document_title: Secretary-General of the United Nations

question_text: what is the role of the secretary general of the un

text: Secretary-General of the United Nations

text: Role[edit]

text: The Secretary-General was envisioned by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "world moderator", but the vague definition provided by the UN Charter[1] left much room for interpretation by those who would later occupy the position. According to the UN website, their roles are further defined as "diplomat and advocate, civil servant, and CEO".[2] Nevertheless, this more abstract description has not prevented the office holders from speaking out and playing important roles on global issues to various degrees.[3] Article 97 under Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter states that the Secretary-General shall be the "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, but does not dictate their specific obligations.[citation needed]

text: Responsibilities of the Secretary-General are further outlined in Articles 98 through 100. Article 98 states that they shall act as the chief administrative officer "in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the Security Council, of the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council, and shall perform other functions as are entrusted to him by these organs". They are also responsible for making an annual report to the General Assembly. According to Article 99, they may notify the Security Council on matters which "in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security". Other than these few guidelines, little else is dictated by the Charter. Interpretation of the Charter has varied between Secretaries-General, with some being much more active than others.[citation needed]

text: The Secretary-General, along with the Secretariat, is given the prerogative to exhibit no allegiance to any state but to only the United Nations organization: decisions must be made without regard to the state of origin.[citation needed]

text: The Secretary-General is highly dependent upon the support of the member states of the UN. "The Secretary-General would fail if they did not take careful account of the concerns of Member States, but they must also uphold the values and moral authority of the United Nations, and speak and act for peace, even at the risk, from time to time, of challenging or disagreeing with those same Member States."[2]

text: "The personal skills of the Secretary-General and their staff are crucial to their function. The central position of the UN headquarters in the international diplomatic network is also an important asset. The Secretary-General has the right to place any dispute on the provisional agenda of the Security Council. However, they work mostly behind the scenes if the members of the council are unwilling to discuss a dispute. Most of their time is spent on good offices missions and mediation, sometimes at the request of deliberative organs of the UN, but also frequently on their own initiative. Their function may be replaced or supplemented by mediation efforts by the major powers. UN peacekeeping missions are often closely linked to mediation (peacemaking). The recent improvement in relations between the permanent members of the Security Council (P5) has strengthened the role of the Secretary-General as the world's most reputable intermediary."[4]

text: In the early 1960s, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev led an effort to abolish the Secretary-General position. The numerical superiority of the Western powers combined with the one state, one vote system meant that the Secretary-General would come from one of them, and would potentially be sympathetic towards the West. Khrushchev proposed to replace the Secretary-General with a three-person leading council (a "troika"): one member from the West, one from the Eastern Bloc, and one from the Non-Aligned powers. This idea failed because the neutral powers failed to back the Soviet proposal.[5][6]

text: Selection and term of office[edit]

text: Article 97 of the United Nations Charter determines that the Secretary-General is "appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." As the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the Council can veto a nomination. Most Secretaries-General are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame. Unofficial qualifications for the job have been set by precedent in previous selections. The appointee may not be a citizen of any of the Security Council's five permanent members.[7] The General Assembly resolution 51/241 in 1997 stated that in the appointment of "the best candidate", due regard should be given to regional (continental) rotation of the appointee's national origin and to gender equality.[8]:5

text: The Secretary-General is customarily appointed for a five-year term, although the length of the term is discretionary. Trygve Lie's second appointment was for three years,[8]:4 and U Thant's first two terms were short terms that added up to five years. The Secretary-General customarily runs unopposed for a second term if she or he wishes to continue serving, and she or he is reappointed unless vetoed by a permanent member. Although there is no formal limit to the number of terms, none so far has held office for more than two full terms.[9] Kurt Waldheim ran for a third full term in 1981, but one candidate ran to oppose him with China casting a record 16 vetoes against Waldheim, forcing him to suspend his candidacy, which allowed for the nomination of a further 13 candidates, one of whom was elected at the first subsequent ballot. No Secretary-General since 1981 has attempted to secure a third term.

text: Since 1981, Secretaries-General have been chosen behind closed doors by the Security Council and then had their names submitted to General Assembly for ratification. No candidate has ever been rejected by the General Assembly.[citation needed] The Security Council and General Assembly took steps in 2016 to make the selection process more transparent and open, sending a letter to UN member states asking them to nominate candidates for the position. However, the Security Council voted in private and followed the same process as previous selections, leading the President of the General Assembly to complain that it "does not live up to the expectations of the membership and the new standard of openness and transparency".[10]

text: Residence[edit]

text: The official residence of the Secretary-General is a townhouse at 3 Sutton Place, Manhattan, in New York City, United States. The townhouse was built for Anne Morgan in 1921, and donated to the United Nations in 1972.[11]

text: List of Secretaries-General[edit]

text:
№
Portrait
Secretary-General
(Born–Died)
Dates in office
Country of origin
UN Regional Group
Reason of withdrawal
Ref.

–

Gladwyn Jebb
(1900–1996)
24 October 1945 –
1 February 1946
 United Kingdom
Western European & Others
Served as Acting Secretary-General until Lie's election.
[12]

After World War II, he served as Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations in August 1945, being appointed Acting United Nations Secretary-General from October 1945 to February 1946 until the appointment of the first Secretary-General, Trygve Lie.

