Grand Award for BBC Radio 2’s Beatles documentary

Howlett Media Productions has won the Grand Award at the New York Festivals for a documentary about The Beatles made for BBC Radio 2.

Beatles historian Kevin Howlett earned the prize for his musical documentary celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Abbey road.

He wrote and produced two documentaries that went deep into the creation of the last album the Beatles recorded together. Himesh Patel, star of the movie Yesterday, presented it, and it was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in the UK and SIRIUS XM in the States.

Kevin said: “It is such an honour to have Abbey Road Phase One and Phase Two recognised in this way by an international Grand Jury of very talented radio people.

“Through many years of producing programs, my goal has always been to move the listener by blending great music with inspiring speech. Well, there was undoubtedly great music to feature in this series.

The Awards were announced last week online when the ceremony was meant to take place before it was cancelled due to COVID-19.

UK radio stations getting Gold include Bauer’s Absolute Radio Stories winning Best Music Special and BBC Radio 4 winning Best Sound Art for The Skewer produced by Jon Holmes.

There were Silver awards for The Gig That Changed The World on Absolute Radio, the Sound & Vision mini-series on 6 Music, Ceasefire Baby – the funeral of Lyra McKee, for news coverage on Q Radio, the Anything Goes in Holbeck documentary getting Best Student Documentary in Birmingham and Europe’s Biggest Dance Show on BBC Radio 1.

Rose Anderson, VP/ Executive Director of New York Festivals: “New York Festivals also wanted to honor our commitment to honor the men and women of the creative community around the world whose work so impressed the Grand Juries this year by keeping to the original date of the storytellers gala even though we are all at home.”

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was honored with the 2020 Broadcaster of the Year Award. The network’s award-winning entries explore News, Entertainment, Sports, and Music. Gold-trophy winning entries from CBC Radio & Audio include: “Tai Asks Why,” “Uncover the Village,” “Alone: A Love Story – Season 3,” “The Band Played On” and “PlayMe.”

The National Press Club was honored with the 2020 York Festivals® Storytellers Gala Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Press Club, since 1908, has been recognised as the World’s Leading Professional Organization for Journalists™.

New York Festivals Radio Awards Grand Jury honored content creators across all platforms and in all genres and awarded in total of 2 Grand Awards, 51 NYF Gold Radio trophies, 52 Silver and 55 Bronze.