From 12pm on Friday, Week 6, until 12pm on Saturday, Week 6, Bailrigg FM hosted a 24 hour broadcast in order to raise funds for the Children In Need appeal. In total the team raised £711.
As part of the event, several volunteers from Bailrigg FM joined together to get out and about on campus, raising money and awareness of the broadcast. They conducted both a bake sale and raffle in Alexandra Square, with raffle tickets being sold for a pound. The featured prize being given away was two tickets to see Frank Turner perform live at Manchester Arena, and was won by Bethany Vagg. Other prizes included the latest albums by Katy Perry, Kings Of Leon, Deaf Havana, and The Fratellis.
The programme comprised of a large assortment of features. These incorporated prank phone calls, competitions, and a series of challenges for the presenters of the show. The challenges included truth or dare, a murder mystery, and joke forfeits for mentioning certain words or failing to complete certain tasks.
The broadcast also involved guest appearances from several societies. The Doctor Who, Harry Potter and Magic societies all featured on the programme at various points. 20 Minute Society was another group that got involved with the event. The society’s function is to send a text message containing a place name on campus, and the members are given twenty minutes to congregate at that particular place. For this event, the given location was the Bailrigg FM station, a challenge that saw a mass of costumed members of the society turn up.
The whole event was organised by the students that make up Bailrigg FM, with some students actively participating in the event for the entire duration of the broadcast. Presenters Callum Barnes and Michael Hunter, both Bailrigg members, hosted the 24 hour long programme. When asked about their feelings on completing the 24 hours Barnes said, “It’s absolutely shattering, but at the same time I wouldn’t have it any other way. At the end of the day I’m raising money for Children in Need and I get to be stupid in the early hours of the morning”.
Hunter agreed: “I got involved for the main reason that I’m never going to get the opportunity to do anything like this again. I’m raising money for a great cause. Like Callum said, it’s been tiring, but a lot of fun.”
The presenters were not only on the radio for the full 24 hours, but were also able to be seen via the live stream webcam that was set up in the studio.
In the week leading up to the broadcast, other events were organised in order to promote the Children in Need show. On Tuesday, Week 6, there was a precursor to the event that involved laying as many one pound coins around campus was held.
