The Arts Hour on Tour, the BBC World Service English programme that showcases arts, culture and creativity around the world, will record in Spain’s capital, Madrid, on Tuesday 12 March.

The programme will feature star guest interviews with leading Spanish creatives including Goya award-winning filmmaker Alauda Ruiz de Azua. There will be live music performances from Rodrigo Cuevas and Las Migas and stand-up comedy from Silvia Sparks.

Recorded in English for BBC World Service radio, The Arts Hour on Tour visits cities all over the world to explore their hottest trends and issues by talking to the artists who live and work there.

In Madrid, BBC presenter Nikki Bedi and her guests will be on stage to discuss cultural themes of life in Spain right now, including the balance between liberal freedoms and traditional conservatism, the relationship between rural and urban Spain, and between the different regions of the country. Our live audience will also be invited to join the debate.

Everyone is invited to sign up for free tickets to be part of the audience for the recording, which will take place Tuesday 12 March at La Casa Encendida De La Fundación Montemadrid Rda. de Valencia, 2, Centro, 28012 Madrid, Spain

Arrival is at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

The programme will broadcast on BBC World Service English radio to millions of listeners worldwide and will be available online on the BBC World Service website.

You can register for a FREE ticket below.

The Arts Hour is the BBC World Service’s flagship arts and culture programme.

To date, The Arts Hour on Tour has been live on stage in: Paris, Jerusalem, Jaipur, New Orleans, Berlin, Venice, Reykjavik, Seoul, Edinburgh, St Petersburg, Mexico City, Mumbai, Copenhagen, Addis Ababa, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Montreal, Brussels, Johannesburg, Tunis, Milan, Bogota, London, Warsaw, Accra, Nashville, Tblisi, Sarajevo, Sau Paulo, Miami, Lisbon, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Helsinki, Jakarta, Tirana, Nairobi, Budapest, Athens, Taipei and Buenos Aires. We also recorded ‘virtual’ shows in Rome, Stockholm and Sydney during Covid 19 Lockdowns. You can listen to all these programmes on the BBC Arts Hour website.