1

Trygve Lie
(1896–1968)

2 February 1946 –
10 November 1952
 Norway
Western European & Others
Resigned.
[13]

Lie, a foreign minister and former labour leader, was recommended by the Soviet Union to fill the post. After the UN involvement in the Korean War, the Soviet Union vetoed Lie's reappointment in 1951. The United States circumvented the Soviet Union's veto and recommended reappointment directly to the General Assembly. Lie was reappointed by a vote of 46 to 5, with eight abstentions. The Soviet Union remained hostile to Lie, and he resigned in 1952.[14]

2

Dag Hammarskjöld
(1905–1961)

10 April 1953 –
18 September 1961
 Sweden
Western European & Others
Died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), while on a peacekeeping mission to the Congo.
[15]

After a series of candidates were vetoed, Hammarskjöld emerged as an option that was acceptable to the Security Council. He was re-elected unanimously to a second term in 1957. The Soviet Union was angered by Hammarskjöld's leadership of the UN during the Congo Crisis, and suggested that the position of Secretary-General be replaced by a troika, or three-man executive. Facing great opposition from the Western nations, the Soviet Union gave up on its suggestion. Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961.[14] U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld "the greatest statesman of our century".[16]

3

U Thant
(1909–1974)

30 November 1961 –
31 December 1971
 Burma
Asia-Pacific
Declined to stand for a third election.
[17]

In the process of replacing Hammarskjöld, the developing world insisted on a non-European and non-American Secretary-General. U Thant was nominated. However, due to opposition from the French (Thant had chaired a committee on Algerian independence) and the Arabs (Burma supported Israel), Thant was only appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. He was the first Asian Secretary-General. The following year, on 30 November, Thant was unanimously re-elected to a new term ending on 3 November 1966. He was re-elected on 2 December 1966, finally for a full 5-year term, ending on 31 December 1971. Thant did not seek a third election.[14]

4

Kurt Waldheim
(1918–2007)

1 January 1972 –
31 December 1981
 Austria
Western European & Others
China vetoed his third term.
[18]

Waldheim launched a discreet but effective campaign to become the Secretary-General. Despite initial vetoes from China and the United Kingdom, in the third round, Waldheim was selected to become the new Secretary-General. In 1976, China initially blocked Waldheim's re-election, but it relented on the second ballot. In 1981, Waldheim's re-election for a third term was blocked by China, which vetoed his selection through 15 rounds. From 1986 to 1992, Waldheim served as President of Austria, making him the first former Secretary-General to rise to the position of head of state[19]. In 1985, it was revealed that a post–World War II UN War Crimes Commission had labeled Waldheim as a suspected war criminal – based on his involvement with the army of Nazi Germany. The files had been stored in the UN archive.[14]

5

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
(born 1920)

1 January 1982 –
31 December 1991
 Peru
Latin American & Caribbean
Did not stand for a third term.
[20]

Pérez de Cuéllar was selected after a five-week deadlock between the re-election of Waldheim and China's candidate, Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania. Pérez de Cuéllar, a Peruvian diplomat who a decade earlier had served as President of the UN Security Council during his time as Peruvian Ambassador to the UN, was a compromise candidate, and became the first and thus far only Secretary-General from the Americas. He was re-elected unanimously in 1986.[14]

6

Boutros Boutros-Ghali
(1922–2016)

1 January 1992 –
31 December 1996
 Egypt
African
The United States vetoed his second term.
[21]

The 102-member Non-Aligned Movement insisted that the next Secretary-General come from Africa. With a majority in the General Assembly and the support of China, the Non-Aligned Movement had the votes necessary to block any unfavourable candidate. The Security Council conducted five anonymous straw polls—a first for the council—and Boutros-Ghali emerged with 11 votes on the fifth round. In 1996, the United States vetoed the re-appointment of Boutros-Ghali, claiming he had failed in implementing necessary reforms to the UN.[14]

7

Kofi Annan
(born 1938)

1 January 1997 –
31 December 2006
 Ghana
African
Retired after two full terms.
[22]

On 13 December 1996, the Security Council recommended Annan.[23][24] He was confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly.[25] He started his second term as Secretary-General on 1 January 2002.

8

Ban Ki-moon
(born 1944)

1 January 2007 –
31 December 2016
 South Korea
Asia-Pacific
Retired after two full terms.
[26]

Ban became the first East Asian to be selected as the Secretary-General and the second Asian overall after U Thant. He was unanimously elected to a second term by the General Assembly on 21 June 2011. His second term began on 1 January 2012.[27] Prior to his selection, he was the Foreign Minister of South Korea from January 2004 to November 2006.

9

António Guterres
(born 1949)

1 January 2017 –
present
 Portugal
Western European & Others

Guterres is the first former head of government to become Secretary-General, and the first Secretary-General born after the establishment of the United Nations. He was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He has also been President of Socialist International (1999–2005) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2005–2015).

text: By regional group[edit]

text:
UN Regional Group
Secretaries-General
Terms

WEOG
4
7

Eastern European Group
0
0

GRULAC
1
2

Asia-Pacific Group
2
4

African Group
2
3

text: Lifespan timeline[edit]

text: This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations. They are listed in order of office.

text: Living former Secretaries-General[edit]

text:
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
(1982–1991)
(1920-01-19) 19 January 1920 (age 97)

Kofi Annan
(1997–2006)
(1938-04-08) 8 April 1938 (age 79)

Ban Ki-moon
(2007–2016)
(1944-06-13) 13 June 1944 (age 73)

text: As of October 2017, the only former Secretaries-General that are alive are Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Kofi Annan, and Ban Ki-moon. The most recent death of a former Secretary-General was that of Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992–96) on 16 February 2016.[28]


document_title: The Rest of the Story

question_text: who said and now the rest of the story

question_tokens: who said and now the rest of the story

root

text: The Rest of the Story

text: The Rest of the Story was a Monday-through-Friday radio program originally hosted by Paul Harvey. Beginning as a part of his newscasts during the Second World War and then premiering as its own series on the ABC Radio Networks on May 10, 1976, The Rest of the Story consisted of stories presented as little-known or forgotten facts on a variety of subjects with some key element of the story (usually the name of some well-known person) held back until the end. The broadcasts always concluded with a variation on the tag line "And now you know the rest of the story."

