The Madrid Live Radio Show (www.madridlive.fm)

Madrid Live is Madrid’s premier English radio programme. Madrid Live is also the only radio programme to feature the original voices of celebrated English-speaking actors, directors, writers and artists who promote their work in the Spanish capital.

Madrid Live is produced and presented by British radio journalist Ann Bateson who has worked for the BBC, Radio Exterior de España and Onda Madrid. Ann also organised arts events for British Council, Spain for over ten years.

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RADIO CÍRCULO

Madrid Live is broadcast on Radio Círculo which is Spain’s leading cultural radio station. It was established in 2000 and is broadcast from one of Spain’s most prestigious arts centres – the Círculo de Bellas Artes.

LISTENER PROFILE

Madrid Live has a potential audience of over a quarter of a million English speakers who live and work in Madrid. The listener profile is diverse and spread between native English speakers and Spaniards with good English.

Madrid Live is broadcast twice monthly on www.radiocirculo.es It is then uploaded to the Madrid Live website www.madridlive.fm – where it can be accessed for at least two weeks by listeners. Sponsors’ and advertisers’ names can therefore be heard both during the live broadcasts and via the above websites.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews form the body of the programme and fall into two categories: visiting English-speaking celebrities who promote their work in Madrid. Interviewees include:
• Film directors: Sam Mendes, Wim Wenders, Anton Corbijn, Julian Jarrold
• Actors: Morgan Freeman, Christopher Lambert, Julianne Moore, Connie Nielsen and Diego Luna.
• Screenwriter: Paul Laverty (who collaborates with director Ken Loach)
• Musicians: Cheryl Bentine (Manhattan Transfer), Nick Lowe, Youssou N’Dour, Maceo Parker, and Lou Marini (Blues Brothers)
• Writers: Roger McGough, Val McDermid, Colin Thubron, Alan Sillitoe, Alain de Botton, Lucía Graves, Howard Jacobson
• Theatre directors: Declan Donnellan, Greg Doran and Moses Pendleton
• Performers: Janet Suzman, Fiona Shaw and Benjamin Zephaniah
• Photographers: Don McCullin, Martin Parr, Chris Killip
• Comedians: Jason Byrne, Adam Hills, Brendan Burns and Craig Hill
• Wine expert: Serena Sutcliffe
• Cherie Blair QC (wife of former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair)

English-speaking celebrities based in Madrid or Spain, for example:
• Writers: Giles Tremlett, Chris Stewart, Fernando Schwartz, Muriel Feiner
• Singers: Alaska and Garrett Wall
• Members of the following bands: Siniestro Total, Los Secretos and Dover
• Film directors: Icíar Bollaín and Isabel Coixet
• Actor: Gabino Diego
• Photographer Christine Spengler

SOUNDBITES

Sound-bites from press conferences offered by both film directors and actors are often broadcast in the programme. Recent examples include:

Dame Maggie Smith, Alan Bennett, Jeremy Irons, Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Craig, Denzel Washington, Steve Martin, Mel Gibson, Jude Law, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Kevin Costner, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Ridley Scott, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Ken Loach, Ralph Fiennes, Tim Robbins, Nicole Kidman, Nicholas Cage, Adrian Brody, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Oliver Stone, Leonardo Di Caprio.

Please note that Madrid Live is probably the only medium where the voices of these celebrities can be heard in the original English in Spain.

MUSIC

Madrid Live features topical music relating to the week’s events, such as a forthcoming concert or a new single.

NOTICEBOARD

At the end of Madrid Live, Noticeboard provides information about the various topics which have featured in the programme such as screening times or where to buy tickets for a particular event. Noticeboard also provides a forum for advertising where presenter Ann Bateson mentions forthcoming events in Madrid and advertisers’ or sponsors’ names.

SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING

Madrid Live has been supported by the Madrid City Council, The British Council, the Almagro International Classical Theatre Festival, the Teatro Español, the Hay Literature Festival, and the Autoescuela Gala.

Madrid Live is a media collaborator with The Local English news website and English Warehouse.

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