Regional Radio Station Beat 102-103 is back with another big promotion with a difference!  Following on from its controversial gold award winning social experiment Two Strangers and a Wedding, Beat 102-103 presents Runaway Bride in association with Lismore House Hotel, Waterford.

While there is a wedding as the main prize for both, that’s where the similarities end. Runaway Bride is a quirky but fun competition open to existing couples who plan on getting married.

The station is calling for couples to enter who are already engaged but haven’t yet set a date. The online entries will be whittled down to five couples who will be brought on air and listeners to Beat 102-103 will vote for the most popular couple. The two couples with the most votes go through to the final round and that’s when the fun really starts.

The ‘bride’ from each couple will be asked to travel as far as she can in just 24 hours with only €50 in her pocket. Her only mode of transport has to be public and she can’t avail of any help from friends or family. The Runway Bride who gets the furthest, wins.

According to Beat Boss Gabrielle Cummins ‘a similar competition once ran on another station and the Runaway Bride got as far as Majorca so we’ll be hoping our contestants get further than that location!’

The prize for the winning couple includes a lavish wedding reception at the magnificent Lismore House Hotel in County Waterford to cater for up to 150 guests including champagne reception.

John Horny, General Manager of Lismore House Hotel says ‘we are delighted in conjunction with Beat 102-103 to be able to offer one lucky couple the opportunity to win a "Fairytale Wedding" in the Heritage Town of Lismore. Surrounded by the pristine Millennium Gardens, historic Lismore Castle and centuries of history and tradition, Lismore House Hotel eagerly awaits the arrival of its prince and princess. Greeted by a warm and friendly staff and a glass of bubbly all that is left is for you to soak up the ambience while we wine and dine you in the Lismore Ballroom.   We would like to wish all participants the best of luck...... and remember ladies we’re here to help you hit the ground running when it comes to your special day’ added John Hornby. 

Beat 102-103 has brought a number of successful radio competitions to the South East in recent years including The Diamond Heist, The Fugitive, The Crusher and more recently Meteor Money Mobiles. Head of Station Sound Leigh Doyle says ‘Beat’s got a bit of a reputation for doing things differently and Runaway Bride is another example of that. We’re really looking forward to the fun created by running a competition like this.’ The Wexford native also points out that the prize will be worth it. He says ‘I recently got married myself and I know how expensive the day can be for the bride and groom. A fantastic wedding reception paid for you should be an attractive prize for lots of couples planning on tying the knot in the next year’.

Entries will be via a simple registration form online. Terms and conditions apply. For more information visit www.beat102103.com

Note to Editors:
Beat 102-103 is Ireland’s first regional radio station broadcasting to Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary. The station is market leader among its target audience of 15-34 year olds. In addition, 127,000 adults tune in weekly and 78,000 daily.

Lismore House Hotel is located in the heart of the beautiful heritage town of Lismore, Co. Waterford. 210 years old, the Lismore House Hotel has reopened its doors restored to its former Georgian and classical glory, reflecting the heritage of Lismore Castle and its surrounds.

Beat 102-103 was among the winners of the PPI National Radio Awards 2009 which were announced at a gala ceremony in The Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny on Friday night where the red carpet was rolled out to welcome the cream of Irish radio.
PPI Awards salute the best writers, broadcasters, producers, reporters, presenters and technicians in radio. Now in its ninth year PPI (Phonographic Performance Ireland) Radio Awards is considered the Oscars of the radio industry calendar and celebrates the art and skill of radio production and programming.
Voted Best Station Promotion of the year, Beat 102-103’s social experiment Two Strangers and a Wedding fought off stiff competition to achieve the top spot with Bronze going to Dublin station Spin 1038 and Silver won by North West regional station i102-104.
Dick Doyle Chief Executive of PPI “We are delighted to announce this year’s winners of the 9th annual PPI Radio Awards and would like to congratulate all the winners and entrants for their outstanding contribution in informing, educating and entertaining listeners throughout Ireland.”
Beat’s Two Strangers and a Wedding was broadcast between February and April of this year and attracted unprecedented national media attention. Beat Breakfast presenter Niall Power who successfully orchestrated the event on air with the help of his co-hosts Mary O’Neill and Vincent Bradley, explains the premise of the social experiment. He says ‘we basically wanted to answer that age old question: is love really blind? so we went in search of two people in the South East who were willing to take a chance for love! The reaction was phenomenal. We were really surprised by the level of entries and the final couple basically did not get to see each other until they met at the Altar!’ Power adds ‘we got a result and in this case love wasn’t blind but the couple and everyone at Beat 102-103 really enjoyed the whole experience’ which the Waterford native says dominated the station’s broadcast output for three months.
Beat 102-103 also secured bronze in the Music Station of the Year Category with Dublin’s FM104 taking gold. CEO and Programme Controller at Beat 102-103, Gabrielle Cummins says she’s delighted with the station’s award success. She points out that ‘compared to a station like FM104 which has had years of experience, we’re considered relative ‘newbies’ in the radio world so to be voted in the top three music stations in Ireland is a tremendous achievement. I really want to thank every single person at Beat, from our Shareholders Thomas Crosbie Holdings and Des Whelan to the 18 talented staff currently employed at the station’. The Beat Boss goes on to say ‘in these difficult financial times, it’s nice to have something positive to shout about; the two awards have given all the team a well deserved boost’.
Commenting on the station’s gold award, Gabrielle Cummins adds ‘as a music station targeting 15-34 year olds, we are always striving to do things differently because our target market demands that of us. 2 Strangers and a wedding was hugely controversial but the feedback from our audience was largely positive and that’s the most important factor. We always want to create exciting radio for our loyal listeners and we will continue to do that, in fact we’re starting another exciting social experiment on Beat Breakfast this week!’ To find out more, tune into Beat 102-103 or visit the website www.beat102103.com.
Beat 102-103 was launched in 2003 as Ireland’s first regional radio station. In the last six years, the station has steadily grown in popularity. Broadcasting to Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary, the market leading radio station currently has 78,000 adults listening daily and 127,000 tuning in each week.

