:00:14. > :00:23.Hello and welcome to Hull which for the whole of 2017 is the UK's city
:00:24. > :00:28.of culture. And this is the Humber Bridge, the latest location to take
:00:29. > :00:39.part in the 365 days celebration of art and culture. It's being turned
:00:40. > :00:45.into a giant musical incher -- instrument, taking you on a sonic
:00:46. > :00:50.journey. I've been exploring the cultural links between this maritime
:00:51. > :00:57.city and its sister city of wretched fix. All this talk of girls not
:00:58. > :01:01.boxing is old-fashioned. Will also find out how boxing pioneer barber
:01:02. > :01:23.Butterick is being honoured in her home city. -- Barbara.
:01:24. > :01:32.I'm the arts and culture correspondent for the BBC in Hull.
:01:33. > :01:36.I'm the face of Hull, chosen by the BBC to tell the world about the city
:01:37. > :01:41.of culture. We are on top of the Humber Bridge. Over there is
:01:42. > :01:47.Lincolnshire and behind you is this city of Hull. This is one of the
:01:48. > :01:54.North's most famous landmarks. It has stunning views and is an amazing
:01:55. > :01:59.piece of engineering. Its 156 metres tall, just under 500 feet. It's just
:02:00. > :02:06.a bit shorter than Blackpool Tower. I don't know how I'm going get down.
:02:07. > :02:12.I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! I'll let you into a little
:02:13. > :02:16.secret, there's a lift up here. This was asked earlier getting all the
:02:17. > :02:21.people and the kids up to the top of the Humber Bridge. If you look over
:02:22. > :02:23.the edge, you can see the very first people to experience the Humber
:02:24. > :02:44.Bridge as a musical instrument. The Swans bend their necks backwards
:02:45. > :02:49.to see God. They know the magnetism of the blue space. Listening through
:02:50. > :02:53.headphones, they're hearing a piece of work that combines poetry with
:02:54. > :03:01.sounds of the bridge as it creaks and sways in the wind. Lucy can
:03:02. > :03:05.explain. Many of us will have driven across the bridge, taking in the
:03:06. > :03:11.sights of the Humber River, but this unique project is hoping to inspire
:03:12. > :03:17.people to walk along its mile long length and get lost in incredible
:03:18. > :03:21.sounds. The east coast links to Scandinavia go back to the Vikings
:03:22. > :03:28.so Norwegian composers have been chosen to create a musical guided
:03:29. > :03:34.walk across the bridge. Today in arctic temperatures, they were
:03:35. > :03:41.walking the bridge together for the first time. It's really, really cold
:03:42. > :03:45.here today and it's been snowing and raining. It's a fantastic
:03:46. > :03:50.construction and so much bigger than I expected. It's been interesting to
:03:51. > :03:56.walk across the bridge together and to hear the sound of the bridge
:03:57. > :04:03.itself. Uniquely, it's the noises the bridge makes which will form the
:04:04. > :04:08.basis of the peace. A field recorder has been given the job of capturing
:04:09. > :04:13.them. I have to admit I was very sceptical when he started testing
:04:14. > :04:18.the railings to see which ones sounded the most musical. This one,
:04:19. > :04:26.maybe this one. This section here. Let's try this. I can't hear a
:04:27. > :04:30.thing. He sticks little contact microphones onto the railings to
:04:31. > :04:45.capture their sound. If I play them, you can hear... I can't believe
:04:46. > :04:52.that. Amazing, isn't it? I take everything back, it's very musical.
