West Country radio stations to broadcast funeral of Polish President
BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset are joining forces with Bristol community radio station BCFM 93.2 this Sunday to produce a special programme to mark the funerals of the Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria.
"The Polish community here in the West of England is more than 20,000 strong. Understandably the sense of grief is huge. We're pleased to be in a position to provide a programme that will bring that community together on such a sad and poignant day," said the programme's presenter Trevor Fry
The programme, which starts at 3pm on Sunday, will have reports from Krakow, where the president's funeral will have been held earlier in the day, from London where the service is being relayed on huge screens and from Polish communities across the West Country.
Station Manager at BCFM 93.2, Phil Gibbons, said:" We produce weekly output for the sizeable Polish community in the area. This specially produced joint programme will mean that we will be able to pool resources with the BBC to provide an even better service for our audience on what is going to be such a moving day in Poland's history".
Many world leaders will attend the funeral. Ninety six people were on board the plane carrying the President and his wife when it crashed in heavy fog while trying to land in the Smolensk region of Russia.
The special programme, presented by Trevor Fry, can be heard at 3pm on Sunday 18 April on BBC Radio Bristol (94.9fm), BBC Somerset (95.5fm) and BCFM (93.2fm). To hear click on: