BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals 2016

The roll-call of top talent includes Alan Cumming, Sir Antonio Pappano, Val McDermid, Travis, Mariella Frostrup, Clive Anderson and comedians ranging from Al Murray to Paul Merton, Shappi Khorsandi, Rory Bremner, Susan Calman, Henning Wehn and Nish Kumar.

The hub of the BBC’s activity will be at a new location for 2016 from August 5 to 26 – in the grounds of George Heriot’s School in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle on Lauriston Place – and there will also be recordings and transmissions from around the city.

As well as reflecting the diverse buzz of the Festivals, there will be uniquely BBC events including:

• The BBC Radio New Comedy Award semi-finals and final; past winners have included Rhod Gilbert, Lucy Beaumont and Alan Carr.
• Edinburgh-born Donald Runnicles making his final appearance as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
• Steve Wright in the Afternoon taking The Big Show on the road to Edinburgh for the first time, with Fascinating Fringe Factoids.
• The One Show with Alex Jones – and a Celtic fringe of guest presenters Patrick Kielty and Jack Docherty – coming live from the BBC garden at George Heriot’s School.
• An international live stream and BBC Scotland broadcast of Alan Cumming’s Edinburgh International Festival show.
• Authors Live broadcasts streamed live from the Festival to schools.

Taking the pulse of the Festival to audiences across the UK will be Kirsty Wark with three Edinburgh Nights on BBC Two; three editions of The One Show on BBC One and Radio 2’s Steve Wright and Al Murray live from the BBC’s new Festival hub. Radio 3 will have special Edinburgh editions of In Tune, World on 3, Late Junction, Jazz Line-Up, Jazz Now, The Verb and Record Review.

Further topical and artistic reflections direct from the world’s biggest cultural festival will be provided on Radio 4, with three special editions of Front Row and a Saturday Review as the Festival nears its climax, while Radio 4’s Funny From the Fringe podcast will bring listeners a daily distillation of all the comedy-related news and reviews. BBC Radio 5 live will also be in Edinburgh for special Afternoon Editions and Will Gompertz’s Heat Map.

Radio Scotland’s popular Janice Forsyth Show will of course bring all the buzz with three weeks of Festival fayre, while the weekly Breaking the News will have three editions providing a light-hearted take on the news agenda of the time, and Radio Nan Gaidheal’s Feasgar, Rapal and Aielag will have editions from the Scottish capital. There will also be special programming from the Asian Network, World Service, Radio Cymru and BBC Local Radio.

BBC Arts Online will have live streams of conversations with top names from the International Festival, as well as presenting on-demand highlights of the Book Festival, the Art Festival and Fringe. There will be special Edinburgh editions of BBC Loop, the new digital project from BBC Scotland of short films on www.facebook.com/bbcloop covering current trends and the next generation of creative talent across Scotland on Facebook and iPlayer. The Social, a social media platform showcasing new talent in Scotland, will have a topical rhyme battle between Poets and Rappers.

Also running throughout August is the public vote for Scotland’s Favourite Book, in partnership with
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Library and Information Council. Part of the BBC #LovetoRead campaign, readers in Scotland will be asked to vote for their top ten books, with the winners revealed later in the autumn.

Also highlighting new and emerging talent will be Fresh from the Fringe and the BBC Radio New Comedy Award on Radio 4, the BBC Poetry Slam and BBC Comedy Presents.

It will culminate with all the stirring highlights from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on BBC One, with further programming recorded and then going out in ongoing months including top concerts on Radio 3.

Donalda MacKinnon, BBC Scotland’s Head of Programmes and Services, said: “Edinburgh in August is the most extraordinary cultural festival and that will be reflected across a wide range of BBC platforms and programming.

“Over and above our news coverage, interviews and snippets across the BBC that such a festival engenders, there will also be a fantastic range of dedicated festival coverage, providing a wide audience with a very intimate and dynamic view of Edinburgh in all its glory.
“That includes, from our new hub at George Heriot’s School, Radio 4 festival favourites, The One Show, Edinburgh Nights with Kirsty Wark, Steve Wright and his posse in Auld Reekie, and perhaps most poignantly for music lovers, Donald Runnicles’ swansong as Chief Conductor from the BBC SSO.

