Second Time for Question Time at University of Birmingham

Flagship BBC political debate programme, Question Time, will this week be broadcast from the University of Birmingham for the second time in three years.

Following on from 2003, the University’s stunning Great Hall in the heart of its Edgbaston campus, will house a political rather than academic debate. Panelists joining the Chair, David Dimbleby, are RT Hon Jacqui Smith MP, RT Hon Lord Heseltine, RT Hon Charles Kennedy MP, Richard Lambert (CBI), and Janet Street Porter. The programme will be shown on BBC1 at 10.35pm.

Restored for the visit of Her Majesty the Queen in the University's centenary year, 2000, the Great Hall is one of the architectural showpieces of the University.  It was the setting in 1909 King Edward VII formal opening ceremony of the new University, fulfilling the dreams of the citizens of Birmingham who had collaborated - and financially contributed - the foundation of the University, along with its founder Joseph Chamberlain.

Now, each July and December, the Great Hall is the setting for a series of highly prestigious degree ceremonies which see thousands of students and a number of distinguished honorary graduates receiving their degrees. 

The Great Hall today is also frequently used by a range of outside bodies as a conference and external awards ceremony.  This month the venue will also play host to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ (CIPR) Midlands Pride Awards Dinner. For details about hiring the hall, visit: http://www.has.bham.ac.uk/weddings/greathall.shtml

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For further information please contact Anna Dingley, Press Officer, University of Birmingham on 0121 415 8134/07769 952 763, email a.j.dingley@bham.ac.uk  www.newscentre.bham.ac.uk