Annie Nightingale launches BBC scholarship programme for women and non-binary DJs

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BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale has launched a scholarship to support upcoming female and non-binary DJs.

Named after BBC Radio 1’s first female DJ and its longest-serving presenter, the Annie Nightingale Presents Scholarship aims to help groups of people that have been “historically underrepresented” in the dance music industry. It will be awarded to three recipients each year, as selected by Nightingale.

The winners of the scholarship will be given a one-hour slot on BBC Radio 1 on a Saturday night, with London-based DJs Martha and LCY, and Adelaide’s GODLANDS, all being named as the first three recipients of the award. They will appear together on radio this Saturday, 6th November. 

Commenting on the scholarship, Nightingale said: “Ever since I began, I have wanted to help other young broadcasters passionate about music to achieve their dreams on the airwaves, and now we at Radio 1 are to put that on a proper footing.”

A statement shared by BBC Radio 1 added that the scholarship “aims to celebrate and elevate talented women and non-binary people in the electronic music scene by providing them with a national platform to showcase their taste and expertise”.

Station head Aled Haydn Jones said: “It feels incredibly fitting to have a female dance icon like Annie Nightingale being able to uplift new and exciting DJs to the national stage. This has always been very close to Annie’s heart, so we’re pleased to be able to give her this annual opportunity to celebrate the newest ones to watch, and we’re looking forward to hearing what they each bring to the show.”

Find more information about the scholarship here.

In other BBC radio news, Afrodeutsche recently launched her own weekly show on BBC Radio 6 Music.