Hi-It's Leah!

Indianapolis went INternational, as the London based British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week. BBC is the UK’s largest broadcasting company, covering news, sport, film, music and more.

                

For his radio program called 5 Live, Simon Mayo and his crew traveled to five U.S. cities in five days to gather insight on the economy, the election and to get a feel for Midwest American culture. I think it’s pretty amazing that Indianapolis was chosen as one of five cities and even more interesting that people in the UK actually care about the opinions and passions of our citizens.

Although one goal of the broadcast was to preface the upcoming election, BBC also wanted to paint a picture of our city and there couldn’t have been a better location to capture the true essence of Indianapolis culture.

Some of the star players interviewed were Bobby Plump, 1950’s Indiana basketball star and the inspiration for the hit movie, Hoosiers; racecar driver Sarah Fisher; VP of IMS, Joie Chitwood; NCAA VP Dennis Cryder; University of Indianapolis senior track & field athlete Amy Schmitz; and IMS historian Donald Davidson; as well as some influential political voices of the city.

I loved meeting Bobby Plump. There’s something about him that just exudes enthusiasm for Indianapolis and a love for its history. (Probably because he IS a huge part of Indianapolis sports history).

Plus it was so cool to see the way UK does radio! They have so much high-tech equipment and efficiency. Pictures and podcasts from the trip were even posted the very same day of the interviews.

Listen to the broadcast here  and see pictures here!