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Swarzy Macaly is a London-based TV and radio broadcaster best known for presenting BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Weekend Breakfast Show every Saturday morning. She is also the voice of BBC Sounds, and hosted the London New Year’s Day Parade 2022 on live TV. She is a young contributor to Dotun Adebayo and Nihal Arthanayake’s shows on BBC Radio 5 Live following her involvement as a volunteer towards the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
Her passion for social justice and community has opened doors for her to contribute to Paddy O’Connell’s paper review on Radio 4, host BBC Bitesize School’s Tour, and present two BBC documentaries, Me vs Climate Change (2019) and Instagramification (2021).
Known for her infectious joy and ability to bring conversations to life, Swarzy is the perfect MC, moderator, or keynote speaker for major events, in person or virtually.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book broadcaster Swarzy Macaly for your next event.
Swarzy Macaly’s radio career began after she won a national competition hosted by commercial network KISS to become their new Chosen One presenter. After winning in 2016, Swarzy presented their weekend breakfast show, hosted the BRIT Awards 2019 red carpet, and interviewed pop stars Dua Lipa, Anne-Marie, Pink, Stormzy, Lady Leshurr, and comedian Big Narstie.
In 2019, Swarzy presented four small programmes for the series, Me vs Climate Change. The first episode, ‘Trainers’, explored the eco-friendly alternatives to buying new fashion trainers. The second, ‘Food’, saw her create a meal that was environmentally friendly but still reasonably priced and delicious. This was followed by ‘Tech’, where Swarzy looked into how much our personal technology impacts the planet. The final episode, ‘Home’, saw Swarzy make some room-by-room changes in the hope that she could make her house more environmentally friendly.
Then in 2021, she presented Instagramification, a documentary about the “good, the bad and the ugly of the world’s fastest growing social network”.
As well as her love for music, it was her heartfelt response to the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd that grabbed her listeners and led her to launch KISS’ first-ever speech radio show, KISS Life. The groundbreaking programme aired every Sunday evening and allowed Swarzy the platform to engage with her listeners to unpack everything from the pandemic to politics, culture and identity, money and mental health. Special guests included Swiss, the founder of Black Pound Day, financial expert Martin Lewis, Grenfell United, and John Barnes. The programme proved to be one of her career highlights, as the series showcased her versatility, showing she could bring the energy and music passion needed, combined with her authenticity and warmth.
During the first national lockdown in 2020, Swarzy became the official presenter of My Life My Say’s Quarantine Question Time, and hosted a range of interviews with guests such as Sir Keir Starmer, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and former White House Chief of Staff and Counsellor to President Obama, John Podesta. As well as hosting My Life My Say’s annual Common Futures Forum, she became a trustee of the charity and launched their first live chat show, Make It Make Sense.
Swarzy is the founder of Too Much Source – an annual exhibition with live events dedicated to celebrating black British creatives who are making history today. To mark the third anniversary, the gallery was named ‘Joy and Resilience in 2020’, a dedication to two attributes that remain central to the black experience. As a result of the exhibition’s success, Swarzy has gone on to work with many other brands to host workshops, live events, and panel discussions for Somerset House, The Barbican and SOHO House, to name a few.
Swarzy is a storyteller at heart and given her interest in sport, it was no surprise that DAZN chose her to present their weekly boxing show From The Corner on JOE Media. Her love for sports began when she won the competition to become the official presenter for Midnight Madness, the UK’s biggest summer basketball competition. She has since covered British basketball at home for the BBL and travelled to Quai 54 in Paris, and The Reality Check Tournament in Germany, before taking the team to Portugal, where players landed professional contracts. This fuelled her passion for presenting grassroots basketball, and she then worked with the community basketball league, interviewing the U12-U25 players.
In 2021, she won Best Presenter at the UK Entertainment Awards. This followed on from Lord Simon Woolley recognising her for her charisma, passion for young people and social justice, and her work with My Life My Say, and so nominated her to be part of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s list of Black History Month Next Generational Trailblazers 2020.
She is now a sought-after event host, keynote speaker, and moderator.
– Current Affairs
– Social Issues
– Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
– Black History Month
– International Women’s Day
– Entertainment
– Music
– Basketball and Sports
Swarzy Macaly to me epitomises a young black British role model. She’s dynamic. She’s always wanting to give young people a voice.
Lord Woolley
The ability to effectively broadcast to the masses is a unique skill. Having the added aptitude to engage, entertain and inform a diverse range of audiences on a wide range of topics both on air and in person is truly rare. Swarzy Macaly is one of those rare broadcasters.
Ray Paul – The Playmaker Group
Swarzy was a great addition to our event. She brought energy, passion and displayed real flair when sharing her own experiences. She livened the crowd and directed some spicy conversation. Swarzy was professional and an amazing asset. We can’t wait for the next one to have her back!
Martin Rothwell, GottaBe