BBC Radio 3 will broadcast a twelve hour live relay titled Where the Light Sings this September. The production connects six coastal locations across the UK, each associated with a lighthouse, featuring live music and storytelling. Presenters include Georgia Mann at Dungeness Lighthouse, Tom Service on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, John Toal at the West Lighthouse on Rathlin Island, Shân Cothi at Strumble Head, and Kate Molleson at St Aidan's Church in Bamburgh. Petroc Trelawny will provide on board updates while travelling by boat from Penzance to a final destination for the closing programme.
The broadcast includes live performances from the Caritas Chamber Choir and accordionist Alise Silina at Dungeness, and singer Mary Ann Kennedy with guitarist Finlay Wells at Ardnamurchan. At Rathlin, cellist Neil Martin and harpist Úna Monaghan perform, while folk singer Mari Mathias and harpist Claire Jones appear at Strumble Head. The Bamburgh segment features the Royal Northern Chamber Ensemble and local bellringers, with interviews involving author Jennifer Lucy Allan and sound recordist Chris Watson.
The relay incorporates a curated soundtrack of music themed around islands and the sea. Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3, cited the previous Train Tracks broadcast and the network's Breakfast broadcasts from various national locations as precedents for this format. The broadcast at Bamburgh coincides with the 200th anniversary of Longstone Lighthouse. This production follows the network's previous live event celebrating the bicentenary of UK railways.