BBC World Service’s flagship arts show heads to Rome

The BBC World Service is bringing its flagship arts and culture programme, The Arts Hour on Tour, to Rome. The show, featuring live performances and interviews with leading creatives from the Italian capital, will be recorded on Wednesday 19 November 2025.

To discuss Italy’s – and Rome’s – cultural scene of today, the BBC’s Nikki Bedi will be joined on stage in front of an audience by a lineup of guests including director, filmmaker and composer, Margherita Vicario; singer-songwriter, Levante; rapper and singer Mecna; film writer and director, Paolo Strippoli; and stand-up comedian, Luca Ravenna.

Genre-defying music sensation and filmmaker, Margherita Vicario, will discuss the inspiration for her debut feature film Gloria!, which won her three David di Donatello awards this year. As director, co-writer and co-composer, Margherita Vicario blends classical and modern pop music in a story with a fresh feminist slant, hailed by critics at the 2024 Berlinale as “pop-fuelled period rebellion” and a “girl-power makeover”.

Live music performance will come from magnetic singer-songwriter Levante, whose raw emotional storytelling pulses with vulnerability and poetic grit. Born in Sicily and later rooted in Turin, Levante creates music that combines the emotional depth of her southern heritage with the urban edge of her northern experience, contrasting landscapes that also echo through her work as a novelist.

And there is live music from Mecna, rapper and singer-songwriter whose introspective lyrics and atmospheric soundscapes challenge the stereotypes of hip hop and R&B in Italy. As a headlining festival act, with chart topping singles and ten studio albums, often featuring his own graphic design, he is proud of making ‘Sad rap’, that he describes as “a way to understand the world”.

Film writer and director Paolo Strippoli’s visionary approach to horror has captivated audiences across Europe and beyond, in A Classic Horror Story and his visceral Piove (It’s Raining). His newly released film, La Valle Dei Sorrisi (The Holy Boy), which premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, is a psychological, religious horror fable.

The Rome edition of The Arts Hour on Tour will bring live stand-up performance from comedian Luca Ravenna, whose cerebral humour has carved a unique path through Italian comedy. With sold-out tours across Italy and appearances on major platforms such as Netflix and Comedy Central, stand-up specials like Rodrigo Live and Luca Ravenna Live @, and his viral podcast Cachemire with co-host Edoardo Ferrario, Ravenna has become a defining voice of his comedic generation.

Recorded in English for the BBC World Service, The Arts Hour on Tour visits cities all over the world to explore their hottest cultural trends. By talking to the artists who live and work there, the programme promotes cultural exchange across the world.

Presenter Nikki Bedi says: “We are beyond excited to visit Rome for The Arts Hour on Tour. With its rich historic and cultural heritage, and abundance of art, Italy has so much to showcase. I’m certain it will be a jam-packed programme full of cultural delights. We look forward to recording with local talent in front of a live audience.”

The show will also be broadcast on BBC World Service to millions of listeners worldwide.