Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000
| Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Miriam O'Callaghan Mark Little Geri Maye Pat Kenny Liz Bonnin Joe Duffy |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Noel Curran |
| Production locations | RTÉ Television Centre, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One |
| Release | 31 December 1999 – 1 January 2000 |
Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 was RTÉ's coverage of the turn of the millennium from 31 December 1999 into 1 January 2000. Part of the 2000 Today programming in Ireland, a series of well-known broadcasters presented various stages of the nineteen-hour broadcast.
Development
2000 Today was conceived as part of the Millennium celebrations, given the numerical significance of the change from 1999 to 2000.
The programme was produced and televised by an international consortium of 60 broadcasters, including RTÉ and headed by the BBC in Britain and WGBH in the United States. The BBC provided the production hub for receiving and distributing the 78 international satellite feeds required for this broadcast.
Production
RTÉ launched their millennium eve programming on 30 November 1999. At the time the programme was described as the largest, single television show in Irish history. Up to 5,000 staff worked on the 2000 Today project worldwide, with 500 workers based at the RTÉ Television Centre. In all three television studios were utilised while four outside satellite units, forty cameras in twenty Irish locations worked to pull together an array of images from around both the country and globe. As part of a Reconciliation 2000 theme RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland co-operated on several events during the broadcast.[1]
Programming
The first midnight celebrations in the South Pacific and reports from Jerusalem and Nazareth featured.[2]
| Time | Programme | Description |
| 9:30am | Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 | Miriam O'Callaghan began the international countdown on RTÉ. |
| 1:10pm | RTÉ News and Weather | |
| 1:20pm | Millennium Chorus | A special concert featuring Michael Crawford, Jennifer Holiday and Kathie Lee Gifford. |
| 2:25pm | Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 | Mark Little and Geri Maye presented further coverage from around the globe. |
| 4:05pm | Millennium Bells | A special broadcast from St. Colman's Cathedral in Cobh, County Cork. |
| 4:10pm | Last Lights Ceremony | Live coverage of the lighting of the special millennium candles, beginning at Áras an Uachtaráin. |
| 5:00pm | Celebrate 2000 | A programme of song and reflections from the Abbey of Multyfarnham and Áras an Uachtaráin. |
| 6:30pm | RTÉ News and Weather | The main news stories by Bryan Dobson and Úna O'Hagan. |
| 7:20pm | Celebrate 2000 | Pat Kenny, Liz Bonnin and Joe Duffy presented a gala programme of music and chat from Studio 4. |
| 9:00pm | RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock | The evening main news. |
| 9:20pm | Celebrate 2000 | Pat Kenny, Liz Bonnin and Joe Duffy presented the final leg of the countdown to midnight. |
Ratings
The Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 schedule reached 75 per cent of the people of Ireland, the equivalent of 2.6 million viewers. At midnight 74 per cent of the available audience were watching RTÉ One.[3]
References
- ^ "RTE gears up for TV marathon to ring in New Year". Irish Independent. 1 December 1999. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ Humphreys, Joe (28 December 1999). "Millennium Eve broadcast will be largest yet for RTE". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015.
- ^ "Millennium joy for RTE". Irish Times. 5 January 2000. Retrieved 21 August 2011.