:04:53. > :04:55.And it's these raw sounds that Yanda and how his team have been
:04:56. > :05:01.transforming into a piece for orchestra and chorus. This is the
:05:02. > :05:07.sound of the bridge. The plan is to use the voice of the bridge to say
:05:08. > :05:11.something like, look to the left. When you're walking across the
:05:12. > :05:14.bridge and you look to the left, you look across the bridge and this
:05:15. > :05:19.beautiful sound of the orchestra starts playing. It's like film
:05:20. > :05:38.music. It is beautiful, isn't it? Today, the orchestra is recording
:05:39. > :05:52.its part. The choral parts have arrived and
:05:53. > :05:59.the chorus has one day to learn and record them. We have to sing very,
:06:00. > :06:07.very quietly. That's a challenge because it's quite opposite to what
:06:08. > :06:14.we are normally asked to do. At Bute Park primary School in Hull,
:06:15. > :06:16.auditions are taking place for the voice of the Humber Bridge. The
:06:17. > :06:23.child who will be the narrator on the walk. My name is Katie and I'm
:06:24. > :06:26.going to keep you company on your journey to the bridge.
:06:27. > :06:31.Eight-year-old Kate Smith has been chosen to be the voice of the Humber
:06:32. > :06:37.Bridge. I think it will be a bit weird hearing myself. But it's going
:06:38. > :06:39.to be pretty cool. It's a long walk ahead, I hope you've got strong
:06:40. > :07:03.shoes. Look up! Faces an extraordinary, soaring
:07:04. > :07:08.piece of music and to think it came originally from the very sounds of
:07:09. > :07:10.the bridge itself. It only really makes sense when you're out here.
:07:11. > :07:16.Fantastic. That looked amazing. We are going to
:07:17. > :07:36.have a go. It's an opportunity to walk along an
:07:37. > :07:39.iconic part of Hull and really enjoy it with an extra experience you
:07:40. > :07:46.wouldn't normally have the opportunity to do. It was brilliant.
:07:47. > :07:51.You appreciate the environment more, you're in a zone. It makes you think
:07:52. > :07:58.differently having the music directing your thinking. It was
:07:59. > :08:03.good. Amazing, I enjoyed it. Usually I just drive past, but I never walk
:08:04. > :08:10.across. A long time since I've walked the bridge and this added to
:08:11. > :08:13.the atmosphere, fantastic. You only have to look across from the Humber
:08:14. > :08:19.Bridge to see that this is an area which has close links to the scene.
:08:20. > :08:24.Hull was a major fishing port and one of its sister cities is
:08:25. > :08:30.Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Later this month a major music
:08:31. > :08:35.Festival is planned in the city of culture to celebrate those maritime
:08:36. > :08:40.links. It's curated by John Grant, an American now living in Iceland.
:08:41. > :08:46.He showed me around Reykjavik and explain some of the cultural
:08:47. > :08:50.similarities between the cities. Welcome to Iceland, home of fjords,
:08:51. > :08:57.trolls and an unexpectedly good football team. But what has it got
:08:58. > :09:02.to do with Hull? For one thing, Reykjavik is one of Hull's sister
:09:03. > :09:06.cities. Through the fishing industry, they've traded with each
:09:07. > :09:11.other for 700 years, sometimes peacefully, sometimes less friendly.
:09:12. > :09:16.They were both in the world's top ten cities to visit in the rough
:09:17. > :09:21.guide in 2016. It's said the cobblestones in the old town were
:09:22. > :09:27.brought from Iceland. But there are also cultural links. North Atlantic
:09:28. > :09:32.flux, one of the major music Festival is, will celebrate Hull's
:09:33. > :09:38.Nordic traditions. This is its curator, John Grant. John Grant is
:09:39. > :09:43.an American that has lived in America -- Reykjavik for the last
:09:44. > :09:49.five years. He's such an Nordic native that he co-wrote Iceland's
:09:50. > :09:59.2014 entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. Hello. I meet John at this
:10:00. > :10:04.coffee shop, his favourite place in Reykjavik and the setting for his
:10:05. > :10:11.album art. Hull has been on my radar for a long time. Several artists I
:10:12. > :10:16.admire have connections to Hull, like Tracey Thorn and lain low
:10:17. > :10:23.pitch. Cosy fantasy. These very female voices from Hull that I've
:10:24. > :10:29.been listening to and influenced by four decades. Hull is also known for
:10:30. > :10:38.its resilience, its powerhouse women. Revolutionaries. It's aptly.
