BBC NI Ballymena bound to celebrate turning 100

Broadcasting House, Ormeau Avenue, pictured here in 1945, was completed in 1941

To mark 100 years of the BBC in Northern Ireland, the broadcaster is hitting the road.

BBC Comes to Town 2024 will include outside broadcasts, preview screenings, talks, interactive events and music-making from the Ulster Orchestra.

Ballymena is the first town to host the BBC for a few days, bringing Good Morning Ulster and Blue Lights along.

The first ever broadcast from 2BE - the call sign allotted to the Belfast BBC station - was on 15 September 1924.

The voice of theatrical director, writer and broadcasting pioneer Tyrone Guthrie was the first to be heard on the airwaves.

2BE became part of the newly established British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927 and its services continued to grow.

Good Morning Ulster has been broadcasting live from Ballymena

• Listen: Good Morning Ulster live from Ballymena

By 1937 the BBC started to build Broadcasting House at an estimated cost of about £250,000.

Building work began in 1939 and continued despite the outbreak of World War Two. It was completed in 1941.

BBC Television arrived in Northern Ireland in 1953 and reached a bigger audience with the opening of a new transmitter at Divis in 1955.

Local services were expanded with the launch of BBC Radio Ulster in 1975 and BBC Radio Foyle in 1979.

Since then the Belfast newsroom has grown to meet the demands of a fast-changing news agenda with growing digital services as well.

George Hamilton and Gloria Hunniford at the launch of BBC Radio Ulster in 1975

Blue Lights comes to Ballymena

On Wednesday morning, Ballymena hosts the Good Morning Ulster team.

On Thursday evening some of the cast of Blue Lights, along with writers Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, will descend on The Braid for a preview screening of the latest series before it hits TV screens next week.

Well-known BBC journalists and presenters will be visiting local schools to talk about their work.

There will also be opportunities for school and community groups to take part in a BBC Interactive Exhibition at the Ballymena Library on 10 and 11 April.

It will give visitors a chance to experience what it is like to present a BBC weather forecast or BBC Newsline bulletin.

P6 pupils Sophie and Seth, from St Colmcille’s Primary School enjoying the live broadcasting experience

There will also be other interactive fun with sports commentary, radio drama and information about BBC apprenticeships and careers. 

BBC Rewind will showcase news reports and television coverage of Ballymena and its people over the decades.

Picture Box, a new touring exhibition, will tell the story of the BBC and its services in Northern Ireland with photos of well-known personalities and programmes - many of them on display for the first time.

It will be located in The Braid from 10 - 11 April.

Northern Ireland men's international football team manager Michael O'Neill will be chatting with BBC Sport NI reporter Thomas Kane in a special In Conversation event

Jackie Fullerton and the Northern Ireland men's international football team manager Michael O'Neill will be chatting with BBC Sport NI reporter Thomas Kane in a special In Conversation event at The Braid at 19:00 BST on Wednesday.

It will include sporting stories and insights, a little bit of BBC archive footage and hopefully plenty of laughs.

Other BBC Radio Ulster programmes coming from the County Antrim town include the Connor Phillips Show, Hugo Duncan, the Lynette Fay Show and Ralph McLean Country.

There will also be recordings for Gardener's Corner and Countryside.

'An opportunity to celebrate what we do'

Director of BBC Northern Ireland Adam Smyth said: "We're proud of the BBC's role at the heart of community and cultural life.

"Our 100th birthday is an opportunity to celebrate what we do and to bring the BBC even closer to the communities we serve."

The BBC's Good Morning Ulster Programme broadcast several items from Ballymena on Wednesday, including the paper review from Eugene Diamond's newsagents

Several programmes on BBC Radio Ulster will be broadcast from Ballymena on Wednesday.

Good Morning Ulster presenter Joel Taggart did the programme's paper review from a local newsagents in the town.

A number of interviews and items on the programme also came out of Ballymena.

BBC Radio Ulster presenter Connor Phillips said he could not wait to bring the BBC Radio Ulster team to Ballymena.

"It so important to meet the people who make our show so special. Our Ballymena listeners are amazing and we love sharing their stories with the world," he said.

"We'll have lots of different programmes for people to enjoy and a few surprises along the way.

"I'm a big fan of a birthday - I always try on something special and we'll be doing everything that we can to get everyone involved in celebrating BBC Northern Ireland's 100th birthday."

Chief executive of Libraries NI, Dr Jim O'Hagan said: "Libraries NI is delighted to have helped bring BBC Comes to Town to Ballymena."

"Our busy library and its staff will play host to lots of different BBC activities and events. And we'll be encouraging local people to come along and be part of BBC's big, birthday roadshow.

"This initiative builds on our partnership with the BBC and it's another great example of what we can do together."

Other towns which BBC Northern Ireland will be coming to in 2024 include Downpatrick, Enniskillen, Armagh, Coleraine and Omagh.