“Alongside this we’ll also showcase new and emerging talent while also enjoying festival stalwarts such as the Tattoo.”

Full Highlights

TV

The One Show will be live from the heart of the Festivals for three programmes on 24th, 25th and 26th August. Alex Jones will be joined by guest presenters Patrick Kielty and Jack Docherty for topical stories and big name guests.

On Edinburgh Nights on BBC Two on 13th, 20th and 27th August, Kirsty Wark presents interviews, highlights and performances from the world’s biggest festival of arts and culture. Featuring interviews with Angus Deayton and Richard Wilson; Tony Award winning actress Cherry Jones on Tennessee Williams’ iconic play The Glass Menagerie; highlights from the Edinburgh Art Festival; and a focus on authors and playwrights whose work reflects the very contemporary issues of refugees and migration.

Following a live stream of Alan Cumming’s International Festival show – Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs – BBC Scotland will broadcast an hour-long edition of the show.

Topping it all will be the visual splendour of highlights from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, broadcast on BBC One on August 29th.

RADIO

Radio Scotland

The Janice Forsyth Show will be recording as live in the mornings over three weeks at the BBC’s new site at George Heriot’s School (recordings will take place 10am-12 noon Monday to Thursday, for broadcast in her usual 2pm-4pm slot). Janice hosts her show in front of a live audience, with a vibrant selection of guests, bringing listeners the best of theatre, music, comedy, cabaret, books and entertainment from across the Edinburgh Festivals. Confirmed acts so far include Young Fathers, Mogwai with Mark Cousins, Stewart Lee, John Tiffany, Rula Lenska with Lee Latchford Evans (aka Lee from Steps), and Omid Djalili.

BBC Radio Scotland’s award-winning topical news panel show returns to the Fringe for three recordings in August. Hosted by Des Clarke, Breaking the News takes a sideways look at the week’s top stories and puts a Scottish slant on it. Joining Des for his big shows in the capital are comedians Fred MacAulay, Zoe Lyons and Nish Kumar with journalist Chitra Ramaswamy (Thursday 11th August); comedians Rory Bremner, Felicity Ward and Andrew Maxwell with bestselling crime writer Val McDermid (Thursday 18th August); and comedians Susan Calman, Alex Horne and Simon Evans with acclaimed author Louise Welsh (Thursday 25th August.)

Travelling Folk will be recorded at the BBC’s Blue Tent on August 16th for transmission the following Sunday. Among the guests on the folk and roots programme, presented by Bruce McGregor, will be fiddle quartet RANT.

Julia Sutherland will record two editions of A Funny Kind of World, for later transmission, in which comedians from far and wide give their observations on everything from being a tourist in Scotland, to travelling abroad and issues such as race and immigration.

Radio 2

Al Murray (Saturday 6 August and Saturday 13 August, 10am-1pm, BBC Radio 2)
Al Murray broadcasts live for BBC Radio 2 from Edinburgh. In the first of two shows, there’ll be music performances from the Doug Anthony All Stars, and chat with Likely Lad Rodney Bewes, Henning Wehn, 24's Mary-Lynn Rajskub and Brian Pern, aka Simon Day. In the second show he’ll be joined by Travis who will perform live and there will be chat and comedy with the Radio Active team, Zoe Lyons and Bec Hill, plus Sara Pascoe (from W1A).

Steve Wright in the Afternoon (Friday 19 August, 2pm-5pm, BBC Radio 2)
Steve and the team take The Big Show on the road to broadcast live from the BBC tent at the Edinburgh Festival. Featuring a host of celebrity guests – including Stewart Lee, Shappi Khorshandi and Susan Calman – plus a live studio audience who’ll be part of the show, Fascinating Fringe Factoids, The Non-Stop Oldies and a few surprises!

The Radio 2 Arts Show (Thursdays, 10pm, BBC Radio 2)
The Radio 2 Arts Show will take a lively and unpretentious look at the latest events, shows and exhibitions.

Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 returns to Edinburgh Festival this year, connecting its audiences with remarkable music and culture with a series of broadcasts, many of them live, from the BBC tent, Queens Hall and Usher Hall. BBC Radio 3 programmes In Tune, World on 3, Jazz Now, Jazz Line-up, The Verb, Record Review and Late Junction will all broadcast from Edinburgh Festival.