tag: p

text: From its inception, the scripts for the series had been drafted and the broadcasts produced by Harvey's son Paul Harvey, Jr., who in later years of his father's career also acted as a substitute host.  Some of the radio stories were published in book form as The Rest of the Story and More of The Rest of the Story.  (On the back cover of More of the Rest of the Story, the book is said to contain "True mysteries from history".) After the elder Harvey's death on February 28, 2009, ABC radio host Doug Limerick was chosen as the show's new host.[1] The Rest of the Story was canceled after three weeks with Limerick as host.


document_title: Britain's Got Talent

question_text: where was britains got talent final 2017 held

text: Britain's Got Talent

text: History[edit]

text: The show's format was devised by X Factor creator and Sony Music executive, Simon Cowell, who was involved in the creation of other Got Talent programmes across several different countries. To showcase his idea, a pilot episode was filmed in September 2005, with the judging panel consisting of Cowel, then-This Morning presenter Fern Britton, and tabloid journalist Piers Morgan;[4] the pilot was not broadcast on television until it was shown as part of a documentary series entitled The Talent Show Story in January 2012.[4]

text: The original plan for the show was for it be aired within 2005-06, before the broadcast of America's Got Talent, with Paul O'Grady presenting the programme under the title Paul O'Grady's Got Talent, after having hosted the pilot, with his selection as host due to the popularity he was attaining from his teatime chat show, The Paul O'Grady Show.[5] However, complication arose when O'Grady was involved in a row with ITV and refused to appear on another show of the broadcaster, eventually defecting to Channel 4 to continue hosting his teatime show, effectively putting plans for the programme on hold.[6] In a 2010 interview, O'Grady commented about the row by stating:[7]

text: "I did the pilot for Britain's Got Talent – which was originally going to be called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent. But I told the producers they were having a joke if they thought I would front a show with that title. The original panel of judges was going to be Simon Cowell, Fern Britton and Piers Morgan. I was the host. Then when I had the row with ITV I was banned from the studios. I remember I rang Simon and told him he had a huge hit on his hands, but there was no way I could do it. I said, if I am banned I have to be banned from everything. I can’t be a hypocrite and come in and do this. I had to bow out."

text: On 12 February 2007, following the success of America's Got Talent the previous year, ITV announced their intentions for a British series of Got Talent. Their announcement revealed changes to the original plan for the programme, with Ant & Dec revealed to be the hosts for the new programme. While Cowell remained as part of the judging panel, the new plan intended for David Hasselhoff and Cheryl Cole. However, both resigned before the programme was due to air, leading to Morgan being part of the panel as originally planned, and actress Amanda Holden joining him and Cowel as a judge; Hasselhoff would later join the panel for the programme's fifth series after being a part of the panel for America's Got Talent, while Cowell later employed Cole to be a replacement for Sharon Osbourne on The X Factor. At the same time, the broadcaster also announced that the show would be accompanied by a sister show on ITV2, entitled Britain's Got More Talent, with Stephen Mulhern as its presenter.

text: Format[edit]

text: Auditions[edit]

text: The show holds two auditions for contestants. The first is an open audition held across several different cities across the UK during the Autumn months while the second, referred to as the "Judge's Auditions", is held the following year during January and February, prior to the broadcast of the show during Spring - early Summer, and consists of the contestants who made it through the open auditions, held within a select set of cities - these have commonly included Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London. For the Judge's Auditions, each site used for these is located within a theater or convention hall, which are chosen for having facilities designed for handling large volumes of contestants, which are set up into three arrangements when auditions are taking place - a waiting area for contestants to prepare and await their turn to perform, with monitors to allow them to see the performances of other contestants; the wings, where a contestant enters and leaves from, and where friends and family of the contestant can view them from; and the main stage, where the contestant performs their act before the judging panel, who are situated in front of the stage. The main stage area is usually modified to include the judge's panel desk, and a special lighting rig above the stage, consisting of Xs that each have a name of the judge under them.

text: Each contestant(s) that auditions, is given a number by the production team, and remain in the waiting area until called out into the wings, giving them a certain amount of time to prepare their act. Upon being allowed onto the main stage, they will usually be asked by one of the judges for their name and what they plan to perform, along with other details such as age, occupation, personal background, and what they wish to achieve if they won. After this, they are then given three minutes to conduct their performance before both the judges and a live audience, with some acts being supported by a backing track provided by the production team. If at any time, the judges find the performance to be unconvincing, boring or completely wrong, they may use a buzzer before them, which changes the Xs from white to red; if all the judges press their buzzers, then the performance is immediately over.

text: Once a performance is over, each judge will give a overview of what they thought about the act, before casting a vote - if "Yes", the judge approved of the act; if "No", they disliked the act. If the contestant(s) receives a majority vote of "Yes", they then proceed onto the next stage in the contest, otherwise they are eliminated from that series' contest. In Series 8, a new feature was added to the auditions, which had been previously used on Germany's Got Talent, called the "Golden Buzzer".[8] Situated in the centre of the judge's desk, the Golden Buzzer allows a judge to effectively send a contestant(s) into the live semi-finals, regardless of the opinions of the other judges, if they felt that a contestant's performance was outstanding; when pressed, the judge's X turns gold and the stage is showered in gold glitter strips. However, as a general rule, they may only press it once and cannot press it again in later auditions. While the hosts of Britain's Got Talent may also press the golden buzzer for a contestant(s), they may only press it once themselves in the same manner.[9][10]

text: Filming for the show begins during the Judge's Auditions, with footage that is recorded in these being edited into a series of episodes that are aired on a weekly schedule before the live semi-finals, and featuring the best highlights of the auditions, including those from the best performances the judges saw, to the worst that appeared, whether funny, poorly conceived or generally bad, and in some cases totally inappropriate. These episodes also include interviews with the contestants in a separate area, as well as additional interviews conducted within the wings before and after a performance, that are conducted by the hosts, who also give personal comments about a performance while watching from the wings.

