ENGLAND

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

NATIONAL SYMBOLS

The Tudor rose, England's national floral emblemThe Royal Arms of England

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcasting corporation headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. The BBC operates several television channels in the UK of which BBC One and BBC Two are the flagship television channels. In addition to these two flagship channels, the BBC operates several digital only stations: BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News, BBC Parliament, and two children's channels, CBBC and CBeebies.

ENGLISH TV

ITV is a major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority(ITA) to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK.

ENGLISH TV

E4 is a British digital television channel. The "E" stands for entertainment, and the channel is mainly aimed at the lucrative 15–35 age group. Programming includes U.S. imports such as The Cleveland Show, The O.C., Smallville, Veronica Mars, Everwood, What About Brian?, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, 90210, One Tree Hill, Ugly Betty, Scrubs, Rules of Engagement, The Big Bang Theory and formerly Friends. Other programming includes British shows such as Misfits, The Ricky Gervais Show, Shameless, Hollyoaks, Skins, The Inbetweeners and Made in Chelsea.

ENGLISH TV

BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom. The service provides national radio stations covering the majority of musical genres, as well as local radio stations covering local news, affairs and interests. Internally, BBC Radio is now organised under the banner of BBC Audio & Music, which also oversees online audio content.

RADIO

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00 pm, including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed primarily at the 15–29 age group, although the average age of the audience is 33.

RADIO

The Hits Radio is a popular mainstream music channel operated by Bauer Media. The Station forms part of the Bauer Passion Portfolio. It is the biggest digital commercial radio station in Europe. The station presents a mix of music genres along with chat and regular news updates. It has the same logo identity as the former The Hits television channel.

RADIO

The X Factor is a British television programme, in which ordinary people who want to be singers compete for a recording contract and a cash prize. It is shown from August-December each year on Saturdays and Sundays on the channel ITV.

There are four judges on the show, Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger. Originally there were only three judges: Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne.

There have been eight winners to date: Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson, Alexandra Burke, Joe McElderry, Matt Cardle and Little Mix. Winners receive a recording contract with record label Syco Music with a stated value of £1 million.

The show is the biggest television talent competition in Europe and has proved hugely popular with the public.

The first three series of the show were hosted by Kate Thornton. Thornton was replaced from series 4 by Dermot O'Leary.

TV SHOWS

THE JUDGES

THE HOSTS

The X Factor 2010Performer: One Direction (3rd place)

The X Factor 2011The Winner: Little Mix

The X Factor 2012

The X Factor 2012

The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual event in the United Kingdom, honouring British people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challenging situations. The awards were founded by Peter Willis, an associate editor of the Daily Mirror, under the editorship of Piers Morgan. The first Pride of Britain Awards were held at the Dorchester Hotel, Mayfair, London in May 1999.

The 14th Pride of Britain Awards ceremony was held at Grosvenor House in London on 29 October 2012 and televised the following day. It was hosted by Carol Vorderman.

AWARDS SHOWS

The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards and the British equivalent of the American Grammy Awards. The awards began in 1977 and as annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. The last BPI Awards show was the first of the ceremonies to be broadcast on television, by the BBC. The Brit Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed. Subsequently, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. From 2007, the Brit Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV.

AWARDS SHOWS

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II is a multinational celebration throughout 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries upon the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952.  Following the tradition of jubilees past, a Diamond Jubilee medal  is being awarded in various countries and holidays and events will be held throughout the Commonwealth. Unlike during her Golden Jubilee, when the Queen toured most of her countries around the world, for the Diamond Jubilee, Elizabeth II toured the United Kingdom only, while her children and some of her grandchildren undertook tours of the Commonwealth realms and other member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations.

MAIN EVENTS IN YEAR 2012

The Diamond Jubilee Concert was held on 4 June 2012 outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London. Organised by BBC Events with help from Gary Barlow, the concert was part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Diamond Jubilee Concert followed two concerts held at the palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee a decade earlier – the classical Prom at the Palace and the pop themed Party at the Palace.

The concert was partially attended by the Queen, who arrived at 9pm, but not by Prince Philip who had been taken to hospital with a bladder infection earlier in the day. Prince Charles and other members of the royal family attended the whole concert.

DIAMOND JUBILEE CONCERT

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and commonly known as London 2012, was a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It took place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The first event, the group stage in women's football, began two days earlier, on 25 July. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated.

2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS

The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games took place on the evening of Friday 27 July in the Olympic Stadium, London. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation’s culture. For London 2012 the Games were formally opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The spectacle was entitled Isles of Wonder and directed by Academy Award-winning British film director Danny Boyle, with music specially written by electronic music group Underworld.

The ceremony began at 21:00 BST and lasted almost four hours.  It was watched by an estimated worldwide television audience of 900 million,  becoming the most-viewed Olympic opening ceremony in both the US and UK.

THE OPENING CEREMONY

The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August in the Olympic Stadium. The event was created by Kim Gavin, Es Devlin, Stephen Daldry, David Arnold and Mark Fisher. The worldwide broadcast began at 21:00 BST(UTC+1) and finished at 00:11, lasting three hours and eleven minutes. The stadium had been turned into a giant repersentation of the Union Flag, designed by Damian Hirst. Around 4,100 people partook in the ceremony; which reportably cost £20 million.  The 2012 Summer Olympics were officially closed by Jacques Rogge, who called London's games "happy and glorious." The ceremony included a handover to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro and saw the Olympic flame extinguished and the flag lowered. The main part of the evening featured a one hour symphony of British Music as a number of British Pop acts appeared. Tributes to John Lennon and Freddy Mercury and the fashion industry were included in the section. Rio marked the handover with an eight minute section known as Embrace created by Cao Hamburger and Daniela Thomas featuring Pele. Sebastian Coe gave a speech and the volunteers of London 2012 were thanked.

THE CLOSING CEREMONY

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