A glittering array of star names appear in the 15 Queen’s Hall classical concerts broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 11am each weekday morning, from Monday 8th August. Many of the concerts will be broadcast live with presenters Donald Macleod and Jamie MacDougall. Artists featuring in the broadcasts include singers Simon Keenlyside, Magdalena Kozena, Danielle de Niese, Florian Boesch and Mark Padmore, and pianists Stephen Hough, Richard Goode and Danil Trifonov, alongside many other great instrumentalists and ensembles.

On Monday 8th August, 4.30-6.30pm, BBC Radio 3’s drivetime show In Tune comes live from the BBC’s Blue Tent. Presenter Sean Rafferty welcomes a sparkling international line-up of guests appearing at this year’s International Festival and Fringe, including live music from Canadian jazz pianist Ron Davis and his quartet showcasing the classical-jazz fusion of Symphronica, vocalist Daniela Nardi giving us a flavour of her Italian-flavoured Espresso Manifesto, American concert pianist George Li taking to the baby grand, and the Ferio Saxophone Quartet with rich harmonies and exuberant playing.

Later on at 11pm, BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Now will be live from the BBC’s Blue Tent, with Soweto Kinch presenting music by two of Scotland’s cutting-edge jazz bands; Trio Red, with drummer Tom Bancroft, pianist Tom Cawley and bassist Calum Gourlay, and acclaimed guitarist Kevin MacKenzie’s new trio featuring bassist Mario Caribe and drummer Alyn Cosker.

Five concerts at the Usher Hall between 6th and 28th August will be recorded for later broadcast by Radio 3 In Concert, as part of the programme’s Edinburgh International Festival week beginning on 12th September. The series starts with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia performing Rossini’s Stabat Mater under conductor Sir Antonio Pappano. For the second concert broadcast they are joined by pianist Boris Berezovsky for Rachmaninov’s ever-popular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, followed by a concert from the Russian National Orchestra and dynamic Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits playing music by Musorgsky, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Two special concerts from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra will round off the week. The first is a tribute to Pierre Boulez, directed by the orchestra’s Artist-In-Association and close friend of the late Boulez, Matthias Pintscher. Donald Runnicles then makes his final appearance as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducting Schoenberg’s mammoth Gurrelieder in the closing concert of the EIF’s Usher Hall concert series.

On 19th August BBC Radio 3’s World on 3 comes live from the BBC’s Blue Tent, presented by Mary Ann Kennedy. Featuring a special performance by musicians from GRIT, an epic reimagining of the final album by influential Celtic musician Martyn Bennett. Plus music from award winning, Scottish singer-songwriter Karine Polwart and new BBC Introducing talent in the form of local band Sinderins.

Radio 3’s Jazz Line-up, which explores jazz music from both mainstream players and the new generation of younger artists, will host performances from Dennis Rollins, Cleveland Watkiss and Julian Joseph on 20th August.

The Late Junction team is in Edinburgh this year, with presenter Verity Sharp showcasing a diverse selection of the best bits of the Fringe, Art and International Festivals. Indian-folk-jazz fusion trio Yorkston/Thorne/Khan will play live in the studio on 16th August, as part of a programme also featuring award-winning choir Tenebrae and Mogwai frontman Stuart Braithwaite. On 17th August, Late Junction broadcasts a live concert from Edinburgh, with performing artists including Scottish folk-rock group Trembling Bells and fiddle player (and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra member) Alastair Savage. Performance artist FK Alexander and improv-noise band Okishima Island Tourist Association will also be featured.

Poet Ian McMillan presents The Verb, BBC Radio 3’s ‘cabaret of the word’, featuring award winning writers, alongside the most innovative up-and-coming performers. And Andrew McGregor brings a special Edinburgh edition of Record Review, looking at the week's classical music releases, with news and recommendations.