text: Judges' Decisions[edit]

text: This stage takes place after the auditions have been completed, and is also referred to as Deliberation Day, in which the judges look through the acts that have successfully made it to this stage, and begin whittling them down to those who would stand a fair chance in the live semi-finals. The amount that goes through has varied over the show's history, though usually consists of a number that can be divided equally over the semi-finals being held in a series. Once the judges have decided on who will go through, all contestants that have reached this stage are called back to discover if they had progress into the live semi-finals or not. After this has been done, the acts are divided up between the semi-finals that the series will have; usually eight in each series, except for the sixth to tenth series which had nine acts per semi-final.

text: For the fifth series, some acts were asked to perform again, as the judges had had difficulty coming to a final decision on the semi-finalist, and thus needed to see their performance again in order to make up their minds; it is only time in the show's history that this has happened, and has not been repeated since.[11]

text: Semi-finals & Final[edit]

text: Contestants that make it into the semi-finals after both stages (or, from series 8, received the Golden Buzzer), perform once more before an audience and the judges, with their performance broadcast on live television; until the tenth series, live episodes were broadcast The Fountain Studios in Wembley, the same site used for The X Factor, but following the closure of the studios,[12] the show relocated its live episodes to Elstree Studios. Like the Audition stage of the contest, they must attempt to impress by primarily conducting a new routine of their act within the same span of time; the judges can still use a buzzer in the semi-finals if they are displeased with a performance, and can end it early if all the buzzers are used, and can still give a personal opinion about an act when the performance is over, but neither of these impact how the semi-finalists fare at this stage of the contest, only the last part of this stage. As only two semi-finalists from each semi-final may proceed on to the Final, which two is determined by two different types of votes given towards the end - a public phone vote, and a judges' vote.

text: The phone vote determines the first semi-finalist that wins this stages, and occurs after all the acts in a semi-final have performed, whereupon a special phone line is opened for a short time, which the public can use to vote on the act that they thought was the best; the phone number used, shown after their performance, is the same for all semi-finalists, with the exception of the final two digits, which differs between each semi-finalist in terms of the order of their appearance. Once the lines have closed and the votes have been counted, the act with the highest number of public votes is automatically placed in the final. The judges' vote, held after the result of the phone vote, determine the second act that wins this stage, and is conducted between the second and third most popular acts the public voted on; the other semi-finalist at this point, are eliminated from the contest. The act which receives a majority vote from the judges, moves on to the final; in the event of a tied vote, upon the show increasing the number of judges to 4 from fifth series onwards, the second most popular act moves on to the final. From the sixth series onwards, the show incorporated a new feature in which any eliminated act from the semi-finals could still have a chance of being sent through to the finals, by being picked by the judges to as their "Wildcard" act, later expanding this by allowing the public to vote on a second act to go through into the finals, out of the top three eliminated acts.

text: For the final of each series, the format of the contest operated in the exact same manner as the semi-finals, including being broadcast live on television, though this time the winner is determined purely by a phone vote, with the finalists attempting to secure more votes than the others by performing a new routine at their best. Upon the result being given, the top two acts are brought onto the stage, with the hosts announcing which of them received the most votes. In addition to the performances by the finalists, the show also features an appearance by a guest performer, who appears between the final act and the announcement of the results. The winner of each year's contest receives a cash prize, and earns the opportunity to perform in the Royal Variety Performance later that year.

text: For the show's scheduling, the live episodes are usually arranged to take place over the course of a week, with the semi-finals aired mainly on weekdays, and the final aired on the weekend; in some series, the schedule featured a break between the live episodes of the semi-finals, due to coverage of live events. All live episodes are divided into two parts when they are aired - the first half focuses on performances, each introduced by a short clip of the semi-finalist/finalist, and ended with comments by the judges; the second half occurs after voting is closed, usually after another programme has aired between the two part, and focuses on the results of the phone vote, with a guest performance taking place prior to the announcement of the results. This format was initially used for the live finals only, until the start of the fourth series.

text: Judges[edit]

text: For the first four series after the show began in June 2007, the judging panel consisted of music executive and television producer Simon Cowell, television and West End star Amanda Holden, and newspaper editor and journalist Piers Morgan. When the third series was starting in 2009, it was announced that Kelly Brook would be joining as a fourth judge in the panel,[13] but this later dropped less than a week later by the producers, who believed at the time that the format would be "too complicated" with four judges, thus leaving the panel consisting of just three judges; Brook was later credited as a guest judge.[14][15][16] In 2010, Cowell fell ill during filming of the fourth series and was unable to attend the Birmingham auditions, leading to fellow The X Factor judge Louis Walsh stepping in as guest judge in his place, until he had recovered.[17]

text: In 2011, Morgan revealed he was leaving the show to travel to America and begin filming of his new show, with Cowell announcing that, although he would attend the live episodes of the fifth series, he wouldn't be present for the auditions, due to his busy schedule with launching The X Factor USA.[18] The show's producers decided therefore to have Holden act as the head judge in the auditions until Cowell returned, while also having comedian Michael McIntyre, and actor, singer and former America's Got Talent judge David Hasselhoff, join the fifth series and oversee the auditions,[19][20] although Walsh had to be brought in again as a guest judge for the London auditions, due to Hasselhoff's commitments with a pantomime; both judges remained on the panel for the live shows, with Cowell becoming a fourth judge upon his return. After their appearance, it was announced later that year in October, that neither Hasselhoff nor McIntyre would be returning as a judge for the sixth series, after Cowell returned full-time.[21]

