Today, which will run for 24 hours from 9 a.m. on December 31st, will span five continents and is described as the most ambitious co-production in Irish broadcasting history. Announcing details of the schedule, RT 's managing director of television, Mr Joe Mulholland, couldn't avoid referring to this week's news that serious cuts would have to be made at Montrose.
Every organisation goes through difficulties . . .
So good that two widescreen TVs were set up in the Clarence Hotel in Dublin to show the assembled media what RT has planned. Starting from the Pacific island of Tonga, one of the first places to see in the new year, the station will hook up with 60 other broadcasters for the globe-trotting celebration. At home, there will be live music, with the Celtic Link programme, featuring Brian Kennedy and Donal Lunny, broadcast live from Dublin to an audience of hundreds of millions around the world. The celebrations also include performances from The Corrs, Boyzone, David Gray and Divine Comedy. But it's not all music.