Radio 4 and 4 Extra

Mark Watson hosts the BBC Radio New Comedy Award final at the BBC hub, where six finalists will go head to head in front of a live audience and a judging panel including comedy writer and actor John Finnemore, comedian and actress Katy Wix, BBC Radio 4 and 4 Extra’s Commissioning Editor for Comedy Sioned Wiliam, and BBC Studios’ Head of Comedy Chris Sussman. There will also be performances by special guests including last year’s winner Yuriko Kotani. The final will follow two semi-finals on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th August, and heats in London, Manchester and Cardiff. BBC Radio 4, the home of Radio Comedy, will broadcast the final live on Sunday 14th August at 6.15pm.

On demand, a new podcast commissioned for August called Funny from the Fringe will bring listeners a daily distillation of all the comedy-related news, reviews and what-have-you’s, including what shows to see, survival tips to remember and interviews with both well-known and up-and-coming comedians. The podcasts, starting on Friday 5th August, will be hosted by comedian and writer Phil Ellis, whose show ‘Funz and Gamez’ won the panel prize at the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2014.

Clive Anderson brings music, comedy and conversation to the Edinburgh Fringe in two special episodes of Loose Ends (Saturday 13th August and Saturday 20th August at 6.15pm, BBC Radio 4), along with co-host Arthur Smith, special guests including actor and broadcaster Angus Deayton and actress Cherry Jones, and music performances from Camille O’Sullivan, Willis Earl Beal, and Billy Bragg and Joe Henry.

Fresh from the Fringe (Tuesday 16th August at 6.30pm and 11pm, BBC Radio 4) will once again bring comedy highlights from the best at the fest into the homes of BBC Radio 4 listeners, and two 4 Extra Stands Up at the Fringe shows (Saturday 20th August and Saturday 27th August at 10pm, BBC Radio 4 Extra) will bring the brightest and best comedians to the BBC stage in Edinburgh.

Two Festival recordings of Just a Minute with Nicholas Parsons will see Paul Merton and fellow panellists trying to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Front Row will bring together the stars and surprise hits of the Festivals in three programmes and Saturday Review will engage in sharp, critical discussion of the week's cultural events.

Mariella Frostrup brings two editions of Radio 4's weekly books programme, Open Book, to Edinburgh – one to the Book Festival at Charlotte Square Gardens (Sunday 21st August at 4pm, BBC Radio 4), where she’ll be joined by an international panel including the novelists Raja Alem and Tahmima Anam; and one to the BBC hub at George Heriot’s School (Sunday 28th August at 4pm, BBC Radio 4) for a special programme about crime writing with guests including Val McDermid and Lucy Ribchester.

And for The Life Scientific (Tuesday 11th October at 9am, BBC Radio 4), Jim Al-Khalili talks to Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, the man who created Dolly the sheep 20 years ago in Edinburgh, raising hopes and fears about the future of cloning.

Radio 5 live

On 24th and 25th August, Afternoon Edition brings big name interviews and engaging conversation, including breaking news and audience interaction, with Sarah Brett and Colin Paterson.

Will Gompertz explores the arts, including music, film, fashion and books, taking a look at how culture connects with us on a daily basis, in his Heat Map programme on Sunday 14th August.

Asian Network

The BBC Asian Network returns to Edinburgh for a fourth year. Hosted by Breakfast Show presenter Tommy Sandhu, Asian Network’s Big Comedy Night showcases the best Asian talent from across the Festivals. Audiences arriving for the show in the BBC’s big Blue Tent will be treated to live music and performances from artists appearing at the Edinburgh Mela, including Scotland-based Asian urban DJ collective Gtown Desi. Viewers can watch highlights of the show on demand on the BBC Red Button and iPlayer from Saturday 3rd September.

World Service

There’s something for everyone on the BBC World Service this August. Stand-up is a global business. From New Zealand to Hawaii, from Norway to South Africa, comedians perform in nearly every part of the world, and each country’s comedians have something different to offer. Comedy fans can enjoy What Makes The World Laugh – a selection of the best comedians who have travelled to Edinburgh from overseas, hosted by a comedian who knows Scotland just a little bit better…

Global Beats features a showcase of up and coming musical talent from the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. And in Newshour Extra with Owen Bennett Jones, guests take on a topical debate in conjunction with the Edinburgh International Culture Summit.

Radio Nan Gàidheal

Rapal will broadcast a live music show from the Edinburgh Festival on Thursday 18th August. As well as great music the programme will capture the feel of the city’s buzz by chatting to Festival goers. Rapal with Emma Lamont from 7pm – 9pm.

