Legendary composer Hans Zimmer attends Natural History Museum and BBC Studios joint ‘Lates’ event 'Seven Worlds, One Planet’

London’s iconic Natural History Museum joined forces with the BBC Seven Worlds, One Planet filmmakers to enthral several thousand visitors in a special event celebrating the precious diversity of life on our continents. Series producers and researchers relived memorable sequences from the series and, alongside leading Museum scientists, engaged visitors with the wonders of the natural world through talks and activities showcasing species from each episode. 

Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who, along with his team at Bleeding Fingers, wrote the stirring score that accompanies the recently premiered BBC One series, also attended the event. Zimmer was pictured with school children under artist Luke Jerram’s breath-taking seven metre version of earth artwork, Gaia, in the venue’s striking Hintze Hall. The artwork recently returned from presentations in Shanghai, Taipee and Perth Australia and was on display for one night only.  

Seven Worlds, One Planet has become BBC One’s most-watched factual TV show for 2019. The series showcases the rich diversity of the earth’s continents, which the Natural History Museum brought to life at the special evening - with both organisations sharing the aim of inspiring people to care more about the world around them. Home to more than 80 million specimens spanning billions of years, the Museum is able to tell the astonishing story of change and diversity and is carrying out vital research to help find solutions to some of the biggest threats to the future of the planet - from climate change and biodiversity loss to the sustainable extraction of natural resources. 

Scientists and researchers spoke alongside members of BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit team with each episode having a dedicated station within the museum. From amphibian experts with snakes and lizards to entomologists showcasing firefly collections, artefacts seen from all over the world were discussed in detail. Clips from all seven episodes - and continents - engaged visitors with a journey around our natural world and the astonishing life forms it supports. The evening also featured deep-dive talks from Executive Producer Jonny Keeling, BBC Factual Commissioner Tom McDonald and Natural History Unit Production Executive Caroline Cox. 

Hans Zimmer commented: 'It’s a pleasure to be involved in such a special event as this, especially with the next generation who can help make a real difference. For myself and the Bleeding Fingers team, the biggest joy has been creating a score that helps brings to life the extraordinary footage from the Natural History Unit, paired with the unparalleled voice of Sir David in Seven Worlds, One Planet.' 

Beth Stone, Natural History Museum’s Head of Learning and Audiences, said: 'Seven Worlds, One Planet is a powerful celebration of the rich biodiversity on our planet. Here at the Museum, our 300 scientists represent one of the largest groups in the world studying every aspect of the natural world from microscopic organisms to gigantic blue whales. This event has been the perfect collaboration at a time when it’s never been more important to value each and every species - from the newly discovered to the near extinct.' 

Schoolchildren took part in a special event about Seven Worlds, One Planet, where they viewed some of the very latest technology used in the production to reveal new insights, as well as getting up close and personal with skulls of polar bears and belugas.  

Drone expert Colin Jackson, pilot Louis Labrom and Museum scientist Natalie Cooper also explained how new technology is transforming natural history filmmaking and discussed some of the fascinating animal behaviour drone technology is helping to reveal. 

Throughout the event, attendees were immersed in the series’ spine-tingling soundtrack from Composers Hans Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music as they explored the museum.  

Jonny Keeling, BBC Studios NHU Executive Producer, said: 'I can’t think of a better place to showcase the work the team has done in making this series. Seven Worlds, One Planet features new species, new behaviours and new animals that people won’t have seen with places and locations that we've never been to before. To create a space where people can come and find out about the making of the show, meet scientists, hear about their latest research and see incredible specimens from the Natural History Museum will hopefully encourage people to learn more about this extraordinary planet we call home.' 

-ENDS- 

For more information please contact:  

Charlotte Newell, Press Officer, Natural History Museum on +44 (0)20 7942 5654 / 07799690151 or email press@nhm.ac.uk  

Images: Please download and credit accordingly (Link not for publication).  

Notes to Editors: 

About the Natural History Museum The Natural History Museum exists to inspire a love of the natural world and unlock answers to the big issues facing humanity and the planet. It is a world-leading science research centre, and through its unique collection and unrivalled expertise it is tackling issues such as food security, eradicating diseases and managing resource scarcity. It is the most visited natural history museum in Europe and the top science attraction in the UK; we welcome around five million visitors each year and our website receives over 850,000 unique visitors a month. People come from around the world to enjoy our galleries and events and engage both in-person and online with our science and educational activities through innovative programmes and citizen science projects. www.nhm.ac.uk 

About Gaia Gaia is an artwork by Luke Jerram and has been created in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Bluedot, the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres, Culture Liverpool and Liverpool Cathedral. www.my-earth.org 

About Seven Worlds, One Planet Millions of years ago incredible forces ripped apart the Earth’s crust creating seven extraordinary continents. Seven Worlds, One Planet presented by Sir David Attenborough, will reveal how each distinct continent has shaped the unique animal life found there. This series will feature remarkable, new animal behaviour from all the continents including the baking plains of Africa and the frozen waters off Antarctica. In Asia, the biggest of all continents, we will showcase life at the extremes, whilst in Europe we will reveal surprising wildlife dramas hidden right alongside us. The series will celebrate the diversity of life on each of these continents, but also the many challenges faced by animals in a modern world dominated by humanity. By telling unknown, unseen and unexpected wildlife stories, we will uncover the fundamental truth about what makes each one of our seven worlds unique. 

Seven Worlds, One Planet is a BBC Studios Natural History Unit production, co-produced with BBC America, Tencent Penguin Pictures, ZDF, France Télévisions and China Media Group CCTV9. 

About BBC Studios BBC Studios, a global content company with British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group. Formed in April 2018 by the merger of BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios, it spans content financing, development, production, sales, branded services and ancillaries. BBC Studios’ award-winning British programmes are internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms. It has offices in 22 markets globally, including seven production bases in the UK and production bases and partnerships in a further nine countries around the world. The company, which makes 2500 hours of content a year, is a champion for British creativity around the world and a committed partner for the UK’s independent sector. BBC Studios has revenue of £1.4bn, and returns around £200m to the BBC Group annually, complementing the BBC’s license fee and enhancing programmes for UK audiences.  bbcstudios.com twitter.com/bbcstudios