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Sir David Attenborough kicks off Made in Leicester series

Geeta Pendse

Arts Reporter, 主播大秀 East Midlands

Sir David Attenborough with Made in Leicester's Geeta Pendse

From the vibrancy of the Golden Mile and the teenage meanderings of Adrian Mole to Deep Purple headlining Leicester鈥檚 historic De Montfort Hall, for many of us who live and work in Leicester, an array of festivals and cultural events has become part of the cycle of life.

Then, last June, Leicester was amongst four places that were shortlisted for the title of . As the Arts reporter for , I knew we would cover the run-up to the final announcement in November, but it also felt like a great opportunity to delve beneath the surface of Leicester鈥檚 cultural landscape and produce a unique series of broadcasts.

And so was born, a multi-platform series for exploring how Leicester has shaped and inspired a range of creative people. From Sir David Attenborough鈥檚 childhood memories, to emerging artists like the contemporary dancer , each broadcast looks at their unique perspective and how Leicester influenced them as people.

As each film/radio piece is broadcast on and , it鈥檚 then added to the bespoke website, an iPlayer archive of current and past broadcasts all debating culture in the city and lead up to the bid. The creation of this page has been supported by the English Regions iPlayer team in Birmingham. The material will also be used in an piece on the 28 October.

The Made In Leicester title sequence


Made in Leicester has been a truly cross-platform collaborative process, strongly demonstrated through the production of our TV title sequence and radio music bed. The title sequence designed by Harry Whinney, uses images from each of our Made in Leicester pieces. Harry worked with Andrew Fewster, Station sound producer for Radio Leicester, who beautifully blended the sounds from each piece to create a cacophony of voices and rhythms. If you listen closely you can hear the throbbing beats of Indian Kathak music blending into Sir David鈥檚 iconic voice, all building up to the young poet Jess Green mouthing Made in Leicester.

New Walk Museum by local artist Sarah Kirby

The second of our series on Tuesday 8聽 October features respected local printmaker and artist , who is documenting Leicester鈥檚 iconic buildings through her artwork (see one of her pictures above).

The series culminates in a 'call to action week', where we encourage our presenters and audiences to share a picture that sums up Leicester鈥檚 culture for them. From the Caribbean carnival in 1998 to the Clock Tower, we are hoping to pull together a rich interactive gallery of pictures all of which have been Made in Leicester.

is Arts Reporter and Journalist for 主播大秀 East Midlands.

  • See the for audio and video clips.
  • Read about Leicester native Sir David Attenborough in this blog: .