On 23rd August Emma’s music show Rapal will introduce Radio nan Gàidheal’s audience to three exciting new bands who are tipped for success, recorded in their music showcase on Friday 19th August in the Castle Tent. Appearing will be Mt. Doubt, Be Charlotte and Shvllows. Rapal with Emma Lamont from 7pm – 9pm (pre-record).

Radio nan Gàidheal’s lunchtime daily magazine programme Feasgar 12.30pm – 2pm, hosted by Cathy MacDonald, will broadcast live from the Radio Studio across two days - Wednesday 24th August and Friday 26th August. The programme will be a mix of Festivals chat and music.

On Friday 26th August Radio nan Gàidheal’s children’s programme Aileag will be broadcast live from the Edinburgh Festivals with pupils from Edinburgh’s Gàidhlig School, Sgoil na Pàirce, reporting all there is to see and do for youngsters around the city during Festival time.

Radio Cymru

On Friday 12th August between 12pm – 4pm comedian Tudur Owen brings his live Radio Cymru show to the Festivals, featuring witty, entertaining and amusing conversations.

Local Radio

On Thursday 11th August The Mark Forrest Show will be live from George Heriot’s School, with Festivals highlights and backstage interviews. The show is networked to all 40 BBC Local Radio stations which makes it broadcast nationally across England and the Channel Islands.

DIGITAL

The BBC Edinburgh Festivals website (bbc.co.uk/edinburghfestivals) is a destination for audiences in Edinburgh and at home. With content co-curated by BBC Arts, there will be something for everyone, from comedy to theatre to spoken word.

BBC Arts Online will again feature live streams of conversations with top names from the Edinburgh International Festival, as well as presenting on-demand highlights from the Book Festival and the Fringe.

Special Edinburgh editions of BBC Loop, on iPlayer and Facebook, will feature films with young Scottish talent who have created new work for this year’s Festivals.

The Social, an award-winning social media platform showcasing the best new talent from Scotland,
presents Poets Versus Rappers, bringing together the finest wordsmiths in Scotland to battle it out over five rounds of topical commentary rhymes.

Audiences in the city and at home can also follow the latest news and highlights of the BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine.

The Ouch! Disability Talk Podcast features interviews and discussion with a personal and often humorous touch. The team will be recording across Edinburgh in August – Ouch! is available exclusively online and goes out every week.

BBC Learning

In conjunction with the Scottish Book Trust, there will be two Authors Live events filmed and available for schools to watch online. On August 14th CBeebies presenter and author Cerrie Burnell shares her passion for stories. August 26th see our first ever Authors Live broadcast streamed live to schools from the BBC’s Blue Tent in Edinburgh with Steve Cole, author of many books including Stop Those Monsters! and Magic Ink.

In addition to these very special shows in our big Blue Tent, we will be offering a host of more informal sessions and activities for younger audiences. We’ll be showcasing BBC Learning campaigns including #LovetoRead, Comedy Classroom and Make it Digital. We will work with local partners including Edinburgh Libraries, Dynamic Earth and the RSPB to offer fun and interactive sessions for children and young people across the month.

BBC Research & Development

The BBC’s Research & Development team conducted innovative work last August to look at ways to transfer technology out of the lab and in to the business, developing techniques to present large, rich live events like the Edinburgh Festivals even more engagingly to audiences at home and on the move. The team return to the Festivals this summer, working in a variety of venues across the city, experimenting with pioneering low-cost capture techniques and inventive content curation tools.

Our new BBC base

Our new BBC broadcast and audience hub for 2016 (Fringe venue number 25) can be found in the picturesque grounds of George Heriot’s School on Lauriston Place. We will be open from 9am to 11pm every day from 5th to 26th August, and on Fridays and Saturdays until 1am.

Visitors don’t need a show ticket to come and relax in our garden, enjoy a game of table tennis, and sit back and watch BBC shows and content on our big screen. Live music and performances will take place against the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. Our family-friendly sessions and workshops in the Castle Tent are suitable for most ages. There will be hot and cold drinks and food and free Wi-Fi available.

RT