An Aberdeen football writer and broadcaster who has charted Barcelona and Spain's rise to European and World glory will return to the North-east to recount some of his greatest moments of his exciting career as part of the University of Aberdeen's May Festival.
Graham Hunter has been granted unparalleled access to two of the greatest sides in the modern game – even being invited into Spain’s World Cup winning dressing room.
Hunter, author of Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World and Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble will appear at the May Festival on Saturday May 30 where he will recall anecdotes, career highlights to date and answer questions from the audience in the event which will be compered by Chris Harvey, presenter and reporter from STV News.
“It’s always a pleasure to be back in Aberdeen and I’m looking forward to appearing at the University of Aberdeen’s May Festival,” says Graham. My only disappointment is that the Dons didn’t reach the Scottish Cup final, so I can’t coincide my trip with a triumphant visit to Hampden!
“In between rejoicing about Aberdeen’s resurgence, I will be talking about my life and career so far as a sports writer and broadcaster in Spain. I moved to Spain in 2002 and it’s been my good fortune to report on the country’s all-time golden age of football.
“My years spent in La Liga have fostered relationships which saw me interview both Xavi and Gerard Piqué in the Wembley dressing room with the Champions League trophy following the celebrations of their historic 2011 victory over Manchester United. I was also allowed to report and film inside Spain’s World Cup winning dressing room in Soccer City 2010 plus the Euro 2012-winning dressing room in Kiev.
“I’m looking forward to bringing my stories back to an Aberdeen crowd and taking some questions from the audience.”
Other sporting events at the University of Aberdeen’s May Festival include an audience with the coach and father of Commonwealth gold medal swimmer Hannah Miley, Patrick Miley. Patrick will offer insights into what it takes to make it as an elite athlete and the extra dimension of being both a father and a coach. The talk will be interspersed by answers from Hannah herself, filmed exclusively for the May Festival.
A celebration of the 125th anniversary of the formation of the original University of Aberdeen Athletics Association will be on display at Elphinstone Hall for the duration of the festival. The exhibition will display a number of artefacts, past and present representing the University’s sporting legacy.
For those who want to get involved in sport on the day, a drop-in family sports day will run throughout Saturday on King’s Playing Fields - open to all ages and abilities.