:10:39. > :10:43.It was down to four women who brought about these protests after
:10:44. > :10:46.the trawler tragedy. Can you take me through the festival you've created?
:10:47. > :10:54.You'll see a good mixture of what Hull has to offer. Also things from
:10:55. > :10:57.the north Atlantic. It's quite Scandinavian. And then some of my
:10:58. > :11:04.favourite things from around Britain. Britain has been
:11:05. > :11:09.instrumental, pun intended, it in forming my musical DNA and my
:11:10. > :11:14.musical vocabulary. It's a very, very important place for me. This
:11:15. > :11:19.festival is no ordinary gig for John. He's genuinely invested in the
:11:20. > :11:24.story of Hull and its connection to the North Atlantic. He showed me
:11:25. > :11:31.another favourite spot of his, this church, which is the focal part of
:11:32. > :11:36.the skyline in Reykjavik. Even though there have been hardships and
:11:37. > :11:41.some animosity in the past between Iceland and Hull, there are still a
:11:42. > :11:45.lot of similarities. People are connected to the sea. What that does
:11:46. > :11:49.in terms of building character and your relationship to nature is
:11:50. > :11:54.something the two very much have in common. The sea separates us, but it
:11:55. > :11:59.also gives us this shared history and natural understanding of each
:12:00. > :12:02.other's heritage. Historically men from both cities would trawl for
:12:03. > :12:07.fish and these cities, which led to overfishing and a breakdown in
:12:08. > :12:11.relations, but now through music and art there is a friendship which
:12:12. > :12:15.thrives on so many levels. That's what John Grant and his friends will
:12:16. > :12:23.be celebrating in Hull and that's why I'll be there at the front of
:12:24. > :12:27.the crowd. Still ahead, one of Hull's most famous daughters on
:12:28. > :12:31.inspiring the next generation of performers. That white-haired women
:12:32. > :12:40.with spectacles can be on telly and so can I. And the man whose swaps
:12:41. > :12:46.rock for classical stardom. But first, my guide to some of the other
:12:47. > :12:52.2017 highlights and a little look ahead at what's to come. In March,
:12:53. > :12:56.the 75 metre wind turbine blade that sparked a debate about what art is
:12:57. > :13:02.was moved to a new home. It left a void in the centre of Hull for about
:13:03. > :13:06.five days. Quickly replaced by the famous weeping window poppy
:13:07. > :13:15.sculpture. It literally represents a piece of our history that is
:13:16. > :13:18.relevant now. See what people think. Files feed takes the real
:13:19. > :13:26.conversations of Hull's young people and act them out with puppets. If
:13:27. > :13:34.you drive through Hull... You get to Scarborough. An incredible
:13:35. > :13:37.collection of celebrity portraits is currently on display at the
:13:38. > :13:42.University of Hull. It's a rare chance to see the entire collection
:13:43. > :13:46.of paintings by winners of the National BP portrait award. People
:13:47. > :13:50.are really excited, it's always busy and the gallery has never been this
:13:51. > :13:59.busy before. It's great to have the publicity. An epic you're --
:14:00. > :14:04.year-long show continues. Flood. Part one was online and part three
:14:05. > :14:09.will be broadcast on BBC TV. And there's lots more to come, including
:14:10. > :14:14.Richard III, starring Matt Frazer, and a piece of theatre by middle
:14:15. > :14:16.child. It's a play in a nightclub punctuated by live music from local
:14:17. > :14:26.bands. One of the unexpected things about
:14:27. > :14:31.city of culture is that it has an unearthed some are mockable success
:14:32. > :14:34.stories that had either been ignored or forgotten. That story is about
:14:35. > :14:41.all sorts of culture, and not just obvious ones like music and theatre.
