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How to Start Your Own Country (TV series)
Encyclopedia
How To Start Your Own Country was a six-part BBC Television
documentary comedy series aired between August and September 2005. The show was presented by British writer/comedian Danny Wallace and followed his quest to start his own country in his flat in Bow, London
. The "micronation
" he created was eventually named "Lovely".
The series was released on DVD in the UK on 18 June 2007, having been postponed from October 2005.
. He meets the man who owns the Moon
, he "invades" Eel Pie Island
but leaves his post of "leader" when the Police are called. He makes friends with a Major General of the British Army. He eventually decides upon the area of his flat as the Territory and makes a declaration of Independence which he gives to Tony Blair
.
, which is played during his interview on Iain Lee
's LBC
show.
which maintains its pleasantness through strict rules and regulations, and the anarchic self governing neighbourhood of Christiania
. He also speaks to a Catholic Cardinal
about the role of religion in society and to Sheriff Joe Arpaio
about law and order.
A sombre visit to death row
and an interview with a death row prisoner leads him to decide against the death penalty in his country.
, with advice from former Chancellor of the Exchequer
Kenneth Clarke
. He designs his own currency, the IOU (Interdependent Occupational Unit), which he shows to Andrew Bailey, the Chief Cashier at the Bank of England
. He also discovers the Principality of New Utopia
and interviews the UK Pro Consul, Tony Nicodemous. He applies for international aid, and fails, due to the wealth of his citizens.
with a song called "Stop the Muggin', Start the Huggin' ".
In an attempt to officially become a country, he travels to New York to try to win the support of the United Nations
. The lack of a territory lets him down.
This final episode ends with a gathering of citizens in Leicester Square
, where Wallace reveals that the country is to be called Lovely.
viewers after each episode, giving news and discussions about the country. New episodes of Citizen TV, a half hour phone-in show that was available after the main show via BBCi, can now be viewed online at Citizens Required.com.
-based micronation
that claims as its territory an East London flat
owned—and once lived in—by its creator and ruler, the comic writer Danny Wallace
. Lovely has 58,165 citizens registered on its website.
The official territory of Lovely was Wallace's flat in Bow, East London, but citizens of Lovely are invited to declare a room, or some other building or land belonging to them, to be an embassy for the country by taking a photograph displaying Lovely's flag there.
. The pixellated coat of arms is intended to reflect the internet-based nature of the micronation, as did the studio's final flag, a pixellated Union Flag
. Wallace, however, preferred a different flag proposal, featuring a blue stripe and a red stripe at erratic angles on a white background – that is, the same colours as the Union Jack but positioned off-centre in an eccentric fashion. The Latin
motto is Die dulci freure (sic – the correct Latin is fruere), meaning "Have a nice day".
Wallace originally tried to start a nation by "invading" Eel Pie Island
in London with the help of his friend Jon Bond, now Lovely's Minister of Defence. Bond was chosen for the role having once worked as a security guard at Tesco
, making him the closest thing Wallace had to an army. However, the Metropolitan Police
were contacted by local people, and Wallace was forced to call off the "invasion". After speaking to a number of people including the leaders of Sealand
and Dennis Hope, who claims to own the moon, Wallace declared his flat to be a sovereign nation on 1 January 2005 and he set about populating the micronation and recording the television series. Other notable interviewees included Noam Chomsky
(who discussed democracy) and a prisoner condemned to death at a prison in United States
with whom Wallace discussed crime and punishment in an emotionally charged episode.
The national anthem video was recorded in late March 2005 in Greenwich Park
, with the help of some of the early citizens plus members of Join Me
, a "collective" begun by the King some years earlier. The country remained nameless for several weeks after it declared itself independent, and thousands of suggestions for names were put forward online. Wallace chose his two favourites, "Home" and "Lovely", and let his citizens decide the winner by online vote. The country was officially named on 2 September 2005 at an invitation-only gathering of citizens held in Leicester Square
. This day was an official holiday of Lovely called "Lovely Day".
During the broadcasting run of "How to Start Your Own Country", additional material was broadcast to digital TV viewers after each episode. This took the style of a national broadcast named Citizen TV. It was presented live by Danny Wallace and featured news, a special guest (usually a member of Wallace's government) and conversations with "citizens" who had called in. An early political change occurred when Wallace fired his first foreign minister live on air and appointed citizen Kieran Collins in his place.
