For the first time in Coventry, community radio stations will share a unified show across the city’s stations and on BBC Local Radio on 7 and 8 August, as part of the City of Culture summer programme, the Sound of Cov On-Air.
This celebration of radio spotlights the critical role community radio plays in championing up-and-coming artists, working with community partners to help tackle knife crime, working with the NHS to create a better understanding of issues such as diabetes and COVID-19 updates and vaccinations.
In partnership with BBC CWR and Creative Lives, eight local community, student and hospital radio stations have each created hour-long special shows that will be broadcast on BBC CWR and simultaneously aired across all eight stations between 4pm and 8pm on 7 August and between 12pm and 4pm on 8 August. Programmed and hosted by the community radio stations, the weekend will kick-off with a live music event at the Assembly Festival Garden in the city centre on Saturday championing the most exciting local talent.
Doesn’t everyone have a radio? It’s so accessible and brings hope and comfort to so many who may otherwise feel quite isolated. Known to be the voice of the unheard and the views of the diverse, community radio stations have their finger on the pulse of the community Molly Adkins, City of Culture producer and project lead explains: “Community Radio Stations live and work in their communities, they know their listeners, they listen to them – they have their trust. The Sound of Cov On Air hopes to raise awareness of the critical work they do and open up opportunities for the stations to work more with local businesses and brands that want to truly reach out to more youthful and diverse communities.”
Under challenging Covid restrictions, the radio stations have been working resourcefully with the support of Creative Lives and BBC CWR to each create their own hour-long programme. It will invite you into their communities, showcase their talented team and give you a chance to learn more about the people of Coventry.
One of the key partners Creative Lives, has been working hard with the eight to help create content, plan and deliver their programmes.
“It has been a joy to work on such a collaborative project over the last few months. The talent, ideas and enthusiasm that Coventry community radio stations have to offer has blown me away and I cannot wait to tune in at the weekend to hear all their hard work pay off. Creative Lives, the City of Culture and BBC CWR are all about celebrating diverse voices and encouraging people to be creative in their everyday day lives and the Sound of Cov epitomizes this approach to getting stuck in and sharing stories that matter to real people and real communities,” said Rachel New, Creative Lives Producer and BBC CWR presenter.
From one of Coventry’s most diverse communities, Kate Hills from Hillz FM kickstarts the radio-line up at 4pm, said: “The project has been an excellent opportunity in showcasing the wonderful work and diversity of the radio stations in Coventry. We are very proud to be a part of the collaboration with the BBC and City of Culture Trust and hope to continue working with the different stations in the future.”
Anyone in the country can tune in to the programme on BBC CWR via BBC Sounds and the eight radio stations to hear from a range of local voices telling the stories that represent their stations and their communities.
Siobhan Harrison, BBC CWR, Senior Producer, Culture & Communities said: “BBC CWR is passionate about the importance radio can play in bringing people together to feel a connection to their local area and the people who live in it. It has been wonderful to work with such a rich range of local community stations, to hear the stories that they want to share and work with them in bringing their stories to life.
“BBC CWR is providing a platform for all stations to share all of programmes across the weekend, creating a unified Sound of Cov across the Saturday and the Sunday, as all stations take the same shows. These programmes will be available on listen again via BBC Sounds.”
Whether you know Coventry or not this is a chance to immerse yourself in the colourful tapestry of Coventry life and discover what makes Coventry such a unique and exciting place to be in 2021.
Weekend radio line-up:
7 August: https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl78/2021/08/07
Hillz FM 16:00 – 17:00 - Meet the people of Hillfields who tell the stories of how they came to Coventry from all over the world, and how important community in this corner of the city has become to them
Abbey Radio 17:00 – 18:00 - In this hour we learn about Kenilworth's covid response, meet the woman who's keeping literature and live music going in the town, and enjoy a light-hearted radio play
Radio Panj 18:00 – 19:00 - We go on a culinary tour of India with a cooking special, and meet singing sensation Shinda Sureela, hearing all about his journey to Coventry and how his career took off
Block Radio 19:00 – 20:00 - This is a musical history of Coventry told by Block Radio's passionate DJ's and well-known names from the Ska days, with plenty of banging beats to get you moving
8 August: https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl78/2021/08/08
Radio Plus 12:00 – 13:00 - We hear about Radio Plus's youth project from ex-gang member Izekiel King, meet Coventry's women's football team and enjoy words of wisdom from Allesley's gin drinking vicar Lizzie.
Vanny Radio 13:00 – 14:00 - Coventry rapper Icey Stanley shares his journey from performing at school to having his own studio, and we take to the streets of Coventry to meet the people keeping the city buzzing.
Raw 14:00 – 15:00 - Lifting the lid on student life at Warwick University, it's not all partying but we do learn about the campus beer festival! We find out about student societies, the importance of Warwick Arts Centre and hear about the impact of Covid on students
Coventry Hospital Radio 15:00 – 16:00 - In this hour we meet the volunteers behind the radio station, learn about the air ambulance and hear from one the consultants what it was like to be on the front line at UHCW during the Pandemic