:14:42. > :14:46.Sport, specifically boxing. Barbara Butterick was born in Hull and she
:14:47. > :14:50.was the world's first women boxing champion in the 1950s. We sent
:14:51. > :14:54.former boxing champion Johnny Nelson to meet her. To become the best
:14:55. > :15:05.boxer in the world, it takes commitment. But for one fighter, the
:15:06. > :15:08.toughest battle was just to set foot in the ring. Barbara Butterick went
:15:09. > :15:10.on to become the world's first women's boxing champion. She trained
:15:11. > :15:17.at the same gym as Mohammed Ali Bhatti under five foot tall, she was
:15:18. > :15:23.known as the mighty atom. Now 87, it's more than 70 years since she
:15:24. > :15:30.fell in love with boxing. On my bedroom wall as a kid I had all
:15:31. > :15:35.boxers. I bought myself a harness thing that you could put a football
:15:36. > :15:40.in and made a punch bag out of it. I read this in the newspaper. An
:15:41. > :15:51.article inspired her to make it her career. This is the newspaper
:15:52. > :15:54.clipping. It tells about Polly Bernsen, who travelled in a boxing
:15:55. > :16:01.booth. I thought if she could do it so could I. Let me try boxing.
:16:02. > :16:07.Typist by day, boxer by night, she headed to London to find a trainer
:16:08. > :16:10.and opponents. I think all this talk about girls not boxing is
:16:11. > :16:16.old-fashioned. Girls aren't the delicate flowers they used to be.
:16:17. > :16:21.Anyhow, my boyfriend doesn't mind. Her boyfriend was her trainer, who
:16:22. > :16:31.she later married. Soon she was making headlines, although none very
:16:32. > :16:37.positive. The criticism... Did it bother you? Nicki Wood said we made
:16:38. > :16:44.the front page again. He said don't read it, measure it. She would take
:16:45. > :16:59.to challenging any woman who challenged her. Fed up with
:17:00. > :17:04.fairgrounds, she took to fair -- she went to America. This was one
:17:05. > :17:07.fighter I lost. Look at the size difference! I never fought anybody
:17:08. > :17:19.my own size. In 1957, came the moment she dreamt
:17:20. > :17:24.of. She got a professional licence and became the world's first woman
:17:25. > :17:32.boxing champion. It is nice to know you buy the best in the world. The
:17:33. > :17:41.title brought her to the epicentre of the boxing world. Miami Beach's
:17:42. > :17:46.fifth St gym. It is in the new building today but inside, the
:17:47. > :17:54.history lives on. I see pictures on the wall of non-Muhammad Ali. You
:17:55. > :17:56.were here when these guys were here? Yes. He was very confident of
:17:57. > :18:11.himself. She mentioned his name is coming you
:18:12. > :18:20.talk about these people but these were actually history makers. They
:18:21. > :18:29.supported me. In 1960, Barbara retired, having won 30 fights. But
:18:30. > :18:33.she can say goodbye to boxing. She set up women's International Boxing
:18:34. > :18:38.Federation and gave women titles to fight for, and in 2012, she to
:18:39. > :18:45.London to watch women box for Olympic medals for the first time in
:18:46. > :18:54.history. Among them, Nicola Adams. It is because of the like her that I
:18:55. > :19:03.got into boxing. It been hard for her to keep pushing, keep training
:19:04. > :19:07.and try to be taken seriously. I've got is a big thank you to Barbara
:19:08. > :19:21.felt paving the way. She is coming back to visit city macro. Stroke. --
:19:22. > :19:26.Hull. Southport is this way. It is very easy to get this way, to get
:19:27. > :19:30.your feet stepped on. If I was a kid today, I would be in my glory, I
:19:31. > :19:34.would pack my gym bag, walk off the same of anybody off and go in the
:19:35. > :19:41.gym and work out. I think dystrophy. When Barbara put on a first pair of
:19:42. > :19:45.boxing glove seven decades ago, she could only dream that girls would be
:19:46. > :19:53.welcome into boxing gyms. But it could never have happened without
:19:54. > :20:00.Barbara leading the way. Barbara's life has inspired a
:20:01. > :20:07.brand-new play. She was finally recognised in her home city at the
:20:08. > :20:12.women of the world Festival. It started life back in 2011 other
:20:13. > :20:17.Southbank Centre in London, though it now comes to venues around the
:20:18. > :20:20.globe. As well as Barbara, it also celebrated the work of Hull
:20:21. > :20:32.comedians Maureen Lipman and Lucy Beaumont. They recorded play in
:20:33. > :20:39.front of live audience. She is coming out of my birthday. I want to
:20:40. > :20:44.go to Amsterdam. Amsterdam? You know what the women do in Amsterdam?
