August 2008
Wendy and I thoroughly enjoyed yesterdays "Party On The Mall" event in
London; it was truly unforgettable. It was good to be able to bring some of
the events live on air to Ridgeway listeners via mobile phone thanks to the
help of Mark and Dean back in the studio. We had a great vantage point; just
a few rows from the stage in front of Buckingham Palace, and Wendy was
thrilled to see her favourite band Il Divo at such close range!
The crowd was impressive; over 40,000 strong lining the Mall area and
everyone was in such high spirits waving flags and cheering in the glorious
London sunshine. We witnessed live coverage of the closing ceremony from
Beijing on giant screens erected on the stage and in the Mall area and
became part of this event itself via a live satellite link to Beijing during
the ceremonial flag handover.
We enjoyed live bands and artists including McFly, Scouting for Girls, The
Feeling, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Katherine Jenkins, James Morrison, Will Young,
Heather Small, and of course Il Divo! The show was opened in spectacular
fashion by the cast of the London stage show "We Will Rock You" this
certainly set the tone for the event and London 2012. For those who have
been following the BBC television programme "Last Choir Standing" it was
also a delight to see and hear the three choirs who are in the show final
this Saturday evening perform together. Ysgol Glanaethwy, Only Men Aloud and
Revelation performed a remarkable rendition of "Shine" the Take That hit.
It
was also a thrill to have some of the competing athletes join us who'd flown
straight in from China including Bradley Wiggins, Phillips Idowu, past
British Olympians including Sharon Davies, Mary Peters and some young
British hopefuls for 2012. We also had a visit from probably the most famous
2008 Olympian, he was introduced as the legendary Michael Phelps who managed
to win 8 gold medals for his country, the USA.
To top it all there was a most impressive fly by from the Red Arrows who
roared over the Mall and Buckingham Palace in their classic "V" formation
emitting red white and blue smoke as they went. The dazzling finale included
a dance of flames and millions of streamers were sent into the air as London
embraced itself as the new host of the next Olympic Games.
Despite the noise of the concert and the crowd we did manage to link up with
Ridgeway Radio on several occasions and bring some of the magical atmosphere
direct to listeners. We were also able to speak to one or two people after
the event to get their reactions; they all spoke of being enthralled and
amazed by such a magnificent show.
All in all it was a day we will remember forever, and one we were delighted
to share with Hospital Radio listeners in Dorchester via Ridgeway Radio.
Here's to 2012!!
Chris & Wendy Bowden