Terfry will also continue to host Hip Check (M-F) on CBC Radio 2, which tells a short history of each of The Tragically Hip’s albums and features behind-the-scenes stories and reflections from celebrated Canadians.
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In May, the Hip announced that frontman Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
The CBC made the decision to broadcast the show – which will interrupt Olympic coverage on the final evening of competition – after concert tickets became very costly and almost impossible to get for fans wanting to see the band play one last time.
The street will be closed for the free event, which will kick off at 6 p.m. with a live opening act before The Hip hit the stage at 8:30 p.m. This licensed event is for fans 19 years of age and older.
The gold medal game of the men’s hockey tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is considered to be the most-watched broadcast ever in Canada. It drew 16.6 million viewers, according to data from Numeris, about double the number of people who tune into most Super Bowls.
Numeris spokesman Tom Jenks wouldn’t guess how many viewers will tune into the CBC broadcast, but acknowledges it’ll probably be a pretty big number.
“Our system captures all viewing”, Jenks said.
Planned activities include a fundraising barbecue, a message board where fans can write notes which will be sent to the band afterwards, a photo booth, the participation of supportive partner groups, a lot of Tragically Hip music in the air, and a raffle for a Tragically Hip prize pack including two tickets to the concert viewing at the Ramada later that night.
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The great thing about music is it lasts forever, allowing us to travel back in time to that particular place, that particular situation to recapture that moment.
