BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cumbria and broadcasts from studios in Carlisle.

The county of Cumbria, from which the station takes its current name, was not created until 1974. Radio Cumbria began service on 24 November 1973 as BBC Radio Carlisle and could be received across most of the former county of Cumberland.

The station adopted its current name shortly before its tenth anniversary in May 1982, when its service was expanded to cover the whole of the administrative county of Cumbria, namely:

From the launch of the renamed station, between 25 May 1982 and 1991, an opt-out service, BBC Radio Furness operated in the south of the county at peak times - originally breakfast and lunchtimes on weekdays, and Saturday mornings. Programmes were produced in Barrow-in-Furness and used 96.1 MHz and 837 kHz. This meant that, in addition to the Furness area, Radio Furness could be received along the south coast of Cumbria, in parts of the Lake District, and the west coast as far as Millom. As a result of successive budgetary constraints, the lunchtime opt-outs were the first to be discontinued, and in 1991 the remaining opt-outs ceased - after which the whole county again received a single programme.

Cumbria ( /ˈkʌmbriə/, locally [ˈkʊmbɾiə]) is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle and the only other major urban area is the town of Barrow-in-Furness on the south-western tip of the county. It consists of six districts, and in 2008 had a population of just under half a million. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, with 73.4 people per km² (190/sq mi). In comparison, the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, in the south, has a population density over twelve times this at 921/km² (2,385.3/sq mi).

Cumbria, the third largest ceremonial county in England by area, is bounded to the north by the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders, to the west by the Irish Sea, to the south by Lancashire, to the southeast by North Yorkshire, and to the east by County Durham and Northumberland.

Nadine O'Connor (born March 5, 1942) is a grandmother, retired mathematics teacher and a world record setting, hall of fame Masters Track and Field athlete. While she specializes in the pole vault, due to her athletic training, she also holds the World Masters Athletics world records in the 100 metres, 200 metres, the Indoor 60 metres and 200 metres. She also holds the American record in the long jump, 80 metre hurdles, 300 metre hurdles and pentathlon.

Coached by her partner, Olympian Bud Held, O'Connor continues to improve. Her current world record of 3.19 metres in the W65 pole vault is so exceptional that it is superior to the record for athletes more than ten years her junior. In the women's rankings, she is 76 cm (about 2 and a half feet) above the next best performer in her age group, a beamonesque margin. It would also rate her in the top 25 performers in the Men's division, a situation unheard of in any other event. Even O'Connor herself did not jump as high when she was setting records in those younger divisions. She has already jumped higher than her world record, unofficially in her private practice facility near San Diego.

Mike Parr (born 1945) is an Australian performance artist and printmaker. Parr's works have been exhibited in Australia and internationally, including in Brazil, Cuba, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States.

Parr spent his childhood in rural Queensland. He was born with a misshapen arm, and this physical characteristic has featured within his art work. Parr commenced an arts/law degree at the University of Queensland in 1965 but discontinued his studies the following year.

He is the brother of installation/photography artist, Julie Rrap (formerly Julie Brown-Rrap).

Parr moved to Sydney and, in 1968, briefly enrolled at the National Art School to study painting. In 1970, with Peter Kennedy, he established "Inhibodress", an artists' cooperative and alternative space for conceptual art, performance art and video.

Parr's performances explore physical limits, memory and subjectivity. They often depict self-mutilation or extreme physical feats (as in the case of 100 Breaths). The performances are documented photographically and on video.

James E. Caan (born March 26, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery, A Bridge Too Far, Brian's Song, Rollerball, Kiss Me Goodbye, Elf, and El Dorado. He also starred as "Big Ed" Deline in the television series Las Vegas.

Caan was born in The Bronx, New York City, the son of Sophie (née Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father was a meat dealer and butcher. Caan had a sister, Barbara, and has a brother, Ronald. He grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, New York City. He was educated at P.S. 150 40-01 43rd Avenue School in Queens, at the private Rhodes Preparatory School, also in New York City, and then attended Michigan State University. He later transferred to Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, but did not graduate. While studying at Hofstra University, however, he became intrigued by acting and was interviewed for, accepted to, and graduated from, New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. There, one of his instructors was Sanford Meisner.