text: On 2 January 2012, the producers revealed its decision to adopt the use of a fourth judge for the programe, after it announced that both Cowell and Holden would now be joined by David Walliams and Alesha Dixon in the sixth series, with the latter moving to the talent show after deciding to leave BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.[22] During filming in February, Holden was unable to attend the London auditions, due to having given birth to her daughter and suffering some after effects from her pregnancy, leading to actress and model Carmen Electra stepping in as a guest judge until she recovered. In subsequent series, the line-up remained as Cowell, Holden, Walliams and Dixon, with no further incidents except for the eighth series in 2014 - Cowell missed the first day of the Manchester auditions, leading to Ant & Dec filling in for him, and was also absent for the final day of the London auditions - and the tenth series in 2016 - Cowell was late for an audition, and was temporarily replaced by Walliam's mother Kathleen, who was attending it.

text:
Series
Main Judge
Guest Judge

1
2
3
4

1
Simon
Amanda
Piers
N/A
N/A

2

3
Kelly1

4
Louis2

5
Michael
David H.

6
Alesha
David W.
Carmen3

7
N/A

8
Ant & Dec4

9
N/A

10
Kathleen5

11
N/A

tag: table

text:
^ Brook was credited as a guest judge for the Manchester auditions, after the producers dropped plans for her to be a permanent judge in this series.
^ Walsh served as a guest judge in place of Cowell during the fourth series, and Hasselhoff during the fifth series.
^ Electra served as a guest judge in place of Holden, during the sixth series.
^ Ant & Dec served as guest judges in the eighth series, substituting for Cowell on the first day of the Manchester auditions.
^ David Walliams' mother, Kathleen Williams, served as a guest judge in place of Cowell, while attending a session in the tenth series.

tag: ol

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Series
Start
Finish
Winner's prize 1
Winner
Runner-up
Third place

1
9 June 2007
17 June 2007
£100,000
Paul Potts
Not announced

2
12 April 2008
31 May 2008
George Sampson
Signature
Andrew Johnston

3
11 April 2009
30 May 2009
Diversity
Susan Boyle
Julian Smith

4
17 April 2010
5 June 2010
Spelbound
Twist and Pulse
Kieran Gaffney

5
16 April 2011
4 June 2011
Jai McDowall
Ronan Parke
New Bounce

6
24 March 2012
12 May 2012
£500,000
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Jonathan and Charlotte
Only Boys Aloud

7
13 April 2013
8 June 2013
£250,000
Attraction
Jack Carroll
Richard & Adam

8
12 April 2014
7 June 2014
Collabro
Lucy Kay
Bars & Melody

9
11 April 2015
31 May 2015
Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse
Jamie Raven
Côr Glanaethwy

10
9 April 2016
28 May 2016
Richard Jones
Wayne Woodward
Boogie Storm

11
15 April 2017
3 June 2017
Tokio Myers
Issy Simpson
Daliso Chaponda

text: ^ In addition to the cash prize, winners also earn the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in the year they win.

text: Series 1 (2007)[edit]

text: The first series was aired during 2007, between 9-17 June. Auditions for this series took place within the cities of Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cardiff, between January and February earlier that year. The series had 3 live semi-finals, featuring a total of 24 semi-finalists, all of whom were vying for a chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance, as well as claiming a £100,000 cash prize. The series was won by opera singer Paul Potts; the results of the other finalists were not announced.

text: Series 2 (2008)[edit]

text: The second series was aired during 2008, between 12 April to 31 May, and featured notable differences. Not only did the series run for much longer, auditions took place in Blackpool and Glasgow, the latter following complaints that Scotland hadn't been visited during the previous series, along with Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. In addition, the show had five live semi-finals, featuring a total of 40 semi-finalists. The series was won by street-dancer George Sampson, with dual dance group Signature coming in second, and singer Andrew Johnston placing third.

text: Series 3 (2009)[edit]

text: The third series was aired during 2009, between 11 April to 30 May, with auditions held in the same five cities as before. Initially, the producers intended to change the format by including a fourth judge on the panel, but this was later dropped a few days after auditions began. The series was won by dance troupe Diversity, with singer Susan Boyle coming in second, and saxophonist Julian Smith placing third.

text: Series 4 (2010)[edit]

text: The fourth series was aired during 2010, between 17 April to 5 June; a single episode of this series, intended for airing on 22 May, was pushed back to 23 May, in order to avoid it clashing with live coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final that year. The auditions were once more held across the same five cities as before, though the series also held auditions with Newcastle upon Tyne; the city had been originally planned to hold auditions for the previous series, but these were cancelled before this could happen. Owing to illness, Cowell was unable to attend the Birmingham auditions, which led to Louis Walsh being in brought in as a guest judge for these.[23] The series was won by gymnastic troupe Spelbound, with dancing duo Twist and Pulse coming in second, and drummer Kieran Gaffney placing third.

text: Series 5 (2011)[edit]

text: The fifth series was aired during 2011, between 16 April to 4 June, and was the first to be broadcast completely in high-definition; like before, a single episode intended for airing on 28 May, was pushed back to 29 May, to avoid it clashing with live coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final that year. Auditions took place across the same five cities, though also included Liverpool. This series saw a change in the judging panel, following Piers Morgan's departure from the show,[24] with Holden joined by David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre during the auditions; Cowell appeared during this series in the live episodes,[25][26] with Louis Walsh returning as a guest judge for the London auditions when Hasselhoof couldn't attend due to other commitments at the time;[27] Cowell was present in the panel for the live shows only. The series was won by singer Jai McDowall, with singer Ronan Parke coming in second, and boyband New Bounce placing third.

