Image Credit: David Reilly
AFTER months of preparation, Thursday 22nd October saw Solent present an hour-long live show during On Air’s 2026 Sport broadcast.
Over 2,500 students in 48 locations across six continents took part in the day, with several broadcasts covering areas including culture, film and sport.
For Solent’s hour, the production team decided to create a studio-based show that would throw to different, sports-based VTs and would include a roaming presenter at a live sports event.
The feel and look of the show would be similar to that of BBC’s The One Show with elements also taken from other studio shows like Football Focus and Top Gear.
Chosen to present the broadcast was yours truly alongside my course-mates Darcy Harris-Norman and Keira Godwin.
Myself and Darcy would anchor the show in the studio whilst Keira would be based in the Solent Sports Complex, covering a Tchoukball tournament organised and managed by sports coaching students at the university.
Darcy and I were also asked to host and take part in several pre-recorded video packages that showcased some of the sporting talent and facilities at the university.
Whilst Darcy took part in a VO2 Max fitness test and found out more about the Solent Sharks wheelchair rugby team, I was tasked with the ominous challenge of racing international cyclist and Solent student Alex Murphy.
Despite Alex being a great sport and the filming being fun with a great team, the race itself was gruelling.
It was a four-mile round trip in the hills surrounding Farley Mount Monument, near Winchester.
To my detriment, I attempted to stay with Alex early in the race but soon fell away and slowed substantially as the race wore on and the hills grew longer.
Despite finishing over seven minutes behind Alex, and him having already ridden over 100km that day, I was reasonably happy with my time compared to the winner of the Portsdown Classic road race.
During the show, the finished cycling package received a positive reception and provided good material for in-studio banter between me and Darcy that made the show appear more personable and less rigid.
With just a few technical hiccups, the live show went relatively smoothly and the moments the credits rolled the whole room released a huge sigh of relief which was quickly followed by jubilation.
Morgan Gilston, Zac Livingstone and Milo Euling deserve the most credit for carrying the production of the show throughout the year.
Huge credit must also go to my co-hosts Darcy and Keira for their fantastic work and professionalism.
The whole experience was incredible and gave me the opportunity to live out a childhood dream for hopefully the first time of many to come.