AIMIE GAVIN

1.WHAT WERE YOU STUDYING AND WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO STUDY (IF APPLICABLE)

At the time of producing this programme and was completing my final year in IT Carlow where I was studying for a BA (Hons) in Communications and Public Relations. Since I have just completed my degree I hoped to continue on with my studies and will now be undertaking a Masters in Broadcast Production- Radio and Television in Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design in September 2009.

2.WHY YOU DECIDED TO MAKE THIS PROGRAMME

At the time I was researching for my thesis which the main subject revolved around was Youth Radio. The position of par- taking in this programme was offered to me and I felt it was a great opportunity as I was interested in the market of Youth Radio and since I fell into their listenership I felt it would be a great opportunity for me. I’m not from the South East but I still felt that I could offer something to the programme.

3.WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IN MEDIA IN THE FUTURE

Well all my college studies so far have revolved around media for which I have a keen interest in but I would hopefully someday like to be a presenter on a Youth Radio station as I feel this is a great genre to work for and you will be constantly entertained and overall it would be fulfilling. Throughout my research studies I discovered that radio has a huge bearing on adolescents and what better job than to work on Youth Radio and feel your doing better for their development. Either medium, radio or TV this would be the genre I would love to work for.

JENNIFER POWER

1. What you were studying?

I'm Jennifer Power, and I've just finished a one year course in Journalism and Photography in Waterford College of Further Education. It was a great year, that gave me the opportunity to do this documentary, and find out more about the Deise.

This year, I'm beginning an Arts Degree in Waterford Institute of Technology, where I hope to mix my Journalistic knowledge with Sociology, Spanish and Italian.

2. Why did you decide to make this programme?

The reason I decided to take part in this programme was because, study isn't just about staring at book and sitting in class, but, with Journalism especially, you need to get out there, be active and be part of things. I love meeting new people and I wanted to broaden my horizons and improve my confidence and also my knowledge base on interviewing and researching.

3. What you would like to do in media in the future?

In the future, I would love to work in radio, whatever it maybe! I have a slight addiction to radio and how everything works so it would be like a dream! I hope to be working as a Broadcast Journalist. Fingers crossed!


MARCUS CAMPBELL

1.WHAT WERE YOU STUDYING AND WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO STUDY

I am studying media production in the Liberties College in Dublin once I have finished this course I plan to go on to university to get more skills and a degree.

2.WHY YOU DECIDED TO MAKE THIS PROGRAMME

I wanted to make this programme about the ecovillage because I have always been interested in groups of people who come together and attempt to do something they feel is for the greater good. I am always intrigued as to whether they are genuine or not.

3.WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IN MEDIA IN THE FUTURE

The type of programmes I would ideally like to make in media would be ones that if documentary based are on small eccentric pockets of society, ones we do not usually see nor hear of and if the programme were to be fiction/entertainment based that they simply be interesting for the audience and fun to make.

KELLY MCGRATH

1. What you were studying?

I was studying for a BA in Journalism in Dublin City University. This year I am starting a Masters in Applied Digital Media in Griffith College Dublin.

2. Why did you decide to make this programme?

I have always loved animals and been interested in animal welfare. Waterford Animal Welfare is a