A BBC Scotland website featuring Burns poetry readings, by over 35 high-profile names – including HRH Prince Charles, Robert Carlyle, Hannah Gordon, Bill Paterson and Robbie Coltrane – has passed the one million users’ mark.
The website bbc.co.uk/robertburns was launched last January as part of a multi-platform BBC Scotland celebration in honour of the country’s Bard on the 250th anniversary of his birth. There are 327 recordings currently available, with more of his works being added to the website over the next two years.
Some BBC Radio Scotland presenters – including Fred MacAulay, Vic Galloway, Cathy Macdonald and Chick Young – have also recently each recorded a Burns poem, to be added to the website and also broadcast today, Burns Day.
The Complete Burns, a three-year audio archive project, aims to record all of the 600 works of Burns.
Donalda MacKinnon, head of Programmes and Services, BBC Scotland, said: “This is a tremendous endorsement of the success of BBC Scotland’s online service and this unique website is both a fitting tribute to the Bard and a fantastic legacy for future generations.”
