The Centre for British Studies presents a two-day symposium bringing together international scholars to explore a century of connections between Berlin and the BBC. Focusing on spies, sports, musicians, secret listeners and special correspondents, this event showcases how Germany's iconic city was brought to life on air and on screen from the 1930s through to the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall and beyond.

Founded in 1922, the BBC developed strong and influential connections with Germany from the start, focused particularly on Berlin. As one of the few international cultural institutions that remained in situ in the city throughout the Weimar years, the Third Reich, the era of divided Germany through to the reunification, the BBC is a revealing case-study of how British-German relations changed over time.

This symposium invites international scholars from various disciplines to investigate the unique relationship between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the city of Berlin. How did German culture and history, filtered through the experiences of Berlin, feature in the programmes and reporting of the BBC over the past hundred years?

Alongside the diverse academic programme, the two-day symposium features a keynote lecture by Sir Nicholas Kenyon, former Director of BBC3 and former Managing Director of the Barbican Centre, as well as a roundtable featuring BBC Berlin correspondents reporting on Berlin over the last decades.

This event is a cooperation between the Centre for British Studies (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Museum für Kommunikation Berlin and the British Embassy, funded by the DFG.

Please register at: events.gbz@hu-berlin.de. When registering please state if you wish to attend in person or via Zoom.