Ben Thompson opens virtual Stamford Lecture series

Early October saw the Schools' Stamford Lecture Series ‘go online’ for the first time as the Schools were honoured to welcome BBC News presenter Ben Thompson to share his insight into the big political issues affecting the world in 2020.As with many things during the global pandemic, the Schools have taken a creative their approach to keeping the renowned Lecture series going. The lectures have long been welcomed as an opportunity for the Stamford community to join together with the town, and students and teachers from other schools, to enjoy the entertaining and insightful topics that invited speakers choose to share.Taking the series virtual has opened the doors to viewers from across the world; with our audience dialling in from Cyprus, Belgium, Portugal and the USA to hear about the key political battlegrounds and what to watch out for as the race for the White House reaches its final days.Throughout the evening, over 130 families ‘logged in’ to hear Ben’s discussions considering the building momentum of Trump and Biden’s campaigns. Comments posted to social media following the lecture exampled how Ben captured the interest of his audience. If you were in the room you would have be able to hear a pin drop as he spoke, sharing the honesties of this job; the good, the bad and the ugly, giving true insight in to what was happening in the world and his feelings of privilege in being able to report on them (even, as he commented, if it does sometimes require him to get up at four in the morning to film his news pieces!)

We're all set for our first ever online Stamford Lecture! We're delighted to welcome @BBCBenThompson, who will be talking about global politics just three weeks ahead of the US elections. 7PM start, register at https://t.co/Dbwxtrncsv pic.twitter.com/oQIDEYDbs9

— Spede News (@SpedeNews) October 8, 2020

Ben currently presents for BBC Breakfast, covering news and business for the programme, having previously anchored BBC World’s flagship daily business programme, Business Live. Having spent three years as the BBC’s Middle East Business Correspondent he drew on this and of his time reporting from countries including Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. This then paved the way for his discussion on the American elections, with him having previously reported from New York and Washington when serving as North America Business Correspondent. Ben used this knowledge and experience to share his thoughts on the current circumstances and shaping of American politics today.Viewers watching from home told us how interesting they found Ben’s comments regarding the noticeable differences between the key issues in openly debated politics today. They also enjoyed the way he brought together the impact on the economical state of the world and the influences this has had on decision-making, social and environmental priorities.We extend our thanks to Ben for providing such an informative lecture as the inaugural talk in our virtual lecture series.We look forward to hosting our next Lecture: Kevin Fong discussing 13 minutes landing on the moon in January 2021, with booking details due to be released closer to the event.Read more news from the Stamford Schools Community here and from Stamford's Alumni here.