The buzz of going live
28th March 2024
Hosting a live event has many of the same elements as presenting a live radio show. There’s usually quite a bit of planning, quite a bit of unpredictability, the buzz of living in the moment and the hope that folk are enjoying* / learning from* / having some sort of reaction to* / not being put to sleep by* what they’re listening to (*delete as applicable). One thing is very different though - you can actually see your audience! Despite being someone who’s often described as having a great face for radio, I’ve always enjoyed standing up in front of a group of people (or sitting down to chair a debate or conference session). I presented thousands of live radio shows on BBC Radio Leeds for thirty years from 1993 to 2023, but - during that time - also hosted many hundreds of live events from public debates to small talks in front of a handful of people in a village hall.
Now, in my freelance life, I’m enjoying the opportunities that are coming my way. For four weeks in February my Thursdays were an exciting mix of working with students on the BA Journalism course at the University of Leeds during the day and then walking to the city campus of Leeds Beckett University down the hill. There, in the cinema in the striking Leeds School of Arts, I watched the first three debates in the revived 4x4 talk series. There are four speakers, one theme and a different host for each event, including Leeds born broadcaster Peg Alexander and the former Northern Editor of the Guardian Martin Wainwright. The organisers were the Leeds Society of Architects in conjunction with the University, Leeds Civic Trust and RIBA, picking up on a format and subjects (architecture, urban design, the arts and culture) discussed in the original 4x4 talks a couple of decades ago.
I was chuffed to be invited to host the final one: ‘Leeds, a sustainable future?’ I was struck, in the heart of what once proudly called ‘The Motor City’, how much has changed in the years since the inner ring road, a couple of hundred metres away, was created. I’d hosted events in the past with two of the speakers, architect Irena Bauman and Professor of Urban Futures at the University of Leeds, Paul Chatterton. The others were architects Claude Saint-Arroman and, sharing a slot, Ryan Groves and Wesley Dodds: https://www.architecture.com/whats-on/leeds-a-sustainable-future-2024x4
Mine was the easy job: saying hello, saying a few words about each speaker and then fielding questions from the large and passionate audience. The fabulous technical team were armed with a fun, roving microphone. Like a giant furry dice it could be thrown (carefully) to each person who wanted to ask a question, so we in the auditorium and everyone taking part online could hear what was being asked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KOFx5Jg3Gw
Like the best radio shows, when you’re in the flow rather than watching the clock, our allotted couple of hours flew by. I’d been asked to try and keep proceedings to time which was easier said then done, but we reached the after-show drinks without too much delay. I loved listening to such knowledgeable, provocative speakers, loved being back up on my hind legs with a mic in hand and loved the way that, once again, my life is coming full circle. I’ve always loved art and design, studied art history at university in the eighties and my late father Peter, a fine amateur artist, spent his career in the building industry as a quantity surveyor. I think Dad would have enjoyed the evening and hope that he might even have thought I did a half decent job as ringmaster.
