Agreed not at all, the fact that the artist was Ariana Grande was co-incidental. There are many other young people attracting artistes whose concerts could have been chosen.
Britain's Got Talent Final moves to Saturday 3 June
ITV has made changes to its weekend schedule, the details of which are as the follows:
The Britain's Got Talent Final has moved from Sunday night, and will now take place live on Saturday 3 June at 7.30pm.
The British Soap Awards has moved from Saturday night and will now air on Tuesday 6 June at 8pm.
An ITV spokesperson said:
"Ariana Grande's 'One Love Manchester' benefit concert is bringing artists and the public together, and will raise funds for the Red Cross's Manchester Emergency Fund. ITV and Britain's Got Talent have no desire to distract from this important cause, so we have taken the decision to move the Britain's Got Talent Final from Sunday night."
I would imagine that for big national events the BBC would be first in mind for any organisers. Logistically it may also be easier to work with the BBC as you also cover radio (it's being broadcast on Radio 1 and Capital) and they've just run the Big Weekend.
On the line-up, I completely understand where people are coming from when they say more Manchester bands could be involved but:
- The fact that it's not just Ariana Grande but some of the biggest stars from around the world sends a fairly hefty united front from some of the world's biggest stars
- It's a celebration of the entire culture that the attacker wanted to take down, and the audience who love it. The attacker targeted children and the music they love
- I'll defer to anyone's knowledge on Manchester's pop scene but a bunch of indie bands isn't going to be what that audience wants, and isn't going to send the same message.
- Even if all that's wrong, it's been arranged at a rapid rate. They're going to go for the people they know.
I agree that it may also be some form of closure for Ariana herself. I hope so, she deserves it, it wasn't her fault this happened at her gig. The one thing I would hope is the people who are still in hospital, many of whom will have had their lives changed forever, will also be considered and perhaps some of the stars could visit them in hospital?
Even if that doesn't happen, this is a ballsy move and a fantastic gesture.
I guess the BBC can clear the schedules more easily than a commercial broadcaster can, the latter having to reschedule adverts, although it turns out they're to have to do this anyway.
Has the presentation team been revealed yet, I'd imagine Greg James and Roman Kemp would be chosen based on the Radio Networks involved. This'll be crucial as the changeover between acts, even if Grande's musicians are to be used for all but Coldplay will take time to implement.
So, how did the BBC become the broadcaster for this event? Did the organisers go to them first?
It isn't exclusive to the BBC, it's airing on Capital too
Yeah, I'm just wondering how the rights (if that's the right word) for this have been drawn up, whether the BBC approached the concert organisers or the other way round.