United by Singing

This cross-media TV-format unites Corona-isolatedDanes by letting them sing together – apart. Born inMarch 2020 when Covid-19 shuts Denmark down.Most DR programs are cancelled, and coverage is mainlyoriented towards the transmission of information aboutrestrictions and general news. After a few weeks wesense a need in the population for something else.So DR gathers the Danes through a live program:United By Singing. It’s developed, prepared andproduced in four days. Famous and upcoming Danishsingers are invited to sing well-known Danish songs fromhome, viewers are encouraged to submit pictures andvideos of themselves singing along from home. Theseelements are joined into a live program presentedby two hosts. The main host presents and introducesthe songs and encourages viewers to sing along to thesubtitled songs. The musical host is the warm-up actand reminds us of our classic treasury of songs. Initiallyit was only intended as a one off, but as videos fromthe viewers poured in, reviews were overwhelminglypositive, and the ratings were so high, it was decidedto expand it to a whole season. And then a 2nd and 3rdseason. The show was developed via Teams on a latenight. Four days later we presented a live TV-programthat provided the Danes with a feeling of community ina time characterised by distance. [excerpts from DR]