Category : Sport
Date : 06.04.2004
Printable version
It is with
great sadness that BBC Sport announces the death of Executive Producer
Malcolm Kemp, MBE, aged 57, from cancer. He had been ill since
October last year.
Born in Hastings, New Zealand, Malcolm was Head of Entertainment
and then Head of Sport at TVNZ, covering events such as the World Expo
in Brisbane, where he gained his expertise and reputation for working
on big live entertainment events.
Prior to joining BBC, Malcolm worked on the Commonwealth
Games in Christchurch and Auckland. He was Director of opening and closing
ceremonies in Auckland and was awarded an MBE following this.
In October 1990 Malcolm joined the BBC and worked as
a Sport Producer primarily on rugby league, dividing his time between
Television Centre in London and the Manchester office. He worked on
his first Challenge Cup in 1991.
In 1994 Malcolm was appointed Executive Producer for
BBC on the Football World Cup in the USA.
In 1996, Malcolm was a joint Executive Producer for
the European football championships in the UK, where the BBC and ITV
were joint host broadcasters.
Malcolm covered his first Grand National in 1997 –
the year of the bomb scare – in his new role as Executive Producer
for horse racing.
He worked across all the racing occasions including
Royal Ascot, the Derby and Glorious Goodwood. In total, Malcolm worked
on seven Grand Nationals.
Malcolm's expertise of covering big occasions lent itself
to another pooled outside broadcast when he was asked to be one of the
route directors for Princess Diana's funeral.
Malcolm helped plan the coverage across the broadcasters
and worked on the day from one of the trucks based in Hyde Park.
In 1998 Malcolm directed the opening and closing ceremonies
at the Kuala Lumpar Commonwealth Games and advised the Malaysians on
overall coverage of games.
In 2002 he was Production Director for host coverage
of the Manchester Commonwealth Games. He was also Director of Ceremonies,
planning the opening and closing ceremonies.
This coverage won a BAFTA and RTS awards, which Malcolm
was very proud of.
Before his illness, he was also advising on the ceremonies
for the Athens Olympics later this year.
Malcolm was also Executive Producer on the darts from
both Frimley Green and tournaments in Holland, as well as for the Six
Nations rugby union in 2003 when he oversaw the return of the championship
to the BBC.
Malcolm loved brass bands and played bass trombone;
he played in the National Youth Orchestra and the Roger Fox Big Band
in New Zealand.
Malcolm leaves his wife, Julie, two sons who live in
New Zealand, two step daughters in Australia and five grandchildren
in total.
BBC's Director of Sport, Peter Salmon said: "Malcolm
was an extraordinarily gifted director.
"From enormous sporting occasions such as the Commonwealth
Games to World Darts from Frimley, Malcolm brought originality, flair
and confidence to any project he touched.
"He has taught a generation of up-and-coming directors,
and the many millions who watched the Grand National at the weekend
witnessed his legacy."