Wallace attempted to submit a song of his own composition, Stop The Mugging And Start The Hugging, as the Lovely entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
. The contest's scrutineer, Svante Stockselius
, met with Wallace and was sympathetic to his cause but informed him that Lovely could not enter the Contest as it has no national television or radio station of its own and therefore could not join the European Broadcasting Union
(EBU). Wallace then submitted his song to the BBC
(which is an EBU member which supports the UK entry to the contest), in an attempt to receive their backing — their judges, however, were unimpressed.
The series also showed Wallace's attempts to gain official recognition for Lovely at the United Nations
, which was established to be the true mark of statehood. These efforts were unsuccessful, largely because of Lovely's lack of independent territory; Wallace's own flat being within the UK.
, Royal developments in the country appear to have stopped, with the King heavily engaged in other projects.
, Danny Wallace no longer lives in the flat, but still owns it and rents it out to tenants. He believes the tenants are unaware of the flat's status, and has left a newspaper article about himself and Lovely – complete with photograph of him posing in front of the flat – on top of a cupboard, in the hope that someone will discover it.
). The currency was based on the phrase "time is money" – IOUs were exchangeable for an amount of the recipient's time, e.g. paying a citizen for 5 minutes of washing up. Previously, each member of the micronation's official BBC messageboard received one tenth of an IOU for each post made, but since the move to the new forum this had been abandoned. No way to make use of the accumulated IOUs had ever been announced. This can be compared with local exchange trading schemes.
As of 2007 there were informal elections for a new Prime Minister
every six months, with elections held in the form of polls on the main messaging board used by the citizens.
Currently, the message board has been closed by the BBC, and is inaccessible. Therefore, no further Prime Ministers have been elected.
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
documentary comedy series aired between August and September 2005. The show was presented by British writer/comedian Danny Wallace and followed his quest to start his own country in his flat in Bow, London
Bow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
. The "micronation
Micronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
" he created was eventually named "Lovely".
The series was released on DVD in the UK on 18 June 2007, having been postponed from October 2005.
"Birth of a Nation"
Wallace investigates territory for his proposed country, beginning by visiting SealandPrincipality of Sealand
The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognized entity, located on HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea 10 km off the coast of Suffolk, England, United Kingdom ....
. He meets the man who owns the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, he "invades" Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat...
but leaves his post of "leader" when the Police are called. He makes friends with a Major General of the British Army. He eventually decides upon the area of his flat as the Territory and makes a declaration of Independence which he gives to Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
.
"Citizens Required"
With the help of an advertising agency, Wallace chooses a design for the flag of his country. He records a national anthemNational anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
, which is played during his interview on Iain Lee
Iain Lee
Iain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
's LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
show.
"For King and Country"
Danny Wallace meets the SAS (Second amendment sisters) and meets the King of Fusa. He also goes to The Principality of Seborga."State of a Nation"
Wallace visits two very different 'utopian' communities, the planned town of CelebrationCelebration, Florida
Celebration is a census-designated place and a master-planned community in Osceola County, Florida, United States, located near Walt Disney World Resort and originally developed by The Walt Disney Company...
which maintains its pleasantness through strict rules and regulations, and the anarchic self governing neighbourhood of Christiania
Freetown Christiania
Not to be confused with Christiania, Norway, another name for Oslo.Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen...
. He also speaks to a Catholic Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
about the role of religion in society and to Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Joe Arpaio
Joseph M. "Joe" Arpaio is the elected Sheriff of Maricopa County in the U.S. state of Arizona. First voted into office in 1992, Arpaio is responsible for law enforcement in Maricopa County. This includes management of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, county jail, courtroom security,...
about law and order.
A sombre visit to death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
and an interview with a death row prisoner leads him to decide against the death penalty in his country.
"The Bank of Danny"
When he struggles to pay his electricity bill, Wallace begins to kick-start his country's economy. He investigates the National DebtGovernment debt
Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...
, with advice from former Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
. He designs his own currency, the IOU (Interdependent Occupational Unit), which he shows to Andrew Bailey, the Chief Cashier at the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
. He also discovers the Principality of New Utopia
New Utopia
The Principality of New Utopia is a micronation project established and operated by Lazarus Long .The project was publicised by various media outlets in Europe and the United States. In an article about fake nations, Quatloos.com called "New Utopia" a "fake nation scam"...
and interviews the UK Pro Consul, Tony Nicodemous. He applies for international aid, and fails, due to the wealth of his citizens.
