2020

In a world exclusive, two of the biggest names in entertainment come together for a very special one-off show: music legend Paul McCartney is interviewed by Golden Globe-winning actor Idris Elba. Recorded in London in December 2020, Idris talks to Paul about his peerless career as the most successful musician and composer in pop music history. Paul talks about his writing process, which has produced some of the best-loved and most performed songs ever.

The film industry took a battering in 2020 due to Covid-19, with many cinemas closed and production badly impacted. But Mark Kermode looks at the releases that did make it onto our screens and sorts the crackers from the turkeys in his review of the year.

2020 has been an unprecedented year in science. From a global pandemic and race to find a cure, to exploring our planetary neighbors and our own world, stay in the know with the latest stories that defined this tumultuous year.

"The dictator is coming." The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, laughs and makes small talk with his colleagues while they wait to greet the heads of state as they arrive for the EU summit in Riga. When the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives, Juncker raises his hand and says "Hello dictator!"
Immediately afterwards he laughs, pats Orban on the cheek and tries to embrace him. This strange greeting is an apt symbol for the problems the European Union face with regard to the situation in Hungary. One of the leaders of a member state is openly flirting with authoritarian and non-democratic values.

Suzy Klein introduces Richard Jones' production of Puccini's opera, performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2020. Sonya Yoncheva heads the cast as the doomed seamstress Mimì, with Charles Castronovo as Rodolfo, who falls in love with her at first sight, and Simona Mihai and Andrzej Filonczyk as on-off lovers Musetta and Marcello. Conducted by Emmanuel Villaume.

2020 has been an unprecedented year in science. From a global pandemic and race to find a cure, to exploring our planetary neighbors and our own world, stay in the know with the latest stories that defined this tumultuous year.

Fifty-seven-year-old grandmother Lorraine Colville came to singing late in life. But her tribute act to US megastar Pink, 20 years her junior, has set Lorraine free.

The Sky at Night looks back at the last ten years of astronomy and ponders the most significant milestones and revelations. With the help of six distinguished astronomers, Chris and Maggie consider the state of astronomy in 2020 and wonder what new, exciting discoveries await us across the rest of the decade, as a host of new ground and space telescopes come online. Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees is among the guests to walk along the Astronomical Wall of Discovery in this one-hour special.

The Vienna Philharmonic's annual Summer Night Concert takes place in the unique ambience of the Schoenbrunn Palace Gardens in Vienna. Postponed from May, the 2020 concert is conducted by Russian maestro Valery Gergiev and features one of the world's great operatic singers, German tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

Laura Marling teams up with pioneering strings-based collective the 12 Ensemble for a retrospective journey through her back catalogue, as well as showcasing tracks from her 2020 album, Song for Our Daughter. Featuring brand-new string arrangements by Rob Moose. In her first Prom as a headliner, Laura will perform an acoustic set accompanied by brand new string arrangements from the unconducted 12 Ensemble. Join Suzy Klein for what promises to be an unmissable evening!