Operation London Bridge: the death of the Queen

I ended up being involved with Thatcher's funeral OB, and was impressed with the level of detail the planning documents went into. Though they were apparently updated twice yearly, and the next planning meeting was scheduled for what ended up being the day of the funeral. I guess it was really just the names of the crew (or possibly which OB company provided which truck) which needed slotting in at the last minute.

I'd imagine that a fair bit of it is interchangeable too - one Westminster Abbey OB is much the same as another, and state processions tend to follow the same route, so little is a surprise from that point of view.

Thought it was swan she ate....

I'm also surprised to see this level of detail divulged - I had heard bits and pieces from an events perspective (rather than a broadcasting one) and a lot of it was inter-workplace gossip level stuff (so nothing outrageously confidential, but there are a couple of interesting tidbits that I know) but never thought I'd see the codeword referenced in the Guardian!

But what is the problem? that code word will never be broadcast on the media. It just to keep back office people in the loop and to get them ready.

There's no point in having a codeword for something if everyone knows it! May as well just pick up the phone and say 'Queens dead'

I thought it was to be more respectful? its sounds better if you say the bridge is down instead of She deed.

If HM has a visit from the stork at her age, I think that's a major story of a whole different type!😀

So next time there is any incident on London Bridge they'll be a lot of jumping to conclusions.

As for idents - I'd have thought if the BBC was uniting their services they'd go for a generic BBC ident - i.e. logo on a black screen.

I wouldn't think that the BBC ident used prior to the newsflash would be specified as part of Operation London Bridge - it's only relevant to the BBC.
I'm sure Pres would use a very bland logo which would work on BBC One, News, World News, website (& other means of broadcasting to be invented) etc.

I would not be surprised to see something like the animated ribbons which BBC Scotland accidentally aired a little while ago (I think they are used as a placeholder on the clean feed), or perhaps a slightly slower version.

IIRC that would inform the way that CBBC/Newsround handles the initial news, with the approach depending on whether it follows days of reports of ill health and the country preparing for the announcement or it being very sudden and potentially upsetting for younger viewers.

Not going to lie, nearly choked on my tea.