text: Series 6 (2012)[edit]

text: The sixth series was aired during 2012, between 24 March and 12 May. For this series, the cash prize was increased from £100,000 to £500,000, and a new feature was introduced called the "Wildcard", in which the judges could select one of the acts eliminated in the semi-finals, to return and compete in the finals. The show also increased the number of semi-finalist for the semi-finals to 45, with nine acts per semi-final, and the number of judges for the entire contest to 4; the previous series also featured four judges, albeit for the live episodes only. In addition, the show attempted to bring in a new way of voting for the semi-finals via a mobile app, but this was suspended for the series after it suffered technical problems during the first live semi-final. This series featured an open audition in London, along with inviting other acts to audition via YouTube, before holding Judge's Auditions within Birmingham, London, Manchester and Cardiff, Blackpool and Edinburgh. As both McIntyre and Hasselhoff announced in late 2011 they wouldn't be returning,[21] the show announced on 2 January 2012 that they would be replaced by David Walliams and Alesha Dixon,[28] and join both Holden and Cowell for the new series, the latter having announced he would be returning as a full-time judge on the show.[29][30] Holden was unable to attend some of the auditions due to ill health following her pregancy, leading to Carmen Electra stepping in as a guest judge for these. The series was won by trainer and dog duo Ashleigh and Pudsey, with opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte coming in second, and Welsh boys choir Only Boys Aloud placing third.

text: Series 7 (2013)[edit]

text: The seventh series was aired during 2013, between 13 April to 8 June; the show took a break on the 29 May, due to live football coverage of England's friendly with the Republic of Ireland. While the show retained the new features introduced in the previous series, the cash prize was reduced to £250,000, with the series featuring auditions within five cities - Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. The series was won by shadow theatre troupe Attraction, with comedian Jack Carroll coming in second, and opera duo Richard & Adam placing third.

text: Series 8 (2014)[edit]

text: The eighth series aired during 2014, between 12 April to 7 June. This series was the first to introduce the "Golden Buzzer", and for the first time since the second series, auditions were not held in Scotland, instead being held in Northern Ireland within Belfast, along with Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Manchester; Edinburgh joined these cities to hold open auditions in late 2013, along with Blackpool and Brighton, with additional open auditions held in various local branches of Morrisons within "Talent Spot" tents, owing to the show's sponsorship deal with the supermarket chain at the time. The series was won by boy band Collabro, with opera singer Lucy Kay coming in second, and rapper duo Bars & Melody placing third.

text: Series 9 (2015)[edit]

text: The ninth series was aired during 2015, between 11 April to 31 May. This series saw the "Wildcard" feature updated; along with the judges being able to put forth an eliminated act from the semi-finals into the final (referred to as the Judges' Wildcard), the show now also allowed the public to vote between the three most popular eliminated acts, with the one with the highest number of votes going forward into the final - this act is referred to as the Public Wildcard. Audition took place within Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, with the latter three cities holding open auditions in late 2014 along with Newcastle, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Leeds, Dublin, Norwich, and Bristol. The winner of the series was trainer and dog duo Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse, with magician Jamie Raven coming second, and Welsh choir Côr Glanaethwy placing third.

text: Series 10 (2016)[edit]

text: The tenth series was aired during 2016, between 9 April to 28 May. Auditions were held within Liverpool, Birmingham and London, with all three holding open auditions in late 2015 along with Cardiff, Glasgow, and Manchester. It was the last series to hold live episodes within The Fountain Studios, before its closure at the end of the year. The series was won by magician Richard Jones, with singer Wayne Woodward coming in second, and dance group Boogie Storm placing third.

text: Series 11 (2017)[edit]

text: The eleventh series was aired during 2017, between 15 April to 3 June; the final was originally planned for 4 June, but this was moved forward to avoid it clashing with the One Love Manchester benefit concert that day.[31] The series saw two major changes: the first saw the total number of semi-finalist reduced to 40 with eight per each semi-final, as it had been prior to the sixth series; the second saw the Judges' vote being dropped, with the two semi-finalists with the highest number of public votes moving on into the final. In addition, the live episodes were now broadcast from Elstree Studios, owing to the closure of the previous site. Auditions were held within Salford, Birmingham, London, and Blackpool, with the latter two cities holding open auditions in late 2016, along with Peterborough, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Kingston upon Hull, Lincoln, Reading, Manchester and Luton. The series was won by pianist Tokio Myers, with magician Issy Simpson coming in second, and stand-up comedian Daliso Chaponda placing third.

text: Future series[edit]

text: At present, Britain's Got Talent has been renewed for two more series until at least 2019.[32]

text: Britain's Got More Talent[edit]

text: Britain's Got More Talent is a companion sister show that is broadcast on ITV2, and is aired after each episode of Britain's Got Talent since the main show began in June 2007. Hosted by Stephen Mulhern (with occasional appearances by Ant & Dec), the programme operates in a similar manner to The Xtra Factor (the companion show of The X Factor), in that it features interviews with contestants and behind-the-scenes footage, though what is shown depends on what the main show is focused on during its broadcast. When the auditions stage is being broadcast, its sister show focus on highlights of acts that couldn't be shown on the main show, with Mulhern operating in a similar manner to Ant & Dec by viewing the performances in the wings and giving comments, as well as interviewing contestants before and after their performance. When the main show begins broadcasting live episodes, its sister show conducts live "after-show" episodes, featuring interviews with the semi-finalists/finalists, as well as chatting with the judges.

