London 2012 on BBC Radio 5 live
BBC Radio 5 live will cover London 2012 with a new schedule, a brand new station and a record number of broadcast hours for a sporting event.
Radio 5 live pundits will include Olympic medallists James Cracknell (rowing), Darren Campbell (4x 100m relay), Pippa Wilson (sailing), Steve Backley (javelin), Katharine Merry (400m) and Kriss Akabusi (400m relay and hurdles) alongside familiar 5 live voices like Nicky Campbell, Peter Allen and Colin Murray.
5 live Olympics Extra, a temporary service for the Games, will start broadcasting on Wednesday 25 July 2012 on digital radio and online. It will bring extra choice to listeners, offering extended commentary and a catch-up service through the night so that Radio 5 live and 5 live Olympics Extra together will allow listeners to follow the Games 24 hours a day.
On Radio 5 live and Radio 5 live Olympics Extra there will be a record 580 hours of live commentary alongside 170 hours of highlights over the Games period. Mark Pougatch, who has broadcast at four summer Olympics, leads the 5 live coverage from London during the Games.
Regular 5 live presenters Nicky Campbell, Rachel Burden, Victoria Derbyshire, Mark Chapman, Peter Allen, Colin Murray and Tony Livesey will all feature prominently in the schedule alongside a team of top commentators led by Mike Costello for athletics and John Murray for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Jonathan Agnew will swap cricket for archery on home territory as he commentates from Lord’s.
Additionally, on 5 live Olympics Extra, Ian Payne and Anna Foster will host the action which will supplement the coverage on Radio 5 live.
Adrian Van Klaveren, Controller, BBC Radio 5 live, said: “Our coverage of London 2012 will capture all the excitement of this historic sporting occasion. We will be there 24 hours a day for our listeners with news of every medal as well as all the sporting drama as it unfolds. Wherever you are, there’s no better way to hear what’s happening in the company of some of the world’s greatest sports broadcasters.”
Throughout the Games from 6am Nicky Campbell and Rachel Burden will present 5 live Breakfast from the Olympic Park, giving listeners the latest stories at the start of the day and interviews with athletes making the news.
From 10am until 2pm Victoria Derbyshire and Mark Chapman will cover the start of the sporting schedule and from 2-6.30pm Peter Allen and Colin Murray follow all of the day’s events. Mark Pougatch will anchor the evening sessions from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. Tony Livesey (10.30pm-1am) continues the coverage with reaction and discussion from all over the UK.
Eleanor Oldroyd looks ahead to the Games in London Calling at 7pm on 5 live Sport, bringing the latest in-depth interviews and news as part of Olympic Thursdays on the BBC.
On Sunday 20 May at 11am Colin Murray’s Gold Run, described by Colin as the biggest challenge of his career, will see him attempt to track down and speak to every one of Britain's 114 living Olympic gold medal winners. The series, which continues on Sundays up to the Games, will give their stories and relive their moment of glory. Colin's mission will conclude on Sunday 22 July with a two-hour special.
Radio 1’s Dave Vitty presents 5 live’s Kids’ Guide To The Olympics on Saturday 7 and 14 July. The show will set the scene and provide an explanation for both parents and children on what to watch out for from London 2012.
Radio 5 live will have also have full coverage of the Paralympic Games. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Marc Woods will lead the team of expert commentators across BBC Radio 5 live’s Paralympic coverage from 29 August to 9 September.
John Inverdale will front Radio 5 live’s coverage across each day of the Paralympic Games and will join Shelagh Fogarty for a special weekday show between 12-2pm.
All the major action from the Olympic Park will be on BBC Radio 5 live with Radio 5 live Sports Extra providing listeners with additional coverage.
Notes to Editors
From Friday 27 July 2012 throughout the Games the schedule on BBC Radio 5 live will be:
- 6-10am 5 live Breakfast with Nicky Campbell and Rachel Burden
- 10am-2pm Victoria Derbyshire and Mark Chapman
- 2-6.30pm Peter Allen and Colin Murray
- 6.30-10.30pm Mark Pougatch
- 10.30pm-1am Tony Livesey will gauge reaction to the games from all over the UK.
The weekend pattern will vary.
On 5 live Olympics extra Ian Payne and Anna Foster will broadcast live between 10am and midnight (approximately).
Radio 5 live presenting team
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
John Murray
Athletics
Kriss Akabusi, Steve Backley, Darren Campbell, Mike Costello, Allison Curbishley, Sonja McLaughlan, Katharine Merry
Basketball
Fabulous Flournoy, Chris Mitchell
Boxing
Steve Bunce, Darren Fletcher
Canoeing
Alistair Bruce-Ball, Martin Cross, Anna Hemmings
Cycling
Simon Brotherton, Matt Dawson, Rob Hayles
Equestrian
Pippa Funnell, Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes, John Hunt
Football
Ian Dennis, Dion Dublin, Mike Ingham, John Murray, Jen O’Neill
Gymnastics
Craig Heap, Alison Mitchell
Hockey
Mel Clewlow, Alistair Eykyn, Sean Kerly
Modern Pentathlon
Pippa Funnell, Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes, John Hunt
Rowing
James Cracknell, Martin Crosse, Alan Green
Sailing
Juliette Ferrington, Pippa Wilson
Swimming
Bob Ballard, Steve Parry, Karen Pickering
Taekwondo
Jonathan Overend
Tennis
Iain Carter, Annabel Croft, Jonathan Overend,
Triathlon
Alistair Bruce-Ball, James Cracknell
Paralympic coverage
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson will lead the team of expert commentators across BBC Radio 5 live’s Paralympic coverage from 29 August to 9 September.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, who won 16 Paralympic medals (11 gold, four silver and a bronze) and also won the London Marathon six times between 1992 and 2002, will present daily from the Olympic Park during the Games.
Accompanying Tanni will be Paralympic swimmer Marc Woods, who won 12 Paralympic medals, including four golds, and a further 21 medals from European and World Championships.
BBC Radio 5 live and Radio 5 live Sports Extra will be the home of all the major commentary action and reporting from the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
John Inverdale, who has a wealth of Olympic and Paralympic experience stretching back to the Seoul Olympics in 1988, will front the coverage across the day joining Shelagh Fogarty for a special show between 12-2pm on each day of the Games.
All the major action from the Olympic Park will be on BBC Radio 5 live with Radio 5 live Sports Extra providing listeners with additional coverage.
The station has a hugely talented line-up of presenters and pundits offering great expertise and insight. Olympic medallist Steve Parry and former 400m runner Allison Curbishley also join the team. Steve has been reporting for the station for five years including covering the 2008 Games in Beijing, while Allison has been covering athletics for 5 live since the 2004 Games in Athens and was also part of our Paralympic broadcasting team in Beijing.
Run-up to the Games
All the best stories and information regarding the 2012 Paralympic Games will be covered during London Calling, 5 live Sport’s regular Thursday night Olympic and Paralympic programme.
On Sunday 1 July from 12-1pm Radio 5 live will air a special documentary telling the stories behind some of Britain’s key Paralympic medal hopes.
The programme is presented by Russell Fuller, who is one of the three Radio 5 live presenters working on the Paralympics. Russell speaks at length to several competitors, including Stef Reid (a sprinter, who lost her foot in a boating accident aged 16) telling the stories about how she became involved in competitive sport and her hopes and aspirations for London 2012. The programme will be repeated on Saturday 14 July from 6-7pm.
