The Baggs Memorial Happiness Lecture 2025

Free tickets will be available to book from midday, Friday 5 September. There is a limit of 2 tickets per person.

The University of Birmingham is pleased to announce that Clive Myrie will deliver the 2025 Baggs Memorial Happiness Lecture.

Clive Myrie is a multi award winning journalist, one of the BBC’s most experienced foreign correspondents and a recognised face as a BBC News presenter. In 2021 he took over as Host of the long running BBC series, Mastermind and Celebrity Mastermind. A keen fan of the Arts and music, Clive is a regular host of The BBC Proms, and has made documentaries on jazz for Radio 2 and Jazz FM.

Born in Bolton, Lancashire he studied law at the University of Sussex.

Clive has served as the BBC’s Asia, Africa, Washington and Europe Correspondent. He has a particular interest in US politics, having covered the administrations of three Presidents (Clinton, Bush and Obama) and reported on seven Presidential races, including the election of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

As well as presenting the One, Six and Ten 0’Clock News bulletins on BBC One, Clive continues to travel the world as a reporter, and makes features and programmes for Panorama, Newsnight and Radio 4. In 2022, he presented the main BBC One bulletins live from Kyiv during the war in Ukraine. He also presented the documentary, The Crown Jewels for BBC1, screened as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022. In May/June 2023, his travel series ‘Clive Myrie’s Italian Roadtrip’ was a huge hit on BBC2, one of the most popular shows on the BBC. He launched a second travel series in 2024 on BBC2, ‘Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure’ which was awarded a BAFTA in the Daytime Category in 2025. Clive was also selected to host the UK 2024 Election coverage for the BBC in 2024.

The Baggs Memorial Happiness Lecture began in 1976. Born in Birmingham in 1889, Thomas Baggs was an alumnus of the University who went on to become a teacher, journalist and a war correspondent for the Daily Mail before pursuing a successful career in advertising and publicity for the USA automobile industry.

When he died in 1973 Thomas bequeathed a substantial sum to the University to provide for an annual public lecture on the theme of ‘Happiness - what it is and how it may be achieved by individuals as well as nations.’

Be sure to join us for an inspiring and thought provoking lecture this October. Tickets are free, and in the event of all tickets being allocated, a waiting list will operate.

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