanpublished at 09:33 BST 29 July 2020

    If you need a distraction from the tension... Here are a couple of facts about Kazakhstan in honour of our caller Natalie on Monday.

    • The national drink of Kazakhstan is 'Kumis' which is fermented horse milk.
    • Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country. Even though they don't have a coastline, the country still has a small navy.
    Flag of KazakhstanImage source, Fair use
  7. We've made it to Djibouti, finally!published at 09:25 BST 29 July 2020

    From Greg's, "really tricky list" we've ticked off Djibouti. It's in the horn of Africa, between Ethiopia and Somalia, and our caller Saada told us the country is packed full of beautiful beaches and has fantastic weather. Not jealous, at all.

    We also heard from Rotee in Kirabati, which is made of 73 tiny islands in the South Pacific. Just 6 countries and 40 minutes to go...

    DJIBOUTIImage source, N/A
  8. "The places we are struggling with. Hitting the desk struggling, nearly"published at 09:07 BST 29 July 2020

    Greg James
    Presenter, BBC Radio 1

    We've come this far. We need your help in tracking down people in these four countries.

    • Guinea Bissau
    • Tuvalu
    • Uzbekistan
    • Mauritania

    You know the drill, submit any details via bbc.co.uk/upyours

  9. "It might look on the surface like an excuse to say up yours repeatedly"published at 08:57 BST 29 July 2020

    Greg James
    Presenter, BBC Radio 1

    "We've been connecting everybody, through this devastating crisis, we’ve all been going through the last few months, that’s the whole point. We’ve been shining a light on different parts of the world, and hearing some happy stories, hopeful stories, and sad stories."

    "It might look on the surface like an excuse to say up yours repeatedly, and it is to a certain extent, but really it has been all about the people and the stories, and if we can get to 193 today that would be extraordinary."

  10. What's Chipping Sudbury got to do with it?published at 08:57 BST 29 July 2020

    At the start of the show this morning, Greg said, "We've got a problem, there are 9 countries with no leads at all".

    Luckily for us, Radio 1 listener Nick was all ears, and contacted his friend Bibijan in Turkmenistan, saying "I've got something for you to do this morning".

    Bibijan's called in from Turkmenistan's capital - Ashgabat to give us the phrase in Turkmen which translates to "Corona disappear!"

    TurkmenistanImage source, N/a
  11. Progress update 📢published at 08:46 BST 29 July 2020

    Greg's been doing some globetrotting. Here's who we've heard from so far:

    • Chandresh called in from India, and even though time is short, obviously Greg wanted to chat about cricket. Greg even guessed Chandresh's favourite cricketer - Virat Kohliin, in case you were wondering.
    • Mohammed called in from Somalia and gave us "Nagartag Corona" which translates to “Leave us alone please!"
    • Naweed called in from Afghanistan. He’s a recent graduate who’s busy doing his Masters. His phrase in Dari was كرونا، لطفاً دور باش!.
    • Sherali, a radio DJ in Tajikstan was on and gave us "Gumshav, Coronavirus" which translates to "Get lost now, corona".
    • Erica called in from Indonesia. She was in Bogo, just outside Jakarta, and says she listens to Radio 1, a lot.
    • Ginnie, who's originally from New Zealand, but now lives in Nauru. She says that her small island is still Coronavirus free, and gave us Nauran version of the Up Yours shoutout - "Krika".
    • Kouye from Benin helped us get even closer to our goal! He teaches French to 10 to 20-year-olds and did his shoutout in French, naturally.

  12. "182 countries completed, 11 to go"published at 08:31 BST 29 July 2020

    Greg James
    Presenter, BBC Radio 1

    "Surely we can get everyone to do it...

    ...can't we?"

  13. Know anyone in...published at 08:23 BST 29 July 2020

    • Djibouti
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Mauritania
    • Nauru
    • Niger
    • Turkmenistan
    • Tuvalu
    • Uzbekistan

    If so, get them to head to bbc.co.uk/upyours

  14. "That's the desperate situation families are facing"published at 08:20 BST 29 July 2020

    James' our Sierra Leone caller has an incredible life story. Originally from The Wirral, he used his life savings to move to Africa and start a charity for street kids.

    He told us about the impact coronavirus has had on the country: "The main problem in Sierra Leone is the economic impact. For example, one of our families sold their daughter to a man double her age. That's the desperate situation families here are facing. At the moment it's a nightmare, and I'm just scared for the future."

  15. Fun facts about Bulgariapublished at 08:13 BST 29 July 2020

    Bulgarian FlagImage source, Fair use

    Need a distraction from the tension? Here are some fun facts in honour of our Bulgarian caller David from last Thursday.

    • In Bulgaria, a nod means "no".
    • Bulgarian bagpipes are a traditional instrument called gaida. They are usually made from goat hide, and don’t look quite as complicated as their Scottish counterparts.
  16. Laos 🇱🇦 and Gabon 🇬🇦 just calledpublished at 08:07 BST 29 July 2020

    Just 17 countries and 2 hours to go

    Joanna from Preston just phoned in from Laos. She’s a teacher who’s been living out in Loas for 3 years now, and then we heard from Martin from Gabon who told coronavirus to go away with, "Disparaître coronavirus".

  17. Remember truck driver Steven?published at 07:57 BST 29 July 2020

    The man who started all this nonsense

    Last week truck driver Steven had an idea, one that would lead to global nonsense.

    After spacecraft engineer, Sian called up Greg to shout "Up Yours, Corona" across Lake Constance in Germany.

    He told Greg, "I think we should go a bit more international with it, and get listeners to ring in from around the world, we need a list, and we can tick them all off!"

    And so a silly global mission was born. Greg said, "I was initially excited and thankful, but now I'm loosing some hair, and some of the team haven't slept for a week."

    But Greg had a favour to ask, "we need someone from the UK, can we call you back at 10?"

    Just need to find those 18 other countries first...

  18. "We’ve been on-air 40 minutes, and you’ve already come through"published at 07:57 BST 29 July 2020

    Greg just heard from Barun in Comoros and Kesang in Bhutan, which takes us up to 90%!

    Greg asked Barun, who works at a travel agency, what Comoros is like this time of the year. "Comoros is really peaceful. You can spend your whole weekend on the beach."

    Kesang a TV producer in Bhutan, and he called us from the middle of monsoon season.

    Fun Bhutan fact: Druk Yul — the local name for Bhutan — means "Land of the Thunder Dragon." The dragon appears on the Bhutanese flag.

    Still more to go - do you know anyone in?

    • Djibouti
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Mauritania
    • Nauru
    • Niger
    • Turkmenistan
    • Tuvalu
    • Uzbekistan

    If so, get them to head to bbc.co.uk/upyours

  19. Good morning Australia! 🇦🇺published at 07:34 BST 29 July 2020

    Well, afternoon...

    Miranda in Melbourne called in for the Better Days quiz. She shouted "Stick it Up Ya Corona!" to kick off the Breakfast Show.

    She also gave Greg some inspiration as we look at the final stretch, "Greg, if anyone is up to the challenge it's you".

    He did get a Pasty to travel the length of the UK, so if anyone can track down those final twenty countries, it's Greg.

  20. Are you going to be near Piccadilly Circus at 10am?published at 07:28 BST 29 July 2020

    A blimp just wasn't enough

    On a not so serious note, Up Yours Corona is getting its first 'screening' on the largest video advertising screen in Europe this morning.

    So if you happen to be near The Piccadilly Lights at Piccadilly Circus, let us know using the hashtag #upyourscorona.