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A History Of The World In 100 Objects, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4's landmark series presented by British Museum director Neil MacGregor, begins the countdown to its final object on Monday 13 September.

The 100th object, chosen by Neil and the British Museum will have been made in 2010 and will help future generations understand the ingenuity and challenges that will shape humanity in the 21st century. The object will be featured in the last programme on Friday 22 October.

The project has been widely enjoyed on air, online and at the British Museum. From January to July this year 9.5 million podcasts have been downloaded worldwide – 5.2 million of which are from the UK, and the Radio 4 programmes have reached 3.8 million listeners*. Visitor attendance at the British Museum is higher than last year and evaluation suggests that this is due to A History Of The World.

The final six weeks will explore the last 600 years of the world's history through 30 fascinating objects from the British Museum. Objects include a Suffragette-defaced penny from England in 1903; a throne made of decommissioned weapons from Mozambique in 2001, and the penultimate object – a credit card from the United Arab Emirates dating from 2009.

Neil speaks to those who have a passion for his chosen objects, including: artist Bill Viola; former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King; Ian Hislop; historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto; and Nigerian poet and playwright Wole Soyinka.

Neil MacGregor says: "As we enter the third and final part of the series we are on the threshold of the modern world. Our journey has taught us that cultures and civilisations have interacted for hundreds of thousands of years, but now, for the first time, the full geographical extent of the globe is understood and explored.

"We see the birth of the first global economy and the growth of new empires that will control great swathes of the world. From now on, we are in an increasingly globalised world where mass production and mass consumption transform the way we relate to each other and to the material world. New technology revolutionises the way most of us will live. Our 100th object speaks of our world today, but also looks to our future."

Mark Damazer, Controller, Radio 4, says: "The journey from flints and hand axes to worldwide credit is about to continue on Radio 4. Neil MacGregor and the team from the British Museum have chosen objects that again startle and fascinate. Preconceptions are challenged and every episode is full of fresh observation and insight. I hope the audience will continue to derive immense pleasure and understanding from what has been one of the outstanding series in the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s history."

Notes to Editors

*RAJAR is calculated on a quarterly basis – A History Of The World In 100 Objects was not broadcast for an entire quarter so it isn't possible to calculate the reach figure for the programme itself. However, the figure for the time slot in which the programme aired (and shared with other programmes) does reveal a rise in listeners: in Q1 2010 the 09.45-10.00 Monday-Friday slot reached 2.77m people, up two per cent on Q1 2009 when the same slot reached 2.72m adults each week. The figure quoted (3.8million) refers to the total number of listeners reached across all slots.

As part of the pan-³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ project A History Of The World, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Four will broadcast eight half-hour documentaries, produced by ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ English Regions, covering a fascinating mix of ground-breaking stories from across England. From the building of the canals to Britain's bloodiest battle, each of the programmes looks at a significant turning point in English history and shows how the change continues to resonate through objects.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ English Regions continues in its role taking the pan-³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ A History Of The World project to every part of the country. During September, the 45 ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Local websites and their museum partners across England will each choose an object from their area to highlight out of the thousands uploaded to the A History Of The World website by members of the public and museums. The stories behind the 45 objects will be covered on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Local sites and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ local radio. The final list of these objects, together with 10 uploaded objects that tell a history of England and its relationship to the world, will be available at the end of September.

A History Of The World continues to engage audiences through radio and TV, museum events, and the website, with the entire Radio 4 series being available to listen to or download forever. Around 5,000 objects have already been added to the site's "digital museum" by individuals and museums across the UK, and are a fascinating insight into how our world has changed and the events that have shaped our lives. A selection of stories contributed to the site have featured on Radio 4. The blog posts from curators, presenters and producers, offer their own insights into the site's many thousands of objects and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ history highlights. Comment threads and a lively Facebook page offer other opportunities for the audience to interact and discuss their passion for objects, history and the project.

Following on from the highly successful British Museum/C³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ series Relic: Guardians Of The Museum and the Relic Trails in museums across the country, we have devised a new initiative for schools to encourage participation with A History of the World. The Relic Challenge is open to all UK schools that teach 7 to-11-year-olds and it aims to teach pupils to learn and explore history through objects. To support teachers, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Learning has produced The Relic Challenge Kit – a suite of lesson plans and resources based around A History Of The World. The lessons culminate in the children choosing up to five objects to upload to A History Of The World's website. Participants will receive a signed certificate from Agatha, the ghoulish host of Relic: Guardians Of The Museum, for completing the challenge, and will be able to see their objects on bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld. We will be looking to identify 20 objects from across the UK that tell interesting stories. These schools will be invited to make a short radio programme about their object with ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ radio staff, to be broadcast in early 2011 on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 7. We consider museums to be vital partners for schools hoping to participate in The Relic Challenge, and encourage teachers to work with their local museum as much as possible. Schools have until November 15 2010 to complete The Relic Challenge and will receive an invitation to participate through the mail at the end of August.

The majority of the objects featuring in the series are on display at the British Museum, and as a part of The Asahi Shimbun Displays, the Akan drum which features in the third tranche of A History Of The World In 100 Objects is the subject of a special show in Room 3 until 10 October in "Akan drum: the drummer is calling me". This display explores the origins of African-American music and its influence on contemporary musical culture, while also providing a poignant insight into the displacement of a people caused by the transatlantic slave trade.

SD