fire and fairness on the scottish island. you can absolutely find all this just by moving around. i was earning very good money, putting frozen pies in a box. you can absolutely fund all this traveljust by moving around and working. and the final curtain at broadway's longest—running show. this is the first show i ever saw on and it's my broadway debut, so it's a beautiful, beautiful full—circle moment for me.

drums. sitting halfway between the scottish mainland and norway, the shetland islands have a unique combination of cultures, and today, the sleepy town of lerwick is facing an invasion from a long—dormant foe — the vikings. cheering. so, this is up helly aa. it's one of a number of viking festivals that take place in shetland every year, and this one, in lerwick, is the biggest. up helly aa is best known for its night—time procession. almost 1,000 people carry flaming torches through the streets, then set fire to a replica viking ship. the day begins with a march through the town, a march through the town, led by the jarl

squad, a group of around 60 locals, kitted out in an elaborate viking garb. i mean, this is serious stuff. yeah. who makes these? almost all of it was done in shetland. there was a design committee. what kind of money are we talking for an individual kit? the viking heritage of shetland is something that most shetlanders are incredibly proud of. the viking heritage of shetland is something that most shetlanders are incredibly proud of. a lot of the place names in shetland are of scandinavian origin, and you'll hear my accent is this kind of strange amalgam of scots and old norn. those are the roots of language. within the crowd, tourists from across the world. i'm from a little town in oregon, in the middle of nowhere, so here i am, in the middle of nowhere here! the norwegians are here! i love your costume!

but, fundamentally, this is a local tradition. there are rules for who can take part, which is why 2023 is a big yearfor up helly aa, because it's up helly aa, because it's the first time in the history of this beardy, testosterone—fuelled festival that women canjoin in. i think it's probably fair to say that the reaction to the announcement was broadly positive, although probably, some people still cherish the format of the festival as it was. traditionally, women are the hostesses of the ornate parties that followed the procession. claire has some sympathy for those who want to keep it all as it was. my husband has been in nine jarl squads now. he's a joiner, he's a craftsman. i think it's a shame to forget what pride and delight lots of people involved in making these suits and making this event happen, from the hostesses and the halls, you know, they do those things very, very well, and

they love it as it is. but i also, i'm a woman, and i have a daughter, who's three, and i would love to see her participate on her own terms. women and girls have been taking part in other viking festivals around shetland for a few years, but the changes to up helly aa won't transform it overnight. jarl squad members are nominated 15 years in advance, so they'll mostly remain male for a while yet. but the changes will have an immediate impact on thejunior up helly aa, which takes place right before the adult one. i'm on my way to meet one young torchbearer. hello! hi, there. i'm christa. you must bejoni. so, can you walk along the route withjoni, as well? that's great. joni is one of around 30 girls who will be taking part for the first time. what are you looking

forward to most? probably throwing the torch into the galley. the torch might get a bit heavy to carry, so we've made these tins, where you put it in, so it lifts some of the weight off you. brilliant. what was it like for you to get the news that women and girls could be included for the first time? was that quite an exciting thing to find out? yeah, so i think it'sjust nice, everybody getting the opportunity, especially the young ones, likejoni and her friends. yeah, i'm really happy, it's really good that they're letting girls take part. which is brilliant, and can you imagine yourself taking part in the future, and becoming a member of the jarl squad? yeah. would you like to wear the armour? mm. as the day draws to an end in lerwick, the festivities start to heat up. i'm standing here with a lot of proud parents, as the members of the junior procession light up their torches and get ready to set off across town. hopefully we can catch sight ofjoni.

behind the jarl squad, the other revellers are dressed not in viking gear, but in fancy dress, and sure enough, we see lots of girls taking part, including joni. not long after thejunior procession, it's the grown—ups' turn. scottish reel music. the atmosphere is brilliant. you've got this singing, lots of shouting. cheering. they've turned off the street lights, so you've just got this torchlight around, but you do have to be a bit bit cautious, because if a gust of wind comes a gust of wind comes by, the embers fly from the torches and land on your clothes, so you have to be home with a few holes! as the adult procession passes by, we don't see many women taking part, but any controversy hasn't stopped crowds of people

turning out to watch. did you have any feeling yourself about girls being allowed to participate? yeah, well, our boys are involved, |we have two girls, so we are keenj they can be involved as well. after a circuit, the procession files into a local play park. you've got the torches going on, i can see viking helmets, the galley going up in flames, the embers above just being blown around in this mad wind. it's an incredible experience! and, who knows, maybe they'll make a viking of me yet? and if you're thinking of heading to shetland anytime soon, here are some travel show tips to help you plan your trip. getting to this remote island

is easier than you think. northlink ferries run overnight services, seven nights a week, from aberdeen on the scottish mainland, or kirkwall in 0rkney. it will take you over ten hours though, so if the romanticism of waking up somewhere new doesn't cut it, then you might prefer the ease of flying, which will only take a couple of hours from most uk cities. it's partly this remoteness of shetland that has of shetland that's allowed for its many archaeological sites to survive for centuries. there's over 5,000 years of human history scattered across the islands, and clickimin broch is a good place to start. these ancient roundhouses are unique to scotland, and despite intense scrutiny, their origins are shrouded in mystery. and if you're planning to travel to shetland when the days are longer, then try to catch the annual boat race. the event sees sailors take to the waters to do what they do best,

