How radio covered the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
I listened to more of the coverage of The State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II than I watched on the television. And, as the day continued, I flicked around the various networks to see the different approaches the broadcasters took to covering the event. I was particularly interested in how the BBC were covering the day as their commentary team included a number of sports broadcasters who I admire.
BBC Radio joined together and brought together a group of broadcasters from across their stations. It was led by Radio 4’s Martha Kearney and included a commentary team featuring well known voices from Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 and 5 Live. I’ve always felt sports commentators have a great deal to offer to occasions like this. Live sports commentary is unscripted, descriptive, factual and not easy to do well. In other words, it is ideal preparation for an event like the funeral and arguably better preparation than a reporter more used to writing and voicing short scripts, radio packages or interviewing people in the news.
I thought BBC radio did an amazing job. Clearly, it was rehearsed and planned and the preparation showed throughout the day. I also enjoyed the different approaches the commentary team took and this made for an engaging listen. Football Correspondent John Murray was in Parliament Square. His approach was, as expected, similar to how he commentates so well on sport. At one point, he described the formation of the royal party behind the coffin. The four children with the three grandsons behind – for a split second you could have been at Old Trafford, Villa Park or Carrow Road and being told how your team was lining up this afternoon. This is not a criticism, but praise on how he conveyed what he could see but I couldn’t. His measured tones, describing exactly what was happening, were followed by Mike Costello who was their commentator in Whitehall. Another broadcaster more commonly associated with sport – athletics and boxing. Mike again concentrated on what he could see and hear as he gave a description of the scenes in front of him, whilst also describing the surrounding areas and picking out well-known landmarks. Again, his years of broadcasting experience at The Olympics and on World Title Fights shone through. Mike painted an exceptional picture of what he could see – I knew how many people were involved, I knew what colour their uniforms were, and I knew what regiment or service they represented. Like John, he was flawless.
But, that approach wouldn’t have worked for Ken Bruce or Paddy O’Connell. They were much more emotive in their approach. They talked more about feelings, they put themselves in the shoes of the enormous crowds and brought sentiment and passion to the broadcast. Meanwhile, at Windsor, the likes of Naga Munchetty and Anna Foster brought their news backgrounds to proceedings. Again, a different approach to the other members of the team. It was factual and there was context – exactly what you would expect from two fine broadcasters associated with current affairs. The services were described by Allan Little and Eleanor Oldroyd. Allan was in Westminster and Eleanor was in Windsor. Again, their preparation was obvious and important. Speaking only to punctuate the short silences and to guide the listener through what was happening whilst not over talking.
It was an eclectic line-up – Adele Roberts, Alistair Bruce-Ball, James Naughtie, Julian Worricker and others in addition to the ones already mentioned. But, it worked and again underlined my view that sports commentary is one of the most difficult things to do in broadcasting and those that do it so well like John, Mike, Alistair and Eleanor have a number of transferrable skills which were showcased brilliantly on the day.
by Michael Weadock, Sept 2022
