STATE OPENING OF PARLI

I actually caught part of BBC's hilarious coverage this morning:

Tony Benn commenting to Dimbleby about the fact Parli was once again being undermined, pointing out that they in the studio (actually a cttee room in HoC) had a copy of Queen's Speech BEFORE the Queen read it. He said 'I don't know if you mind me saying this, BUT Andrew Marr has been sitting in here reading this speech even before the Queen'

Dimble @ 1 point sounded PATHETIC, saying 'I had a piece of paper. Where is it? It's a very important 1. 1 need it. Errrrrrr . . . Right, we'll move on to something else.'

Then Dimble at the end sounded HILARIOUS! He suddenly said in true QVC style: 'A reminder, the HoC is open for tours throughout the summer at a price of £3.50. [CAMERA THEN ZOOMS OUT - in a very tacky manner to display an array of goods] ALSO, the shop here provides a huge range of goods that anyone can purchase. There's the Commons & Lords mints, clotted creme & fudge. Baroness Boothroyd perhaps you could try them & tell us which is the superior, the Lords or the Commons! . . . . Where's that teddy bear gone, Tony Benn's got it! The Commons shop also sells Teddy bears, pens & more.'

[i] effectively what he said!

His piece of paper probably had the entrance fees written on it!

The BBC's coverage of the actual opening was excellent. We actually saw the Queen arriving, but Sky News had very dodgy camera positions obviously. Instead of the Queen entering the Palace of Westminster, we saw interesting images of the backs of people's heads. BBC Parliament didn't show anything other than waiting MPs. The coverage on BBC ONE was by far the best

(Edited by DAS at 9:31 pm on June 20, 2001)

Was there an opt out for the News Summary and regional news during the coverage, as it wasn't scheduled!

The paper incident happened about 1/2 hr before the shop advert (!)

He must have dropped it in a particularly difficult place then!

The Queen should write her own speech - and not be dictated to by Blairs spin doctors. Her Majesty should have Blair and his cronies sent to the tower and lets the ravens at them!

I watched it, thought it was great. SkyNews dude, perhaps you shouldn't take things so literally. From the impresion I got, a pinch of salthad to be taken during the discussions. Most of it was light hearted.

What titles did the networks use for the Opening?

i see this was simulcast on three BBC services again. pathetic really. why pay the licence fee. you only get the same thing on most channels.

BBC I must emphasise had hilarious coverage!

Dimble could get a job on QVC!

I guess there are a number of reasons for this, but it does seem like a waste of resources.  However, the BBC would have to show it on BBC1 for analogue viewers, secondly what use would BBC Parliament be if it didn't actually screen the State Opening of Parliament, so it goes on there too.  It would be crazy for BBC News 24 to be doing something else when this was the biggest event of the day, and Sky News were doing it also, so News 24 get in on the act too.  It does seem to limit choice, but this is the ridiculous situation the BBC find themselves in, maintaining the commitment as a public service broadcaster in a multi-channel age.    

(Edited by square eyes at 11:39 pm on June 20, 2001)

This is the title that the BBC used today
http://usuarios.tripod.es/B69594d/bbcstoppar.rm 1.5 MB

(Edited by PZG at 1:42 am on June 21, 2001)