:20:45. > :20:51.Yeah, what? They make cheese. Maureen Lipman is one of whole's
:20:52. > :20:57.most famous exports with career, stage, TV spanning five decades.
:20:58. > :21:01.Do you think there are things of the audience in Hull that will pick up
:21:02. > :21:07.that went over the heads of Radio 4 audience? I think when I called her
:21:08. > :21:14.Sophie, I think people will know we are both the real McCoy. It feels
:21:15. > :21:19.very whole, it feels I like to say -- I hate to say last outpost
:21:20. > :21:23.because everything now is very buzzy, City of Culture has animated
:21:24. > :21:28.the place. As a woman worker in the performing arts, do you find you are
:21:29. > :21:32.treated differently, as a woman? The arts have always been a bit more
:21:33. > :21:36.level pegging for women, and who would have thought, after the second
:21:37. > :21:42.wave feminism that the most popular book would have been 50 Shades of
:21:43. > :21:48.Grey which is very definitely putting us back over a man's knee.
:21:49. > :21:53.It is just obscene, really. Sometimes, we are just our own worst
:21:54. > :22:00.enemy. We don't go for it, we don't sit forward, the number of times I
:22:01. > :22:06.have had women say, I hate my desk, I hate my nose, I hate my breasts, I
:22:07. > :22:12.hate my legs, not to mention I've never heard a woman say, I was right
:22:13. > :22:17.for that part and I really deserve it, because they always say, I don't
:22:18. > :22:21.know why they have chosen the! I went in and I didn't read well and I
:22:22. > :22:28.couldn't believe I got it. You know, I think ambition is something which
:22:29. > :22:33.is still regarded as unfeminine. And that is just going to take time. Are
:22:34. > :22:39.you hoping that you and Lucy being here, as women who have achieved in
:22:40. > :22:42.the arts and out there showing that women from Hull can do it, are you
:22:43. > :22:50.hoping that you might make a step towards changing that? I don't
:22:51. > :22:53.really have the arrogance, yes I am arrogant, but don't really have that
:22:54. > :22:58.kind of belief that I changing anything, I am just making people
:22:59. > :23:02.laugh. And I come from Hull. And that is about it, and I think Lucy
:23:03. > :23:08.would probably agree with me. It is stripped, drip, drip, with women's
:23:09. > :23:11.rights. A little bit, if there was one kid out there watching him
:23:12. > :23:18.things, gosh, if that Whitehead woman with spectacles can be on
:23:19. > :23:21.telly, so can I. Someone living in London, have you count people in the
:23:22. > :23:28.capital look at hold differently since we became City of Culture? It
:23:29. > :23:32.has always been regarded with a bit of a snigger, hasn't it? End of the
:23:33. > :23:37.line, whole, in a sense we engender that ourselves, we put up a barrier
:23:38. > :23:49.that says we are all right, we don't body need you. Now, people will come
:23:50. > :23:55.in and see that it is folksy and feisty and funky and the other F
:23:56. > :23:57.word as well. Is it going to make a permanent difference? You are only
:23:58. > :24:05.going to find that out when you pay the bills at the end of it? Are you
:24:06. > :24:11.proud to be from Hull? My pride goes back before City of Culture and I
:24:12. > :24:15.always, always said I am from Hull, I have joked about it, I have joked
:24:16. > :24:20.about it, I have been proud about it, I have no need to be in a City
:24:21. > :24:25.of Culture but I am happy for the city that it has got it. It is about
:24:26. > :24:29.time we got something. The music on the Humber Bridge is
:24:30. > :24:35.one of the many pieces specifically commissioned for 2017. There will be
:24:36. > :24:40.all sorts of styles and genres, including a brand-new work from one
:24:41. > :24:47.of classical music's real superstars Carl Jenkinson.
:24:48. > :24:54.Here is Caroline Bilton with more. His music is known to millions, from
:24:55. > :25:01.IDMS, to his most highly acclaimed and popular piece, the armed man.
:25:02. > :25:07.Sir Karl Jenkins is Britain does Mac most successful living classical
:25:08. > :25:14.composer so when whole's Philemon Caulker/ wolf looking for someone to
:25:15. > :25:24.write a special piece of work -- Hull Orchestra. Why don't we try and
:25:25. > :25:30.commission a composer to write a piece especially for us. Who better
:25:31. > :25:38.to go for than coal Jenkins? They are than nation's leading amateur
:25:39. > :25:43.Symphony Orchestra and have performed in Hull's City Hall for
:25:44. > :25:50.over 100, they wanted a piece of music that would celebrate it. For a
:25:51. > :25:55.composer best known for his choral music, it would be a break from the
:25:56. > :26:02.norm but an opportunity to good to miss. The City of Culture is an
:26:03. > :26:10.amazing thing. To be part of it is wonderful. This piece ticks all the
:26:11. > :26:17.boxes. Experimenting with music is how his career began. The last thing
:26:18. > :26:24.-- time he played in Hull was when performing with a 70s jazz rock
:26:25. > :26:30.group. But he has never written music for an organ like this before.
:26:31. > :26:36.In this age nowadays, sounds are digitised and because of that,...
:26:37. > :26:42.Inside that thing, that is an actual instrument with something hitting
:26:43. > :26:48.end. When you want to base drum sound, it is the glockenspiel being
:26:49. > :26:58.hit with hammers. It is quite incredible, really. 6000 pipes is in
:26:59. > :27:02.his own words, quirky, an oddball, a celebration of Hull's history, its
:27:03. > :27:07.people, and its traditions. And at its heart, the organ, played by
:27:08. > :27:13.Jonathan Scott. It has amazing power. There are 95 stops, a full
:27:14. > :27:16.keyboard and a pedal board you play with your feet, it will bit rate and
:27:17. > :27:22.Orchestra and the accompaniment. If you think through time, you think
:27:23. > :27:27.Bach, Beethoven, if they were playing their piece, an amazing
:27:28. > :27:31.experience. They write these pieces and they are baring their soul and
:27:32. > :27:35.they put it out there and I wanted to sound great so we are all making
:27:36. > :27:43.it sound the best that everyone can make it.
:27:44. > :27:52.The world premiere of 6000 pipes played to a sell-out audience. There
:27:53. > :28:01.will be another opportunity to hear this unique piece of music in
:28:02. > :28:05.February of next year. That is it from the top of the
:28:06. > :28:10.Humber Bridge and our bird's eye view of the City of Culture. I hope
:28:11. > :28:19.you have enjoyed this show. We will be back next month. We will look
:28:20. > :28:25.ahead to the weekend, and we will meet the 2017 volunteers. That is
:28:26. > :28:30.all coming up in May. If you need a culture ticks in the meantime, go to
:28:31. > :28:34.our website. Goodbye. Bye, now.