text: In addition to this format, each year also sees Britain's Got More Talent broadcasting a special set of compilation episodes featuring the best and worst auditions from that year's contest, entitled Britain's Got Talent: Best and Worst, which are presented by Mulhern who introduces each clip shown.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Britain's Got Talent has been nominated for a number of National Television Awards in the category of 'Most Popular Talent Show' since 2007. But has lost out to its sister shows The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Ant and Dec have won the award for 'Most Popular Entertainment Presenters' at the same awards for twelve consecutive years (as of January 2014). Britain's Got Talent has also been nominated for two British Academy Television Awards in 2008, but failed to win any awards. In 2007 and 2008, the show was nominated at the TV Quick and Choice Awards in the 'Best Talent Show' category, losing out to The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing respectively.

text: In 2008, it was a recipient of a Royal Television Society Programme Award for its technical achievements. It has also won four Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards from five nominations. In 2009, it won its first ever Digital Spy Reality Award for George Sampson for 'Favourite Reality Contestant'. The show was further nominated in the 'Reality Show' category, but lost out to The X Factor in the 'Reality TV Presenter' category for Ant & Dec and two nominations in the 'Reality TV Judge' category for Cowell and Morgan.

text:
Year
Group
Award
Nominee
Result

2007
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
Ant & Dec
Won

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards
Best Reality Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Best TV Presenters
Ant & Dec
Won

TV Quick and Choice Awards
Best Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

2008
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
Ant & Dec
Won

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards
Favourite Winner
George Sampson
Won

British Academy Television Awards
Lew Grade Award
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Audience Award
Nominated

Royal Television Society Programme Awards
Best Production Design-Entertainment
Dominic Tolfts
Won

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards
Best TV Presenters
Ant & Dec
Won

Best Family TV Show
Britain's Got Talent
Won

Best TV Baddie
Simon Cowell
Won

2009
TV Quick and Choice Awards
Best Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Digital Spy Reality TV Awards
Favourite TV Reality
Nominated

Favourite TV Reality Judge
Simon Cowell
Nominated

Piers Morgan
Nominated

Favourite TV Reality Presenters
Ant & Dec
Nominated

Favourite Reality Contestant
George Sampson
Won

2010
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

British Academy Television Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Won

2011
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

TV Choice Awards
Best Talent Show
Won

2012
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

2013
Broadcast Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Nominated

National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

2014
Nominated

2015
Nominated

TV Judge
Simon Cowell
Nominated

David Walliams
Won

2016
Most Popular Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

2016 British Academy Television Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated[33]

2017
22nd National Television Awards
Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated[34]

TV Judge
Simon Cowell
Nominated[34]

David Walliams
Nominated[34]

2017 British Academy Television Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated[35]

Diversity in Media Awards
TV Programme of the Year
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

text: Controversies and criticism[edit]

text: In series 1, the show was criticised for not visiting Scotland. Extra audition dates were added in series 2, and the judges visited Scotland.[citation needed]

text: The show was criticised by psychologist Glenn Wilson, who referred to it as a "freak show". He stated that "[contestants'] deficiencies and shortcomings are as important as their talent. We enjoy the stress we are putting these people under – will they or will they not survive?"[36]

text: The treatment of contestants at the audition stage was heavily criticised by the Daily Mail, which described applicants being kept waiting for over 10 hours with no food or drink provided, with no certainty of being allowed to perform more than a few seconds of their act. It also detailed how staff intentionally built up the hopes of low-quality performers in order to maximise the dramatic effect of the judges' put-downs, and the fine points of the contracts performers must sign, which gives the show infinite freedom to "modify" the footage for their own purposes, and to use the footage indefinitely for whatever purpose they choose.[37]

text: In two separate interviews in 2012, MC Kinky said "Shows like X Factor and Britain's Got Talent reduce the art of making music and practising your craft to the level of a low rent game show with huge financial backing and support. It's a means to make money, not a means to produce ground breaking or interesting artists that demonstrate what they are feeling or are compelled to do. It's corporate"[38] and "it's a churn 'em out fast food form of putrid shit that I have no affiliation with".[39]

text: In 2013, Bruce Forsyth questioned the show's allowing children to audition. He said, "I don't think that's entertainment. I don't think they should put children on that are too young. If you're going to do that, have a separate show. Have a children's show, British Children Have Talent."[40]

text: In 2013 it was revealed that up to 50% of acts on the televised shows had been headhunted by producers. In 2012, electropop band Superpowerless were approached to appear in the semi-finals. They attended the audition after assurances that the act would be portrayed in a positive light. On the day they felt that all interviews, especially those with Stephen Mulhern, were conducted in a manner intending to portray them in a negative light, reducing their act to a novelty/comedy routine intended for ridicule and humiliation. While many newspapers wrote articles on this topic, very few were published as the news outlets were told that running the story would cut that publication out of any advance coverage of the show in the future.[41]

text: Live tour[edit]

text: On 17 April 2008, a thirteen date live tour was announced visiting the UK's major cities during the month of June, featuring the semi-finalists, the finalists and the winner from series two, along with a few surprises. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour, which began on 6 June. None of the judging panel were present, and there was no live voting. After high demand for tickets, the tour was later extended to twenty two performances, including matinées. The tour featured all ten finalists, as well as semi-finalists Tracey Lee Collins and Anya Sparks. The tour also featured a duet with Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston.

text: On 13 January 2009, a four date tour was announced with dates in Newcastle, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. More dates were later added and the tour ran for eighteen shows from 12–26 June 2009 and also travelled to Dublin, Birmingham, Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Aberdeen and Bournemouth.

text: The tour in 2009 included: Diversity, Flawless, Aidan Davis, Shaun Smith, Stavros Flatley, Hollie Steel, 2 Grand, Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, Susan Boyle, Darth Jackson, DJ Talent and the 2008 winner, George Sampson. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour.

