2000 Why, hello there. This should be an interesting night, morning, and possibly afternoon…
2002 A warm welcome to this live election night blog. It won’t be a good place to find the latest news on the results themselves, but what I can promise is a look at how all the main TV channels are covering a night which, whatever the outcome, promises to be historic. In White City, Holborn and Osterley right now there’ll be a few producers, directors and journalists feeling almost as nervous as the candidates.
2005 I’ve got a feeling I might run out of things to say within the hour, so it’d be great if you could get involved as well. If you spot anything interesting, unusual or funny during tonight’s election coverage, send me a tweet at @blakeconnolly.
2010 Sky News will get things under way in 50 minutes at their traditional 9 o’clock start time. For the first time, their coverage won’t be coming from a special studio, but instead they’ll follow the model they used in their American election coverage in 2008 by having Jeremy Thompson, Kay Burley and Anna Botting presenting on location from the main party leaders’ constituencies. Adam Boulton will be joined by guests, including Sky election regular professor Micheal Thrasher, in the news centre, while Martin Standford will be in charge of the graphics at the newswall.
2014 It’ll also be the full launch of Sky News HD. As well as clearer pictures from the studio and the counts, the HD channel will have its own graphics, making use of the fact that smaller text is legiable in high definition and as you can see here, making full use of the width of the widescreen picture without having to worry about people watching on older, 4:3 ratio TVs:
2022 The BBC coverage will be presented, of course, by David Dimbleby in a typically enormous set, dubbed “the coliseum”, in TV Centre’s Studio 1. be joined at his desk by Nick Robinson while Jeremy Vine will be playing with virtual graphics and a new swingometer in his green screen area. Emily Maitlis will be joined by Peter Kellner at a giant touch-screen to look at seats in detail. Up on the balcony, Paxman will be grilling guests in the way only he can, and Fiona Bruce will be popping up with regular news updates.
2026 This’ll be Vine’s first general election since taking over from the retired Peter Snow. Let’s just hope he doesn’t repeat this, from the 2008 local elections:
2033 This countdown has just appeared on Sky News HD:
2038 ITV’s coverage looks like it’ll be a more laid-back, cosy affair. Alistair Stewart is the host, and he’ll be joined in the vitual reality studio below by Julie Etchingham, who will be in charge of all of the graphics including a complicated-looking set of beakers and water pipes that’ll apparently be explaining how a hung parliament works. Tom Bradby and Professor Colin Rallings will add analysis from the studio, while Mary Nightingale will be hosting an election night party in Westminster.
2044 Channel Four, meanwhile, will be the place to go for laughs tonight. David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne and Jimmy Carr will be joined by Charlie Brooker, an array of guests including a bookmaker with the latest odds and a live studio audience for an entertaining and irreverent look at the results as they come in. Throughout the night there’ll be segments from a special edition of Come Dine With Me featuring the unlikely combination of Edwina Currie, Brian Paddick, Derek Hatton and Rod Liddle. Robert Webb, Sharon Horgan and Peter Serafinowicz take part in a special edition of You Have Been Watching, looking at election coverage and the world of political television. Plus, from time to time the Fonejacker’s cast of characters will be popping up with prank calls.
2047 The last time an alternative, satirical election broadcast was attempted, it was the utterly fantastic Election Night Armistice in 1997, with Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham and David Schneider. Here’s a clip:
2052 Less than ten minutes until Sky’s broadcast gets under way. No matter how brash you might think Sky’s style is, they’ve come a very long way from their first election night in 1992. You really have to see the ridiculously over-the-top opening sequence half way down this page over on TV Ark, along with a treasure trove of past election clips.
2057 Throughout the night, I’ll also be having a look at some of the international and regional coverage of the election. As I mentioned earlier, if you spot anything interesting in the coverage, send a tweet to me at @blakeconnolly. Oh, and as it says up there, press refresh from time to time for the latest updates.
2102 Sky News HD launches with a live shot of Parliament and the sound of Big Ben striking nine. The title sequence uses the familiar red, white and blue seen on Sky over the last month with the theme tune used during the American elections.
Transmission 