Since 2011, one of the acts is a choir where over 1000 children come together in the studio and in around 8-10 locations across the UK and sing one song live in unison from the various locations. These choirs are created by the BBC local news regions using local schools and theatre groups and they usually sing from where the regional event takes place. The performance usually starts in the studio and moving to the different locations throughout the performance before ending in the studio (2022 and 2023 do not start in the studio) with a short 20-30 second instrumental break to show a few clips from the night's appeal films. However, since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic the choir there have been fewer singers and the choirs across the UK have been pre-recorded with only the studio choir singing live.
The locations and songs for each year were:
In 2011,[1][2] the Children in Need Choir started by Gareth Malone featured the contestants on The Big Performance Series 2. They sang "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne The choirs sang at:
- London at BBC Television Centre in the BBC London region
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay[3] for BBC Scotland
- Kent at Bluewater[4] for BBC South East
- Weston-super-Mare at Grand Pier[5] for BBC West
- Salford at MediaCityUK[6] for BBC North West
- Cornwall at Eden Project[7] for BBC South West
- Cardiff at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama[8] for BBC Wales
- Pudsey in the Leisure Centre car park[9] for BBC Yorkshire
- Birmingham at Aston Hall[10] for BBC West Midlands
- Belfast at W5 museum[11] for BBC Northern Ireland
- Hull at Hull Truck Theatre[12] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
- Hampshire at The National Motor Museum[13] for BBC South
- Colchester at Charter Hall[14] for BBC East
- County Durham at Beamish Museum, County Durham[15] for BBC North East and Cumbria
- Loughborough at Loughborough University[16] for BBC East Midlands
Hull, Hampshire, Colchester, County Durham and Loughborough weren't included in the nationwide link up performance and were instead included in the highlights programme.
In 2012,[17][18] the choir was led by Aled Jones and featured over 2000 singers in 15 locations. They sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel
The choirs were singing at:
- London at BBC Television Centre in the BBC London region
- Aberdeen at The Beach Ballroom[19] for BBC Scotland
- Northumberland at The Alnwick Garden[19] for BBC North East and Cumbria
- Swindon at STEAM: Museum of the Great Western Railway[19] for BBC West
- Birmingham at The Mailbox[19] for BBC West Midlands
- Belfast at Broadcasting House[20] for BBC Northern Ireland
- East Sussex at Glyndebourne[19] for BBC South East
- Cardiff at BBC Hoddinott Hall[21] for BBC Wales
- Scunthorpe at Baths Hall[19] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
- Winchester at INTECH[19] for BBC South
- Cambridge at West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge[19] for BBC East
- Exeter at The Forum, University of Exeter[19] for BBC South West
- Leicestershire at Conkers Discovery Centre, National Forest[19] for BBC East Midlands
- Rotherham at Magna Science Adventure Centre[19] for BBC Yorkshire
- Salford at MediaCityUK[19] for BBC North West
Cambridge, Exeter, Leicestershire, Rotherham and Salford weren't included in the nationwide link up performance and were instead included in the highlights programme.
In 2013, the main studio moved to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood just outside of London, the performance featured only 10 choirs and 1624 children, instead of all of the events having choirs and some not being included it was decided those regions would just not have choirs and this idea had continued. The choirs sang at:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
- Bath at The Roman Baths[22] for BBC West
- Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House[23] for BBC Northern Ireland
- Manchester at Z-Arts[24] for BBC North West
- Falmouth at National Maritime Museum Cornwall[25] for BBC South West
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay[26] for BBC Scotland
- Birmingham at The Library of Birmingham[27] for BBC West Midlands
- Kettering at Wicksteed Park[28] for BBC East
- Merthyr Tydfil at The college[29] for BBC Wales
- Hexham at Hexham Trinity Methodist Church for BBC North East and Cumbria
In 2014,[30][31] the choir had a similar format to 2013 with 10 locations and 1685 and they sang "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders.
The choirs sang from:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
- Bradford at Bradford College for BBC Yorkshire
- Norwich at The Millennium Library at The Forum[32] for BBC East
- Newport at The Newport Centre[33] for BBC Wales
- Birmingham at Thinktank for BBC West Midlands
- Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House[34] for BBC Northern Ireland
- Plymouth at Plymouth Life Centre for BBC South West
- Blackpool at Blackpool Tower Circus for BBC North West
- Chatham at Chatham Historic Dockyard for BBC South East
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland
In 2015,[35] there were 1661 children in 10 locations and the choir sang "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus.
The choirs sang from:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
- Gloucester at Gloucester Cathedral for BBC West[36]
- Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House for BBC Northern Ireland[37]
- Keswick at The Rawnsley Centre for BBC North East and Cumbria
- Great Yarmouth at The Hippodrome for BBC East[38]
- Llandudno at Venue Cymru for BBC Wales[39]
- Jersey at Fort Regent for BBC South West[40]
- Blackpool at Blackpool Tower Circus for BBC North West
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland[41]
- Arundel at Arundel Castle for BBC South[42]
In 2016,[43] they had 1580 children in 9 choirs and they sang "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers.