and compete against fellow islanders. this year, it takes place onjune 25th. well, do stay with us, because still to come on the travel show: after 35 years and 14,000 performances, we bid a fond farewell to broadway's phantom of the opera. here in shetland, the fires may have died down, but the night is really just getting started. squads and spectators will come to public spaces, like this school, where they'll refuel with some food, and — let's face it — probably a drink or two, before heading on through for a bit more good old —fashioned viking revelry. around a dozen of these parties take place all around lerwick. we've got some vikings on the walls, in case you forgot where you are. after the procession, squads of torchbearers visit each hall to perform a skit, and with more than a0 squads to get through,

the festivities stretch well into the wee hours, with a bit of ceilidh dancing thrown in for good measure. scottish reel music. my name is jamie clarke, and this is the village of new ash green, where i live in the south—east of england with my grandmother. yeah, not too bad. anything good in the paper? there might be more interesting places in the world to see, but this is where my friends and family are. this is home. after two years of uni, it was a three—year course, i condensed it into two, i was shattered by the end,

cos it was so relentless, and ijust needed a break, and my family suggested applying for a summer campjob near scranton, pennsylvania, in the usa, after a cousin of mine had done it, and he'd had a great time. dance music. i wasn't keen on the idea of working with kids, but it was a means to an end. little did i know it would be the making of me. the kids were absolutely amazing. i got to reuse a lot of my film—making skills from university. we're creating a camp movie, written by me. here's the script for it i've just put together. i went and did four summers after my first one, because ijust loved it so much, especially because at the end of the day, you finish your final day at camp, you get paid, a wallet of cash, and then you've got 30 days to leave the country. first time i went out, i took a group tour,

because i was a bit nervous about travelling on my own, and i went from new york down to new orleans with about 12 other people, new orleans all the way across the south, monument valley, we went to the swamps and saw alligators. then we got all the way to vegas, a couple of days in vegas, then los angeles, hollywood, i got to see hollywood for the first time. it was camp that paid for it all, basically. and unlike camp, where you only do thatjob, in australia, you have the working holiday visa. that opens up a lot of doorways. we were literally putting frozen pies in a box, just doing that, eight hours a day, for really, really good money. i earned enough money to do some serious travelling. from the red centre to the great barrier reef, seeing wildlife

in its natural habitat, visiting several beautiful islands and beaches, and spending time in the cities on the coast. one of the big things about travel is that it does cost money, and this is where working becomes really, really important. when i go to america each year, i would pay agency fees and i would pay for my flights. and that does involve a little bit of money, but maybe $400 or £500, and then you get paid much more than that over the course of the summer. if you just want to come home, you canjust come home, you don't have to travel, but you're there, why wouldn't you do it? in australia, yes, the flights are a little bit more expensive again, but i was earning very good money putting frozen pies in a box, which kept me funded for months. three months of work, i could live out there by being frugal, but you can absolutely fund all this traveljust by moving around and working. and that's the life, that's the life.

next up, we are off to broadway, where we are saying goodbye to its longest running show. # the phantom of the opera is there... it's 35 years since the musical, phantom of the opera, opened in new york, breaking records and hearts along the way. so we went in to capture some of the magic as it prepares to take its final bow. i still cry every time i see it. i'm a softy, what can i tell you? it has permeated every aspect of pop culture and i think there are very few musicals that can do that. it has been a part of my life for almost half of my adult life. somehow i thought that the show. would be running when i was gone. it's hard to put in words because i love what i do.

this is our working warehouse and were in new york — and we're in new york — i won't tell you exactly where — but we're in new york city, and this is where we keep spare costumes that we need to do fittings and stuff. my name is sam flemming and i'm the associate costume designer for phantom and i've been with the show since 1989. we did a count about four orfive years ago and at that point, we determined about 7000 individual costume pieces were here, so there is a lot. we didn't even count the hats and shoes. this is meant to set the stage for everything

you're about to see for the next two hours and 20 minutes. this is the level of decor and texture. this is like a cage, so i have a lot of steel going around here, but it makes me very upright which is great. upright, which is great. there's definitely something that happens to you as a performer, no matter what happens in the day and once you start the process of getting dressed and putting your make—up on, you stand in the wings and the orchestra starts, something just takes over and it all falls into place. i guess it's theatre magic. i was just finishing another show and i hadn't seen my daughter. in a while and then i got this audition through my agent, i

and i said "no, i don't want to do that" _ he stopped and turned around in his chair and said, - "ben, if you don't do - the audition you will regret it for the rest of your life." and i figured a good way of getting out some emotions was to tell- my daughter how important it. would be if i were to get the job. and i got the panic attack out of my system and literally - the phone rang and it was my agent telling me i had it. - it s a frustrating thing, it's a frustrating thing, - living in a post—pandemic world, so the show closing is bittersweet. welcome to the real phantom's lair. it felt like my years of studying and practice had paid off. this is the first show i ever saw on broadway and it's my broadway debut. so it's a beautiful, beautiful full—circle moment for me. it meant that for other people and other young black girls who would

come to see me or who would see my face and see me playing this role, it meant that they could have a chance and they could see themselves playing a role like this as well. a role like this, too. kind of affirming their hopes and dreams in a way that i didn't necessarily have growing up. when the phantom first came to broadway, it actually revolutionised the business. there was a spectacle that was never seen before. the whole package. costumes, the music, everything just came together in a package that, to me, is very hard to replicate. phantom happens to be my favourite show of all time and i've seen the show nine times, probably. i plan to see it one more time before they close.

you have to be able to close out one's mind from other distractions at the moment you lose focus, mistakes can happen. the night starts on the day for me, usually. i'm incredibly grateful and lucky to be doing what i love with this incredible group of people around and i think if i, if 17—year—old greg had known what was in store, i'm not quite sure he would've believed it. the chandelier has been through a lot with this over the years, but it's held up. all the circuitry is intact, we have never burnt out one piece of wire. i hope it gets a place in a museum somewhere.

welcome to the phantom. i've been working in this theatre for 38 years. i started before the phantom. i feel proud for working and meeting thousands of people every week from around the world. people know me, sometimes by name. opening chords to phantom of the opera play.

coming closer now to these final performances, i feel an enormous amount of gratitude and i feel honoured. there's nothing not to love about it. it's all challenging and all wonderful and i'm just so lucky to be able to work on it. i do feel like broadway loses part of its foundation with the show closing. i don't know how i will feel the day after the final performance. - it's going to be - an emotionaljourney. pride is an understatement as to what i would feel. this show is much bigger than the rest of us and it's been a wonderful, wonderful ride indeed.

well, that's it for the programme this week. we'll be back before you know it when... ..lucy explores brixton in south london to find out how 75 years ago, the arrival of one ship from the caribbean changed this corner of the capital forever. we've got the pans, we've got the fire. it just screams caribbean and i love it. in the meantime, do follow us on social media where you will find great travel content from around the bbc. but for now, i'm off to find a nip of whiskey to try and ward off this cold. see you next time.

hello. it's been a chilly and quite cloudy start to the new month, across some western parts of the uk, normally sheltered from that northeasterly breeze. and that northeasterly breeze has been bringing not just a lot of cloud, but a lot of showers today in england, wales, and eastern scotland. but if we're looking to continental europe, the air is clearer here — we've got clearer skies, and with an easterly breeze, we'll see some of that clearer weather heading our way. so, the cloud will be breaking across east anglia and the southeast, later in the night, where we do keep the cloud, there'll still be some showers around, but i think we'll find clearer skies arriving in northern scotland — temperatures here below freezing, and temperatures across east anglia in the southeast by the end of the night won't be far away from freezing either,

but there will be some sunshine on the way tomorrow. now, there'll still be some cloud around, still some showers as well — more especially across southeast scotland, northeast england, and perhaps into northern ireland. the cloud may increase in the afternoon across east anglia, but across southern england, the midlands, mid and south wales, there should be much more sunshine than today. and we've got some sunshine across northern parts of scotland as well after that chilly start. temperatures not really changing very much, as we've seen over the past few days. we'll be around 7—9 celsius. the winds will be lighter for tomorrow, and they'll stay light, i think, as we head into friday. high pressure still sitting close by, we'll be chasing cloud around. slight change in the wind direction this time could mean more cloud coming back in across england and wales, maybe bringing i—2 light showers, and we've got more cloud for northern ireland. probably a frosty start, though, friday morning in scotland — and that's where we'll see the best of the sunshine, although northern areas this time will see more cloud through the afternoon. and again, those temperatures at the moment still around 7—9 celsius, so a bit chilly, as i say, for this time of the year.

now, we'll find, over the weekend, the centre of the high drifting or retreating back towards iceland, allowing that weather front to push southwards, bringing with it some thicker cloud. saturday may well be dry, but rather cloudy. and we'll find, on sunday, the cloud will be thicker, more chance of seeing some showers, and temperatures will be a bit lower on sunday as well. but there's colder weather to come as we head into next week — and that's because we'll find a northerly wind picking up, bringing colder air from the arctic. there's even the chance of some snow next week — at this stage, uncertain how much snow there'll be or where exactly it's going to fall.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. there are further questions about the british government's handling of the covid outbreak after whatsapp messages belonging to the former health secretary are leaked to the daily telegraph. but mr hancock disputes the claim he rejected expert advice on covid tests for those people going into care homes at the start of the pandemic. was this lab in china the source of the covid outbreak after all? the fbi claims the facility in wuhan was the most likely origin of the virus. and cheaper medication in america — not a headline you hear often, but today eli lilly has capped the cost of insulin for diabetics at $35 a month. tonight with the context, juliet samuel, journalist

and new columnist at the times, and for the first half