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Stuart Hall OBE hosts a concert of music to inspire our sporting heroes. Includes Interval: Vassos Alexander looks at some of the new music being composed for the 2012 Games.

Whilst eyes are turned towards Olympic Stadium, and the visual spectacular of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, Radio 2 offers an aural spectacular presented by the broadcasting legend Stuart Hall OBE.

Stuart's broadcasting career started over 53 years ago when he joined Sports Report. And he still reports for the Radio 5 live show today. Legend has it that Stuart made the first mention of the expression "the beautiful game" during a report on his beloved Premier League Champions Manchester City.

A fine wordsmith and lover of the English language - his reports are witty and idiosyncratic. "I love words" he says. "Words like chocolate and custard and crystal and iconoclast." He once described Robbie Savage as "looks like Tarzan; plays like Jane." And when Stuart once quoted Socrates in an interview, his fellow pundit queried whether he still played for Panathinaikos!

On television during the 1970s, Stuart was the regular host of It's A Knockout and did his bit for Anglo-European relations on Jeux Sans Frontieres.

Tonight, he leaves no sporting stone unturned - athletics, cricket, rugby, boxing, ladies beach volleyball, and even quidditch feature. Along with tales of sporting heroes like Pheidippides, William Webb Ellis, Eric Liddell, Jake La Motta and Aldaniti.

Roderick Dunk conducts the Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra in a selection of music to inspire. The great sporting themes include Out Of The Blue, Champions and Chariots of Fire. The Three Welsh Tenors - Rhys Meiron; Aled Hall and Alun Rhys-Jenkins - are on hand to perform those emotion packed anthems Nessun Dorma, Land of Our Fathers and You'll Never Walk Alone. And pianist Andy Vinter plays the Black and White Rag, which for many years was the theme tune to Â鶹Éç television's Pot Black snooker coverage.

The concert was recorded at London's Mermaid Theatre.

1 hour, 57 minutes

Last on

Fri 27 Jul 2012 20:00

Music Played

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Friday Night Is Music Night

    (Williams)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Out of the Blue

    (Bath)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Chariots of Fire

    (Vangelis)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Rocky

    (Conti)

  • Three Welsh Tenors

    Rugby Medley – Bread of Heaven/Delilah/Land of Our Fathers

    (Various) (Ft. Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    World of Sport

    (Harper)

  • Andy Vinter (piano)

    Champions

    (Davis) (Ft. Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Derby Day

    (Farnon)

  • Three Welsh Tenors

    You'll Never Walk Alone

    (Rodgers) (Ft. Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Great Escape

    (Bernstein)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Mack And Mabel Overture

    (Herman)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Summon The Heroes

    (Williams)

  • Andy Vinter (piano)

    Black And White Rag

    (Botsford) (Ft. Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra Rhythm Section/Roderick Dunk)

  • Ronald Binge

    Sailing By

    Performer: Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Roderick Dunk.

    (Binge)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    The Trap

    (Goodwin)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo

    (Mascagni)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Harry's Wondrous World – Harry Potter Suite

    (Williams)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Pop Looks Bach

    (Fonteyn)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra

    Grandstand

    Conductor: Roderick Dunk.

    (Mansfield)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Soul Limbo

    (Jackson)

  • Three Welsh Tenors

    Nessun Dorma

    (Puccini) (Ft. Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    We Are The Champions

    (Queen)

  • Â鶹Éç Concert Orchestra/Roderick Dunk

    Friday Night Is Music Night

    (Williams)

Broadcast

  • Fri 27 Jul 2012 20:00