Gibraltar Today

Gemma Arias Vasquez became the first female politician to address the United Nations on behalf of Gibraltar.

The Government Minister told the Committee of 24 it has failed to engage with Gibraltar for decades. Will the committee finally carry out a fact-finding mission to the Rock?

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A letter in the Chronicle newspaper, ‘A Sense of Pride’, has prompted some discussion. Stephen Cumming argues setting aside just one day to commemorate D-Day “falls well below par” when a whole month is set aside to promote the LGBTQ+ Pride campaign. What do you think?

We're on 20066200, what do you think?

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Did you watch last night’s episode of The Needle?

We discuss Gibraltar’s multilingual heritage with Manuel Enriles.

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From story-telling & painting to yoga… Cultural Services is offering creative workshops in July: Davina Barbara has the details.

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And, the Heritage Trust is inviting applications from university students for an 8 week summer placement for July and August. We find out more from the trust CEO, Claire Montado, who'll also tell us about the Heritage Awards, launched this morning.

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In this episode of Gibraltar Today, Jonathan Scott talks to Ros Astengo about the centre Right being the winner after Europe's four days of voting - the first elections since Britain and Gibraltar left the EU.

Do you give blood? Would you consider doing so? Friday is World Blood Donor Day, we talk to the GHA's Audrey Baglietto and Elaine Francis.

The Ministry for Equality is hosting a panel discussion this evening named ‘PRIDE: Relevance and Reality’. We discuss the event with Marlene Dalli.

Jose Marie Ruiz has the latest sports news.

And, the Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts have an end of term show this week called ‘A Night at the Movies’. Jeremy Perez and Danny Fernandez join Jonathan.

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This month sees the launch of the Relay for Life 2025 - the event takes place in a year to the day. It's a biennial charity fund raiser in the fight to beat cancer. We welcomed committee members Therese Neish and Sofia Baglietto to the studio.

Childline Gibraltar has been accepted as a member of Child Helpline International (CHI), a global network dedicated to children and young people in need. In number, Gibraltar joins over 170 members in more than 140 countries and territories. The network reports over 14 million contacts a year from children and young people. Childline CEO Caroline Carter Olivero explains what this means for the charity.

Childine’s services are available every day of the year between 5pm and 9pm via live chat on childline.gi or on 8008 (calls are free of charge).

‘One Ocean, One Climate, One Future – Together’. That’s the slogan for World Oceans Day, which will be celebrated tomorrow. A day to help unite and rally the world to protect and restore our blue planet! Locally, it’s being celebrated by Dive Charters, Gibraltar Sub Aqua Club, the Department of Environment, the University of Gibraltar and others. Sid Dewfall & Bianca Daniel told us more.

And, Gibraltar put an end to a 13-game losing streak with an impressive goalless draw against Wales at the Estadio Algarve. It was only a friendly, no points up for grabs, but the celebrations at full time showed just how much it meant to Julio Ribas and his men. We caught up with our reporter Jose Mari Ruiz on his way back from Faro with the GBC crew.

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It's the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. On the Rock, as well as in the UK and France, the brave personnel who risked their lives for freedom and peace are being remembered. To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, military historians are retelling the stories of Normandy veterans with unique or little-known roles in the Normandy campaign. We spoke to Colonel Francis Brancato - the Regiment’s Honorary Colonel and Chairman of the Royal British Legion in Gibraltar.

The Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service is teaming up with the Breast Cancer Support Group tomorrow in what's been dubbed the "Charity Pull". A group of fire fighters will attempt to pull a fire truck from Casemates to Cathedral Square! Eric Abudarham of the GFRS and Heidi Jeffries and Mercy Posso of Breast Cancer Support...

Gibraltar take on Wales this evening in another international football friendly at the Estadio Algarve. They lost 2-0 to Scotland on Monday. Our reporter Jose Mari Ruiz is in Faro ahead of kick off at 6pm tonight.

Our next guests are undertaking a 5km swim in England's largest lake, Lake Windermere to raise funds for Cancer Relief Gib branch. The Great North Swim will take place this Sunday. A group of Bluefin Club members will be there, including Terence Ocaña and Darren Grech, who told us more about the swim.

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Dementia advocate Daphne Alcantara has died aged 65. Through the Gibraltar Alzheimers and Dementia Support Group, she campaigned for people living with dementia and for those caring for them. She had made a promise to her father that she would do everything possible to help others living with dementia; to help families have the best possible experience caring for their loved ones. We listened to some of your tributes to Daphne.

World Environment Day encourages action and awareness in terms of protecting the environment. It's a milestone year, with the first World Environment Day occurring 50 years ago in 1974. So how much have we learned in the last half-century? how have things changed, both locally and on a global scale? We discussed this with the Minister for the Environment John Cortes.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry has established a direct liaison with la Linea in order to deal with infrastructure and administration issues arising from a treaty. This was revealed by la Linea mayor Juan Franco, who met with the Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares in his office this morning. Mr Franco says he's concerned that the issues being negotiated between the EU and the UK could have consequences for his city, although he is hoping to welcome Gibraltarians with open arms. Our reporter Jonathan Sacramento told us more.

And, as well as bring World Environment Day, today is also Global Running Day! Do you enjoy running, either at a competitive or leisurely level? Ian Howes of the Carpe Diem running club spoke to us about the main benefits of running.

