Museum celebrates BBC's 100-year role in Manchester
- Published
Archive photos show soprano Isobelle Baillie and others performing on early BBC radio in the 1920s
From early radio experiments to the bright lights of Media City, an exhibition is celebrating 100 years of the BBC in Manchester.
The story of the broadcaster's journey in the city is told through a range of intriguing objects and photographs.
Curator Lewis Pollard said: "The BBC has played such an integral role in making Manchester the creative and innovative city it is today."
The Science and Industry Museum show will run until February 2023.
It documents how Manchester's first radio station, known as 2ZY, was established at a factory in Trafford Park in the 1920s.
It was created by Metropolitan Vickers, a major engineering business and one of the founders of the BBC.
A pair of early headphones, made in 1923
Experiments throughout 1922 led to the first official broadcast from 2ZY on 15 November that year, one day after the first broadcast from the BBC's very first overall broadcast, transmitted from 2LO in London.
Photographs on display show what it was like to work and perform at the Trafford studio.
There are images of children's presenters as well as photos capturing a performance by Manchester-born soprano singer Isobel Baille.
The BBC Box and BBC Perceptive are among more recent BBC innovations
The display goes on to follow the developments of the BBC to the modern day and the current innovations at the corporation's studios in Salford.
New technologies include BBC Box, a new way of storing personal data, and BBC Perceptive Radio, a tool designed to deliver "immersive media experiences".
This exhibition is part of the Science Museum Group's Broadcast 100 celebrations, marking the 100th anniversary of the BBC and the 40th anniversary of Channel 4.
Violinist Isolde Menges also broadcasted live from 2ZY in 1922
The exhibition includes archive photos of some of the earliest radio studios
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