I don’t approve of taxpayers having to fund big sporting events but I am glad that Glasgow has won the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Better that our money be spent on infrastructure than most other state boondoggles.
And one of those beneficiaries of the state is the BBC.
Isn’t it astounding that the Beeb managed to screw up Glasgow’s big moment?
BBC Scotland last night apologised after missing the moment of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games victory
Come on now – it’s not like it’s every day that the Queen gets invited to Celtic Park.
O/T
Someone has pointed out that now that Celtic Park will be used as a venue, God Save the Queen will be played there if England win a medal.
…
I wonder why that proud Scot Gordon Brown wasnt there to hog the glory? Perhaps the BBC did not attend because it doesnt wish to give a platform to the hated Royal Fammily? Or is Gordon Brown punishing Glasgow for voting SNP by ordering the BBC not to cover the event?
Why am I not surprised this happened? I have the misfortune to have to watch BBC Scotland, and it is just so amateur. Count your selves lucky, you south of the border, that you do not have to watch its second rate journalists, its terrible sports coverage, its ‘comedy’ programmes and its appalling River City soap.
The biggest live event for years, BBC Scotland has a special programme to cover it, complete with outside broadcast teams across Scotland, and they mess it up. In a normal company heads would role.
Other TV stations and BBC Radio Scotland all managed to catch the actual announcement, although none had as many outside broadcast cameras covering the story as the corporation.
How typical. Despite the overmanning they still screw up. Biased and useless.
Which broadcasters will bid for the coverage of the Glasgow games? None. The BBC will cover them, just as it did for the Manchester ones and all the Olympics. Noboby watches these events, but the BBC covers them.
The BBC knows what we should be interested in, even if we don’t know it ourselves.
Scrap all coverage of the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Nobody would give a monkeys.
If the BBC is really short of money it should not cover such events.
How many of us watching this KNEW they were going to foul up? I saw it coming. Amateurish just does not begin to describe BBC Scotland. I was horrified to discover that this went out nationwide on News 24. One highlight though: Jackie Bird talking about how Glasgow had already reserved 85,000 hotel rooms, which had impressed the games federation. Alex Salmond responded: “And that’s just for the BBC!”
“Someone has pointed out that now that Celtic Park will be used as a venue, God Save the Queen will be played there if England win a medal.”
I doubt it. England use “Land of Hope and Glory” as an anthem at the Commonwealth Games. A poor choice in my opinion, since it does not refer to England at all. “Jerusalem” would be much better.
The BBC also missed Blair’s final speech to the House. To be fair, they only had a few months to schedule that so the mistake is understandable.
Oh I see it’s just incompetance! So, when they cut off part of the opposition leader’s remarks on the budget it’s because they are just useless and not because they don’t want to give the Tories air time. I see it all now!
Some misconceptions at work here…
There is no reason to believe the Queen would not be welcome at Celtic Park.
I’m sure the officials of Celtic FC will have no qualms whatsoever about hosting Her Majesty. Further, I am quite sure that she will very much enjoy the hospitality of the club!
Yes, the BBC do seem to have a history of missing landmark moments.
The one that has always stuck in my memory was the coverage surrounding the Good Friday Agreement.
I was watching it live as Adams & Trimble came out onto the steps in Belfast to make their historic statements. Adams worked through his five minutes, faithfully caught by the BBC cameras. Trimble stepped forth to make his contribution, got about two sentences in….and then we were suddenly transported to Downing Street where Prime Minister ‘Tony’ Blair was expected to make a statement. We then had several minutes at looking at the front door of No 10 whilst the commentator told us again what a marvellous event it was. Eventually the ‘straight kinda guy appeared’ to modestly accept our universal adoration as the man who made it all possible.
To this day I’ve never seen Trimble’s speech. Maybe Mr Reith’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the BBC archives could direct me to the footage.
PJ | 12.11.07 – 3:26 pm
Are you sure your memory ain’t playing tricks?
My own recollection of that day was that George Mitchell spoke first, then Trimble, then John Hume and only then Adams.
If that’s true – and you saw Adams, then Trimble had already spoken.
…..actually PJ, I should have noticed….your memory is definitely playing tricks:
..and then we were suddenly transported to Downing Street where Prime Minister ‘Tony’ Blair was expected to make a statement. We then had several minutes at looking at the front door of No 10 whilst the commentator told us again what a marvellous event it was.
Nope. Never happened.
Blair was at Stormont at the time.
And there were loads of witnesses!
JR
Out of interest, where are you getting your information from? My recollection is of Adams & Trimble standing on some steps (of presumably Stormont?) Adams spoke first. Then Trimble until he was cut off. It’s quite likely that Mitchell spoke first to announce that agreement had been reached and I missed him but, to put the event in context, Wiki has the announcement at 17:36 on Good Friday 10April which ties in with my recollection as I’d just got in from work. (Yes some of us do work Bank Holidays) I spent the rest of the evening channel surfing, hoping to catch the whole thing, but never did.
As to Blair being there: Agreement was reached 17 hours after the deadline set by Mitchell two weeks before. At the time there was considerable pessimism over whether the talks would succeed at all. (What I am describing is the “news-flash” as it happened, not the staged event which I believe the Bliar flew over to the following day) The idea that at that point His Tonyness was sitting upstairs at Stormont waiting for Sinn Fein or the UUP to throw their toys out of the pram yet again seems highly unlikely.
Incidentally, I’d quite forgotten that Hume was party to the agreement. Did he miss his moment in the limelight as well? And what was the name of the party he headed?
I do wonder whether the BBC’s treatment of Trimble was a foretaste of the future. You don’t hear much about the UUP either nowdays do you? Still, if the Beeb have to grit their teeth and suck up to that old thug Paisley for the odd interview at least it adds humour to life.
PJ | 14.11.07 – 8:52 pm
I’ve checked the archive and the BBC did cover this in a live special presented by Peter Sissons.
My recollection is of Adams & Trimble standing on some steps (of presumably Stormont?)
Yes, it was the Castle Buildings, Stormont.
Adams spoke first.
No. Mitchell, then Trimble. Followed by Hume, Adams and Alderdice, in that order.
Wiki has the announcement at 17:36 on Good Friday 10April which ties in with my recollection
Mitchell’s announcement began at 17.36.41 precisely.
Trimble began his ‘we rise from the table with the Union stronger…’ speech at 17.41.42.
I spent the rest of the evening channel surfing, hoping to catch the whole thing, but never did.
It was repeated by the BBC at 20.10 and later again in edited form in a package on Newsnight, as far as I can see.
As to Blair being there……What I am describing is the “news-flash” as it happened, not the staged event which I believe the Bliar flew over to the following day….
No, Blair had been there since the previous Tuesday evening. He took an active part in the negotiations. His last meeting with Trimble was at 15.20 on Friday.
Amazingly (given his job spec) Alastair Campbell involved himself in the process too.
Blair supplied Trimble with a letter giving him political cover on 2 outstanding points at around 1600. Bill Clinton then spoke to the party leaders by phone.
I’d quite forgotten that Hume was party to the agreement. Did he miss his moment in the limelight as well?
By no means.
And what was the name of the party he headed?
The SDLP.
You don’t hear much about the UUP either nowadays do you?
No. Trimble is a member of the Conservative Party now.
Still, if the Beeb have to grit their teeth and suck up to that old thug Paisley for the odd interview….
He’s not known for being reticent when faced with an opportunity to be on the telly.
JR
My sincere thanks for your obviously painstaking research.
Now here’s a curious thing:
I took the trouble to phone Ireland earlier on and discus the matter with the lady who was with me at the time. She had somewhat of a personal interest in the outcome of the talks. I know she was particularly interested in precisely what Adams had to say, as he was somebody who’d she’d known personally, but she was equally interested in the words of all the central players. It was her jumping around the room and yelling four letter words at the BBC, its staff and all who sail in it when we were abruptly taken to the Bliar speech that made it stick in my mind.
Now the curious thing is that she remembers it much the way I’ve recounted. She can’t confirm that it was Trimble that was cut off, so maybe that’s my error, but in essence she recalls a similar sequence of events. She also seems to recall Blair being in London at that point and that he flew to Belfast immediately after. Bearing in mind the security considerations, the whereabouts & travel plans of the PM weren’t exactly banner headlines at that time.
It looks like we’re both subject to some sort of collective delusion. I’ll have to warn her to cut back on the Bushmills.
Anyway thanks again for your diligent perusing of the archives
Mo
You must live in a bubble if you think persons connected with Celtic Football Club will be happy with the Queen visiting their ground.
This is the ground where songs in support of the IRA still reverberate, there is also a a nice wee ditty about killing British Soldiers.
There are no Scottish saltires or Union flags displayed at this ground only the flag of a foreign nation.
There is also the episode (should you have forgotten) where a minutes silence to the Queen Mother was cut short because of the barracking (it was actually mentioned on BBC Scotland which was amazing)
Sorry MO you are wrong