text: The tour returned in 2010, this time hosted by comedian Paddy McGuinness. The show also added a new city to the schedule, Brighton. The tour included all the finalists: Spelbound, Twist & Pulse, Kieran Gaffney, Tobias Mead, Tina & Chandi, Paul Burling, Christopher Stone, Janey Cutler, Liam McNally and Connected. The tour lasted from 19 June to 11 July. With 16 cites and 23 shows, it was the longest Britain's Got Talent Tour to date.

text: The tour in 2011 included all the finalists: Jai McDowall, Ronan Parke, New Bounce, Razy Gogonea, Michael Collings, Paul Gbegbaje, Steven Hall, James Hobley, Les Gibson and Jean Martyn.[42]

text: In 2012, due to very low ticket sales the tour was axed.[43]

text: Best-selling albums[edit]

text: These albums were sold after Britain's Got Talent. The sales numbers are UK sales only.

text: Artists with BPI-certified albums[edit]

text:
Former contestant
Total sales
Debut album
Second album
Third album
Fourth album
Fifth Album
Sixth Album
Seventh Album

Susan Boyle
(Series 3, runner-up)
3,452,059
I Dreamed a Dream
(23 November 2009)
Syco/Columbia
7× platinum
2,100,000[44]
Peak: 1
The Gift
(8 November 2010)
Syco/Columbia
2× platinum
609,602
Peak: 1
Someone to Watch Over Me
(1 November 2011)
Syco/Columbia
Platinum
344,508
Peak: 1
Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage
(13 November 2012)
Syco/Columbia
Gold
175,488
Peak: 5
Home for Christmas
(25 October 2013)
Syco/Columbia
Gold
122,448
Peak: 9
Hope
(21 October 2014)
Syco/Columbia
Silver
85,000
Peak: 13
A Wonderful World
(4 November 2016)
Syco/Columbia
N/A
15,013
Peak: 22

Paul Potts
(Series 1, winner)
680,000
One Chance
(16 July 2007)
Syco/Columbia
2× Platinum
680,000
Peak: 1
Passione
(1 June 2009)
Syco/Columbia
N/A
N/A
Peak: 5
Cinema Paradiso
(15 October 2010)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK
Home
(12 October 2014)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK

Richard & Adam
(Series 7, 3rd place)
300,000+
The Impossible Dream
(29 July 2013)
Arista Records, RCA Records
Platinum
300,000
Peak: 1
The Christmas Album
(2 December 2013)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: 24
At the Movies
(8 August 2014)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: 5
Believe – Songs of Inspiration
(26 February 2016)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: 9

Collabro
(Series 8, winner)
253,100+
Stars
(18 August 2014)
Syco
Gold
193,100+
Peak: 1
Act Two
(1 June 2015)
Syco
Silver
60,000+
Peak: 2

Jonathan and Charlotte
(Series 6, runner-up)
160,000+
Together
(24 September 2012)
Syco
Gold
100,000
Peak: 5
Perhaps Love
(14 October 2013)
Sony Classical
Silver
60,000
Peak: 5
Solitaire (Charlotte Jaconelli)
(9 June 2014)
Sony Classical
N/A
N/A
Peak: 40

Tenore (Jonathan Antoine)
(13 October 2014)
Sony Classical
N/A
N/A
Peak: 13
Believe (Jonathan Antoine)
(19 August 2016)
Cavendish
N/A
N/A
Peak: 79

Faryl Smith
(Series 2, 4th place)
150,000+
Faryl
(9 March 2009)
Universal Classics and Jazz
Gold
150,000+
Peak: 4
Wonderland
(30 November 2009)
Universal Classics and Jazz
N/A
N/A
Peak: 56

Andrew Johnston
(Series 2, 3rd place)
120,000
One Voice
(29 September 2008)
Syco
Gold
120,000
Peak: 4

Escala
(Series 2, 4th place)
100,000
Escala
(25 May 2009)
Sony BMG/Syco
Gold
100,000
Peak: 2
Quadrasonic
(15 January 2016)
Arctic Poppy
N/A
N/A
Peak: N/A

Connie Talbot
(Series 1, finalist)
100,000+
Over the Rainbow
(26 November 2007)
Rainbow Recording Company
Gold
100,000
Peak: 35
Connie Talbot's Christmas Album
(24 November 2008)
Rainbow Recording Company
N/A
N/A
Peak: 93
Holiday Magic
(20 October 2009)
AAO Music
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK
Beautiful World
(26 November 2012)
Evosound
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK
Matters to Me
(25 March 2016)
Evosound
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK

text: Artists without BPI-certified albums[edit]

text:
Former contestant
Total sales
Albums

Charlie Green
(Series 2, semi-finalist)

Charlie Green (1 October 2008) did not chart
A Friend Like You (9 May 2010) did not chart
Rainbow (5 November 2012) did not chart

Hollie Steel
(Series 3, finalist)

Hollie (24 May 2010) did not chart
Hooray For Christmas (11 October 2011) did not chart
Children on the Titanic (19 April 2012) did not chart

Lucy Kay
(Series 8, runner-up)

Fantasia (24 September 2014) #18

Beau Dermott
(Series 10, 5th place)

Brave (1 Sept 2017) #73

text: Merchandise[edit]

text: There are 6 pieces of related merchandise:

text:
Best of The Auditions DVD (2009)
The Electronic Board Game (2009)
The Magic Set (2009)
Finalists of 2009: Annual 2010 (2009)
Be the judge buzzer (2010)
Finalists of 2010: Annual 2011 (2010)

tag: ul

text: BGT App[edit]

text: Since 2010, a Britain's Got Talent app has been available on Apple's App Store and Google Play. The features of the app vary from year to year but always include an interactive feature (e.g. a buzzer, polls or quizzes), relevant social media feeds and clips from the show. In 2015, free in-app voting was introduced. This means viewers are able to vote free of charge for five acts of their choice per voting window during the semi-finals and final rounds.[citation needed]