Radio 2 announces media partnership with Evening Standard Theatre Awards
BBC Radio 2 today announces a new partnership with the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
Published: 21 September 2015
I’m delighted to make a further commitment to Radio 2’s arts programming by forging this partnership which celebrates the very best of London's theatreland.
Radio 2 will launch the inaugural Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical on Elaine Paige’s programme on Sunday 4 October between 1pm and 3pm. Listeners will be able to cast their vote for the winners until midnight on Sunday 25 October at bbc.co.uk/radio2.
The winner of the award will be announced live from the awards ceremony on Sunday 22 November 2015, as part of Claire Teal’s Sunday night programme between 9-11pm.
Radio 2 will then broadcast highlights of the awards with backstage interviews, performances and reporting from the red carpet in a special Radio 2 Arts Show, presented by Anneka Rice on Friday 27 November at 10pm.
In its 61st year, the annual awards celebrate outstanding achievement and performance in London theatre.
Elaine Paige says: “Following Radio 2's visit to the Tony Awards in New York earlier this year, I'm thrilled that listeners to my Sunday afternoon show will decide the winner of the Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical at these special awards.”
Lewis Carnie, Radio 2 Head of Programmes says: "I’m delighted to make a further commitment to Radio 2’s arts programming by forging this partnership which celebrates the very best of London's theatreland."
Evgeny Lebedev, Evening Standard publisher, says: “Britain’s most popular radio station is a fitting partner for the biggest awards in British theatre. Our Evening Standard event aims to celebrate exceptional creative talent – which is exactly what Radio 2 does so well. I’m confident that together we can ensure the Theatre Awards reach a vast and engaged audience.”
This follows Radio 2’s partnership with the Tony Awards, which took place in June this year, and saw Radio 2 broadcast highlights from New York’s Radio City Music Hall. As part of the special show, Elaine Paige caught up with Broadway’s busiest star, the inimitable Kristin Chenoweth, who co-hosted the ceremony, as well as Tony Award-nominated British actress Dame Helen Mirren.
Other recent arts programming on Radio 2 includes Hooray For Bollywood with Shilpa Shetty, a four-part guide to the music and the glamour of the Indian film industry, and When Elvis Met The Beatles, a drama inspired by the secret meeting that took place at Elvis’s Bel-Air mansion is August 1965.
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