First 2010 Breton Championship event to be televised, streamed live

The first competition in the series of events over the year to determine the 2010 Breton Bagad Champion will be televised and streamed on the Internet live, with 15 Grade 1 bagads, all from Brittany, taking part in the contest on February 14th in Brest.

The indoor bagadou contest will be televised live on France 3 and AnTourTan, beginning at 1 pm local time (7 am Eastern Time).

Each of the bagads – which comprise Highland pipes, percussion, biniou and bombards – must play a 9-11-minute medley, or “suite,” which is made up of at least half “dance” music and half marches of different tempos. This year the event calls for music from the “Sud Cornouailles” region of Brittany.

It is the first time that any Breton bagad competition has been broadcast live.

The 2009 World Pipe Band Championships was broadcast live via Internet streaming video by BBC Scotland, with apparent success. According to the BBC, though, whether or not the 2010 World’s will be streamed live again likely will not be determined until April when financial and editorial plans are made for the next fiscal year.

The Breton Championship is run in two parts, with the second taking place at the Festival Inter-Celtique in Lorient, Brittany, on August 7th.

Among the Grade 1 bagads competing is Bagad Cap Caval, which also competes in Grade 1 in pipe band competitions. The band was upgraded by the RSPBA after it won the Grade 2 event at the 2008 World Pipe Band Championships.