Venice 24-7 (BBC)

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[edit] General Information

Travel Documentary hosted by Ed Stoppard, published by BBC in 2012 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

With unprecedented access to Venice's emergency and public services, this series goes behind the 15th-century facades to experience the real, living city. From daily emergencies to street sweeping, bridge maintenance to flood defence systems and a death-defying descent across St Mark's Square, this is Venice as it has never been seen before.

[edit] Winter in Venice

It is winter, and Venice is masked by sheets of snow. The emergency services negotiate choppy waters to deal with daily hazards as well as life-and-death emergencies. There is a sunken boat to save, an elderly lady with a suspected stroke and, in this city built on wood, the most dreaded call of all - fire. The programme shows how Venice deals with thousands of tonnes of rubbish, turning it into power which is fed back into the city. Venice may be over 1,000 years old, but staying afloat requires 21st-century innovation.

[edit] Carnival

One of the most famous events in the Venetian calendar is Carnevale. This ancient tradition, meaning 'meat is allowed', celebrates all things decadent in the run-up to Lent. Kicking off celebrations is a 400-metre descent from St Mark's campanile by a young Venetian girl. There is a tourist with a suspected drug overdose, a beauty pageant, undercover police on the tail of thieves, and a dead body found near St Mark's Square. In a season where anything goes, the emergency teams have their work cut out reining the city in.

[edit] City Fit for a Pope

The city is on lock-down, with the Pope visiting for the first time in a quarter of a century. There's a fractious relationship between Venice and the Vatican and it's a risky occasion for all involved, so security is tight and the emergency teams are on high alert. There are the specially-selected papal gondoliers carrying on the family tradition, vital underwater security sweeps and tension as police attempt to shut down Grand Canal.

[edit] The Biennale

The art world descends on Venice for the Biennale, a six-month long festival. Anish Kapoor attempts to stage his ethereal Ascension in a challenging Palladian church while another artist battles to transport a four-tonne sculpture along the canal. The Fenice theatre undergoes critical safety checks, following the devastating fire of 1996 and a 100,000-tonne cruise-liner must execute inch-perfect manoeuvres as it travels perilously close to the historic centre.

[edit] When the Boats Come in

For one day the canals are closed and fleets of row boats take to the water. As temperatures soar, Venetians and visitors turn out in their thousands to celebrate the ancient tradition of rowing. At the same time, the police try to rein in speeding motor boats while, on the city's outskirts, an enormous anti-flood system is being built. As the team prepares to lower millions of pounds of technology weighing over 20 tons into the Venice lagoon, nerves are mounting. Without it, Venice is at risk of disappearing under the water.

[edit] The Grand Finale

The city comes together to celebrate a 500-year-old religious festival... with a rave. The waterways and canal banks are packed as Venetians eat, drink and get merry. There are drunken party-goers at risk of falling in the water, an unconscious patient that paramedics struggle to reach, argumentative revellers, and a giant firework display to end the series with a bang.