Queen’s 49 seconds speech opens BBC’s new home

Queen Elizabeth has officially opened the eight-floor Broadcasting House to serve the BBC’s new home in central London, with a prayer it serves the news powerhouse well into the future.

The Queen’s simple speech which lasted less than 50 seconds recalled rich memories of great world landmarks, including World War II and how much advances have attended the broadcasting industry, an industry she acknowledged, has enriched our lives in diverse ways.

“It is a great pleasure to visit the BBC today and to see it in its new home. I remember first coming to Broadcasting House with my father The King, and my mother and sister shortly before the war. I came again with The Duke of Edinburgh just before the coronation in 1953. I was struck then as I am now, by the sheer pace and change which has transformed your industry over the past sixty years, years during which broadcasting has enriched our lives in so many ways. I hope this new building will serve you well for the future and I’m delighted to declare it open today,” she said.

Listen to the Queen's speech.

The Queen was shown round the facility before which she was introduced by BBC director general Lord Hall to declare the new edifice open with a live broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

According to the BBC, the building will house nine radio networks, three 24-hour TV news channels, all of the BBC's main news bulletins and is the workplace for 6,000 BBC staff from the BBC's television, radio, news and online services.

Isaac Yeboah/Graphic.com.gh