Arena in London: BBC Arena London Memory Map

Digital humanities and audiovisual archive project — Principal Investigator: Michael Hrebeniak

Arena in London is an interactive digital map that explores London’s cultural history through the BBC’s Arena documentary archive. Led by Michael Hrebeniak, the project brings together researchers from UCL’s Institute of Education and the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis in collaboration with filmmaker and former Arena series editor Anthony Wall. It connects selected sequences from the strand’s archive of 700 films with the locations, people and cultural histories they document. 

Built using UCL’s open-source Memory Mapper platform, the resource allows visitors to encounter London through geographically located film clips and stories. Newly recorded interviews with Wall and selected programme directors provide insights into the films’ production and their relationships with the city. Hrebeniak worked with Wall and long-term programme editor Emma Matthews to select clips and explore the circumstances behind their making. The project makes archival material accessible through new spatial connections, bringing documentary research into dialogue with public history and cultural geography. 

Launched in April 2026 to commemorate Arena’s fiftieth anniversary, the map also connects with Hrebeniak’s research for Bottled Neon, a BFI book project on the programme’s cultural history. The launch combined a discussion of Arenawith a practical workshop introducing participants to the Memory Mapper toolkit.