The Choirs sang at:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios[44] in the BBC London region
- Liverpool at Sefton Park[44] for BBC North West
- Swansea at Swansea University[44] for BBC Wales
- Bridlington at Bridlington Spa[44] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
- Dudley at The Black Country Living Museum[44] for BBC West Midlands
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay[44] for BBC Scotland
- Milton Keynes at Stadium MK[44] for BBC East
- Salisbury at Salisbury Arts Centre[44] for BBC South
- Belfast at Titanic[44] for BBC Northern Ireland
In 2017, there were 1788 children in 10 choirs and they sang "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland.
The choirs sang from:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region[45]
- Manchester at The Science and Industry Museum for BBC North West[45]
- Bristol at Aerospace for BBC West[45]
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland[45]
- Newcastle at The Discovery Museum for BBC North East and Cumbria[45]
- Newbury at Brockhurst and Marlston House School for BBC South[45]
- Belfast at The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum for BBC Northern Ireland[45]
- Halifax at The Piece Hall for BBC Yorkshire[45]
- Cardiff at The Broadcasting House for BBC Wales[45]
- Nottingham at The Albert Hall for BBC East Midlands[45]
In 2018, the 1466 children in 9 choirs sang "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman.
The choirs sang from:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios[46] in the BBC London region
- Southampton at King Edward VI School[46] for BBC South
- St Ives at Tate[46] for BBC South West
- Belfast at The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum[46] for BBC Northern Ireland
- Chester at Storyhouse[46] for BBC North West
- Lincoln at The New Theatre Royal[46] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay[46] for BBC Scotland
- Cardiff at The Broadcasting House[46] for BBC Wales
- Wolverhampton at The Grand Theatre for BBC West Midlands
In 2019, there were 9 choirs and 1399 children and they sang "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper.
The Choirs sang from:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios[47] in the BBC London region
- Hartlepool at The Town Hall Theatre[47] for BBC North East and Cumbria
- Belfast at W5 museum[47] for BBC Northern Ireland
- Maidstone at Allington Castle[47] for BBC South East
- The Wirral at The Lady Lever Art Gallery[47] for BBC North West
- Cardiff at The Broadcasting House[47] for BBC Wales
- Mountsorrel at The Mountsorrel Memorial Centre for BBC East Midlands
- Larkhill at St Michael's CE Primary School[47] for BBC West
- Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay[47] for BBC Scotland
In 2020, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the choir was altered to fit guidelines: choirs in each location were reduced to around 4-5 singers and it was pre-recorded, except for the studio choir, which had 12 members and were live on the night. Instead of an instrumental section, it went to a montage of all the choirs together before returning to showing the locations as usual. Instead of Museums or Theatres more of the locations were landmarks with their on screen labels being the landmark name instead of just the city/ town. It was also the last year to be in Elstree Studios. They sang "Fix You" by Coldplay.
The singers sang from:
- Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
- The Brontë Parsonage, West Yorkshire for BBC Yorkshire
- The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth for BBC South West
- Pacific Quay, Glasgow for BBC Scotland
- Coventry Cathedral[48] for BBC West Midlands
- Stonehenge, Wiltshire for BBC South
- The Harmonies of Hope Choir - A Choir of children who've had kidney transplants. The choir is funded by Children in Need and they sang from their homes across London and The South East and were edited together by the BBC Production Team.
- Ely Cathedral for BBC East
- Portmeirion for BBC Wales[49]
- Cardiff Castle for BBC Wales[49]
- Titanic Belfast[50] for BBC Northern Ireland
In 2021 the choir followed a similar format to 2020: most locations have 4-6 singers and 12 in the live studio choir. However, it did include the instrumental section. This was the first year to use Salford for the Main Studio. They sang "Rise Up" by Andra Day. The on-screen name labels followed the same format as 2020.
The singers sang at:
- MediaCityUK, Salford in the BBC North West region
- Stirling Castle for BBC Scotland
- Scarborough Spa for BBC Yorkshire
- Housesteads, Hadrian's Wall for BBC North East and Cumbria
- Smeaton's Tower, Plymouth for BBC South West
- Mumbles Pier for BBC Wales
- The Abbey Pumping Station in Leicester for BBC East Midlands
- Beaumaris Castle for BBC Wales
- The Vision Signing Choir, a signing choir based in Kent signed the song from their homes and were edited together by the Production Team for BBC South East
- The Cutty Sark, London for BBC London
- The Giant's Causeway for BBC Northern Ireland
In 2022 the choir was again pre-recorded with the studio choir live. The number of singers was upped to around 20 per location and. This year was the first year not to start and end with the studio choir's performance instead starting with a montage of the children preparing for singing and all of the choirs were shown before the instrumental with only the Studio and a montage of all the choirs shown after. They sang "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.
