Best of the Fest | Lisa Campbell

I had the pleasurable experience of going behind-the-scenes of someone else’s festival this weekend, letting others run around like headless chickens while I sat back and enjoyed the show and the bacon butties.

Radio 2’s Hyde Park Festival was a lesson in perfect planning at every level. Festival-goers were armed with folding chairs, pac-a-macs and, at the top end of festival comfort, the Wicked Wedge (check it out). Meanwhile, the 1000-staff behind-the-scenes made sure that artists were happy (but not too happy, this is licence fee-payers money…), that stages were set and that Royal Park grass was left as nature intended. Individual speaker-systems were even in place to adjust sound levels should the wind direction change and residents complain. 

While we didn’t quite get down to that level of detail in Edinburgh, we did, just like Hyde Park, have a passionate team of people shedding blood, sweat and tears to make things happen, from the production director who clocked up 20 miles within the EICC on day 1 to the producer who stressed, railed and rallied to create a must-attend session, right down to the YouTube team who toasted 1250 pieces of bread for hungry/hungover delegates (see Festival in Numbers).

Making the most of that huge effort is one reason why we’re keen to keep sharing the Best of the Fest. One of the biggest ‘complaints’ is that there is too much to see, but you can catch-up at your leisure because 90% of our content is available on YouTube.

Listen to Frankie “Scotland’s Jesus” Boyle on media coverage of Scottish Independence - “the ‘No’ campaign will get torpedoed by media bias”-  and his views on what the fall-out will be, whatever the result; listen to BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore battle with Krishnan Guru-Murthy and former director general John Birt’s warnings onplans to re-shape the BBC; get up to speed on all the stats driving the diversity debate with our Minority Report VT and hear Steph Parker talking with trademark honesty on the idea for Gogglebox  -“on paper it’s shit”.

One of the most inspiring sessions was our 12-minute Ed Talks. Those featured include:

Gurinder Chadha and Romesh Ranganathan’s witty sketch on racism and unconscious bias and Jon Snow on the changing dynamics of news provision brought about by social media.

Plus M&C Saatchi boss Camilla Harrison: “Difference is good. Generosity is powerful. If more people feel they own the idea it will help you win the war”;

Professor Vincent Walsh: “Creative people have the courage to be beautifully wrong. Creative people aren't the ones to get it right all the time”;

And Brand guru Steve Edge: “Dress for a party every day and the party will come to you;”

With advice like that at your finger tips, what are you waiting for? Click here to see more on our YouTube channel.