News
From Rome to
Windsor - BBC Outside Broadcasts covers Pope’s Funeral and
Royal Wedding
BBC Outside Broadcasts provided television coverage of two major
international events, which millions tuned into all over the world
– Pope John Paul II's funeral and the Royal Wedding of Prince
Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.
The Royal Wedding took place on Saturday 9 April. There was coverage
of the couple’s journey from Windsor Castle to the Guildhall
registry office and of the blessing from St George’s Chapel.
The audience peaked at 7.7 million viewers.
Forty different cameras provided pictures of the Royal Wedding
for the World TV Organisation team, including eight at the precincts
of Windsor Castle, ten along the half-mile route to the Guildhall
registry office and fourteen more in St George’s Chapel, where
the Blessing and Dedication took place. A further nine BBC studio
and unilateral cameras provided the feed for the BBC and three International
broadcasters.
The scale of the BBC Outside Broadcasts’ operation for the
Royal Wedding increased dramatically since it was confirmed that
the Outside Broadcast team would be allowed into the chapel to cover
the blessing just two weeks before the event. More than 100 people
from BBC Outside Broadcasts were involved, with the office team
working hard to reschedule craft staff with just four days to go.
BBC Outside Broadcasts worked with around 300 people from BBC News
and BBC Radio.
Three of BBC Outside Broadcasts’ flagship trucks were used
to cover the wedding – Units 10, 11 and 12 – all large
expanding production units. BBC Outside Broadcasts’ Unit 25
truck travelled out to Rome to cover the funeral of Pope John Paul
II, which took place on Friday 8 April at 9am.
The short-notice around the announcement of the wedding and funeral
plans, combined with the heavy security which accompanies these
types of events makes logistics challenging for the BBC Outside
Broadcasts’ team, particularly in terms of ensuring the necessary
crew can be accredited for entry.
Peter Taylor was the BBC Outside Broadcasts’ Engineering
Manager responsible for overseeing the funeral. Jon Mason, Head
of Project Delivery Management at BBC Outside Broadcasts was responsible
for coverage of the Royal Wedding. Jon Mason led the team covering
the Queen Mother’s funeral, which was turned around in just
nine days.
Mark Tugwell, Director of BBC Outside Broadcasts says: “This
is exactly what BBC Outside Broadcasts does best – deliver
quality coverage of massive high-profile live events, at very short
notice. These broadcasts are frequently on an unprecedented scale,
attracting huge international audiences. We’ve delivered coverage
of many Royal Weddings, the Queen’s Coronation and the Queen
Mother’s funeral - BBC Outside Broadcasts is unique in having
the capability and experience to manage such projects, plus the
flexibility and back up to deal with plans which change by the hour.”
As well as covering the funeral and the wedding over the weekend
of 8-10 April, BBC Outside Broadcasts also captured lots of sport
and entertainment events including the Rugby special for BBC Two,
the Grand National for Grandstand, three football events for BBC’s
Match of the Day (Chelsea, Blackburn and Manchester City), the New
Zealand World Rally Championship for ITV, Boxing at Liverpool, Motor
GP and Master Golf in the US for BBC Sport, plus Bargain Hunt and
Strictly Dance Fever for BBC One.
In total 114 BBC Outside Broadcasts camera people worked over the
weekend. Nine large BBC Outside Broadcasts trucks were used, plus
another two large production units hired in separately and 50 support
vehicles.
BBC Outside Broadcasts is also involved in the build up for the
general election and will provide three double crewed units to continuously
support BBC News.
About BBC Outside Broadcasts
BBC Outside Broadcasts, a division of BBC Resources, is the leading
outside broadcast facilities provider in Europe, offering a complete
range of solutions from scanners and VT units to design of bespoke
OB production units. Combining creativity and flair with technical
expertise, project management and customer service skills, BBC Outside
Broadcasts caters for both small and large scale events across all
genres. Key clients include BBC Sport, BBC Entertainment, BBC Factual
and BBC Childrens and independents such as North One, TWI and Sunset
& Vine. BBC Outside Broadcasts also works with international
Broadcasters such as Canal +, RAI (Italy) and CTV (Canadian Television).
Further information can be found at: www.bbcresources.com/ob
For further information, please contact:
Georgie Hollett, PR and Communications Executive, BBC Resources
Tel: +44 (0)20 8576 2350
Mobile : +44 (0) 783484 5612
Email : georgie.hollett@bbc.co.uk
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