The choirs this year were:
- Framlingham Castle, Suffolk for BBC East
- Aberystwyth at The National Library of Wales for BBC Wales
- The Laxey Wheel on The Isle of Man for BBC North West
- Bristol at Purdown Open Space for BBC West
- The Kelpies at Falkirk for BBC Scotland
- Hull Marina for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
- MediaCity UK in Salford in the BBC North West region
- Blists Hill Victorian Town in Telford for BBC West Midlands
- The Tropical Ravine in Belfast for BBC Northern Ireland
In 2023 the choir went down to around 7-10 singers per location and was still mostly pre-recorded and though it did not start with the studio choir and again a montage its format was more similar to 2021 or the live choirs. The onscreen labels were done in the 2011-2019 fashion of just naming the city/town. They sang "You Raise Me Up".
The choirs sang from:
- Slough at The Old Horlicks Factory for BBC South
- Rotherham at Wentworth Woodhouse for BBC Yorkshire
- Salford at MediaCityUK in the BBC North West region
- Sunderland at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens for BBC North East and Cumbria
- Edinburgh at Port Edgar for BBC Scotland
- Cardiff from outside The Senedd building for BBC Wales
- Northampton at The Holy Sepulchre Church for BBC East
- Guernsey at Castle Cornet for BBC South West
- Antrim at Antrim Castle Gardens for BBC Northern Ireland
- The studio choirs are made of children from the region they are in but created by the main studio team not the region's team.
References
edit- ^ "Children in Need 2011", Wikipedia, 2024-04-09, retrieved 2024-04-21
- ^ Gareth Malone's Children in Need Choir - BBC Children in Need 2011. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ BBC Scotland, Reporting Scotland, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC South East, South East Today, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC West, Points West, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC North West, North West Tonight, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC South West, Spotlight, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC Cymru Wales, Wales Today, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC Yorkshire, Look North, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC West Midlands, Midlands Today, 18 November 2011
- ^ Signage for location seen in background of BBC Northern Ireland programme Children in Need in Northern Ireland 2011, broadcast 19 November 2011
- ^ BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Look North, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC South, South Today, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC East, Look East, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC North East & Cumbria, Look North, 18 November 2011
- ^ BBC East Midlands, East Midlands Today, 18 November 2011
- ^ "Children in Need b2012", Wikipedia, 2024-04-05, retrieved 2024-04-21
- ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, BBC Children in Need Choir: Around the UK". BBC. 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Condon, Paul (14 November 2012). "Live BBC Outside Broadcasts for Children in Need appeal night". BBC Children in Need Blog. BBC. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- ^ BBC Newsline 16 November 2012.
- ^ BBC Wales Today 16 November 2012.
- ^ "BBC Children in Need". Roman Baths, Bath. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ BBC Newsline, 15 November 2013
- ^ North West Tonight, 15 November 2013
- ^ "National Maritime Museum Cornwall all set for BBC Children in Need live broadcast on Friday". West Briton. 12 November 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ Reporting Scotland, 15 November 2013
- ^ "Children in Need - Friday 15 November". Library of Birmingham. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ Bieber, Nicholas (14 November 2013). "Northamptonshire Children In Need comes from Wicksteed Park, Kettering". Northampton Herald and Post. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ "The College". The College. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ "Children in Need 2014", Wikipedia, 2024-04-15, retrieved 2024-04-21
- ^ bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02bxhs1 The full choir performance taken from the main telethon
- ^ bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02bxhs1 Sign behind choir at 1:06
- ^ McCrum, Kirstie (2014-11-15). "Children in Need in another record-breaking total". Wales Online. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ "Barra Best and Jo Scott present Northern Ireland Children in Need". BBC News. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ "Children in Need 2015", Wikipedia, 2024-04-14, retrieved 2024-04-21
- ^ "Gloucestershire residents raise £1,374,202 for BBC Children in Need". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, 2015, Northern Ireland's Best Bits". BBC. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Great Yarmouth schools to join the Children in Need choir". Eastern Daily Press. 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, 2015, Wales' Best Bits". BBC. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Choir of 200 young people to perform for Children in Need". Jersey Evening Post. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, 2015, Scotland's Best Bits". BBC. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Arundel Castle to appear on BBC Children in Need". Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Children in Need 2016", Wikipedia, 2024-04-14, retrieved 2024-04-21
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Newsroom, The. "Milton Keynes pupils to perform live for bbc children in need".
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Pupils to perform live on Children in Need from the Piece Hall". Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "News: grand theatre to host bbc children in need live choir broadcast".
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rimell, William (14 November 2019). "south wiltshire primary schools sing live bbc children need".
- ^ "BBC One - Midlands Today, Evening News, 06/11/2020, Children in Need choir at Coventry Cathedral". BBC. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ a b "BBC - BBC Children in Need, 2020, The Big Welsh Round-Up". BBC. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "BBC - BBC Children in Need, 2020, Pudsey's Best Bits". BBC. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
External links
edit- {{BBC programme}} missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
- Children in Need at IMDb