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Gibraltar's new Governor and Commander-in-Chief has landed on the Rock. Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst will be sworn in on Tuesday. He was due to arrive with his wife, Lady Bathurst, however, she has been unable to fly due to damaged knee ligaments. Ros Astengo covered the ceremony live on GBC Televsion and Radio Gibraltar Plus.

The Bayside Cycle Lane opened just over a year ago, and according to Government statistics has been used almost 880 thousand times during the year. Use has been consistent, with an average of 60 thousand trips in any one month. Paul Balban, former Minister for Transport, responsible for the introduction of cycle lanes during his time as Minister: we caught up with him in the studio.

What did you think of the football? Gibraltar's senior men's team lost 2-0 to Scotland yesterday evening. The match was a friendly, Scotland will compete in the Euro 24 finals later this month. Our Sports Reporter Jose Marie Ruiz followed the game in Faro.

And, Gibraltar is a small place, but it will be hosting a big event next year: the Netball World Youth Cup. There's a lot for the Gibraltar Netball Association to plan. And they want to get everyone involved. They'll be hosting a number of campaigns and events in the build up, including a Corporate Tournament which starts this week. We spoke to Moira Gomez and Nuria Saccone.

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What would you like to see in the Gibraltar of the future? A tender has been awarded for a new Development Plan. Our reporter Jonathan Sacramento has been looking at the story. We also heard from some of our listeners to give us their thoughts and ideas.

Are you a Swiftie? If not, you probably know one. Taylor Swift has taken the world by storm recently - she's a record-smashing star, and her billion-dollar Eras World Tour landed in Europe recently. A large number of local fans flocked to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid this weekend for her show. We caught up with Swifties Aimie Desoisa and Melanie Chipolina, who both saw her live, and told us about what the ambiente was like on the night.

In football, the Gibraltar Men’s National Team side has travelled to Portugal for a last time after the news that it will be able to play its Nations League Campaign on the Rock. Gibraltar will first take on Scotland then Wales in two friendlies. Our reporter, Jose Mari Ruiz is in Faro ahead of kick off at the Estadio Algarve and will be following the action from the sidelines.

And, how can supported employment diversify Gibraltar’s workplace? A conference this coming Wednesday at the Sunborn Hotel hopes to bring together the private and public sectors, NGO’s and charities to talk about empowering journeys and igniting careers. We were joined by organisers Jolene Gomez and Paul Dobinson.

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Do you follow local football? GBC is preparing a podcast series telling the story of Gibraltar’s 10 years of UEFA membership. The podcast is called “Building a Football Nation”, and will launch in early June. We spoke to the host of the podcast Molly McElwee.

On the day the UK Parliament has dissolved, Sir Bob Neill says support for Gibraltar will continue regardless of who wins the general election. The Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar and long-time friend is retiring from frontline politics, but speaking to GBC, he stressed he will continue to bang the drum for the Rock. Our reporter Iain Triay Clarence told us more.

And, this weekend will see a fund-raising Teddy Bears Picnic at Commonwealth Park. It's organised by Research into Childhood Cancer (RICC). Last year's was the first and it was a big hit with families and especially with young children. We were delighted to have the star of that event Ricky, the Giant Bear, join us in the studio, together with Denise Marsden and Karen Celecia.

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E-Sports, UK Parliament, Kitchen Studios

There is a new home for esports players on the Rock. The Gibraltar Esports and Videogaming Association has inaugurated a premises at the Europa Sports Complex. The site features high tech computers, speaker systems and even a formula 1 simulation drive. Our reporter Shelina Assomull was at the opening, and we also spoke to Dean Penfold, who is the Secretary of the Esports and Videogaming Association. 

The British Parliament has dissolved today. It did so very early this morning, ahead of a July 4th general election. The Labour Party could return to power after 14 years of Conservative rule. Campaigning has officially commenced as 650 parliamentary seats became vacant at one minute past midnight (23:01 GMT) as per the electoral schedule. Ros Astengo is hosting a ViewPoint episode on this topic.

And, art can be powerful, it can invite us to re-see the world in a different way, it can tell us something about who we are, it can affect change. It's a milestone year for Kitchen Studios - the art group was formed in 2014 with the aim of providing a vibrant workspace for young artists in Gibraltar. Ten years on, it is a hub of creativity, innovation and collaboration - local artists Tom Maxwell and Naomi Duarte are both heavily involved.

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The Chief Minister says he's always been very clear that 'boots on the ground' are a 'no-no' in treaty negotiations. Speaking on GBC’s “Direct Democracy” last night, Fabian Picardo said the reference in the Spanish Parliament, to armed Spanish police in Gibraltar, is the Spanish Interior Ministry putting its negotiating position across, but not divulging any details of where the negotiations actually are. Our news editor Christine Vasquez spoke to the Chief Minister last night.

Ahead of his departure last week, the Governor Sir David Steel invested GHA therapist Gaynor Vatvani and Air Terminal Director Terrence Lopez with the Gibraltar Award. It recognises people for loyal and valuable public service. We spoke to both Gaynor and Terence in the studio to ask them what receiving the award meant to them.

And, International Museum Day was held earlier this month and to celebrate, the Gibraltar national museum is holding its annual Open Day this Saturday. This year's theme is "Museums for Education and Research", set by the International Council of Museums. There are a wide range of activities on offer: we spoke to Professor Clive Finlayson about what they have planned for this year’s event.

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