"The United Nations"
Wallace attempts to enter the Eurovision Song Contest 2006Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
with a song called "Stop the Muggin', Start the Huggin' ".
In an attempt to officially become a country, he travels to New York to try to win the support of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. The lack of a territory lets him down.
This final episode ends with a gathering of citizens in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
, where Wallace reveals that the country is to be called Lovely.
Citizen TV
A show called Citizen TV, also presented by Danny Wallace, was shown to digitalDigital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
viewers after each episode, giving news and discussions about the country. New episodes of Citizen TV, a half hour phone-in show that was available after the main show via BBCi, can now be viewed online at Citizens Required.com.
The Kingdom of Lovely
The Kingdom of Lovely is a partly InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-based micronation
Micronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
that claims as its territory an East London flat
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
owned—and once lived in—by its creator and ruler, the comic writer Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace (writer)
Daniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.He lives in London, with his wife, an Australian publicist...
. Lovely has 58,165 citizens registered on its website.
The official territory of Lovely was Wallace's flat in Bow, East London, but citizens of Lovely are invited to declare a room, or some other building or land belonging to them, to be an embassy for the country by taking a photograph displaying Lovely's flag there.
History
Lovely's flag, coat of arms and motto were designed by London-based design studio PentagramPentagram (design studio)
Pentagram is a design studio that was founded in 1972 by Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London, UK...
. The pixellated coat of arms is intended to reflect the internet-based nature of the micronation, as did the studio's final flag, a pixellated Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
. Wallace, however, preferred a different flag proposal, featuring a blue stripe and a red stripe at erratic angles on a white background – that is, the same colours as the Union Jack but positioned off-centre in an eccentric fashion. The Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
motto is Die dulci freure (sic – the correct Latin is fruere), meaning "Have a nice day".
Wallace originally tried to start a nation by "invading" Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat...
in London with the help of his friend Jon Bond, now Lovely's Minister of Defence. Bond was chosen for the role having once worked as a security guard at Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, making him the closest thing Wallace had to an army. However, the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
were contacted by local people, and Wallace was forced to call off the "invasion". After speaking to a number of people including the leaders of Sealand
Principality of Sealand
The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognized entity, located on HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea 10 km off the coast of Suffolk, England, United Kingdom ....
and Dennis Hope, who claims to own the moon, Wallace declared his flat to be a sovereign nation on 1 January 2005 and he set about populating the micronation and recording the television series. Other notable interviewees included Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
(who discussed democracy) and a prisoner condemned to death at a prison in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with whom Wallace discussed crime and punishment in an emotionally charged episode.
The national anthem video was recorded in late March 2005 in Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed , it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. It commands fine views over the River Thames, Isle of...
, with the help of some of the early citizens plus members of Join Me
Join Me
Join Me is the name given to a movement started in London by British writer Danny Wallace in 2002, and to a book by him which documents the movement's formation.Members of the movement are called Joinees...
, a "collective" begun by the King some years earlier. The country remained nameless for several weeks after it declared itself independent, and thousands of suggestions for names were put forward online. Wallace chose his two favourites, "Home" and "Lovely", and let his citizens decide the winner by online vote. The country was officially named on 2 September 2005 at an invitation-only gathering of citizens held in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
. This day was an official holiday of Lovely called "Lovely Day".
During the broadcasting run of "How to Start Your Own Country", additional material was broadcast to digital TV viewers after each episode. This took the style of a national broadcast named Citizen TV. It was presented live by Danny Wallace and featured news, a special guest (usually a member of Wallace's government) and conversations with "citizens" who had called in. An early political change occurred when Wallace fired his first foreign minister live on air and appointed citizen Kieran Collins in his place.
Wallace attempted to submit a song of his own composition, Stop The Mugging And Start The Hugging, as the Lovely entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
. The contest's scrutineer, Svante Stockselius
Svante Stockselius
Stig Svante Stockselius is a Swedish journalist and television executive, former Head of Song Contests at the European Broadcasting Union, executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.Svante Stockselius grew up in Ockelbo, a small town in central...
, met with Wallace and was sympathetic to his cause but informed him that Lovely could not enter the Contest as it has no national television or radio station of its own and therefore could not join the European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
(EBU). Wallace then submitted his song to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
(which is an EBU member which supports the UK entry to the contest), in an attempt to receive their backing — their judges, however, were unimpressed.
The series also showed Wallace's attempts to gain official recognition for Lovely at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, which was established to be the true mark of statehood. These efforts were unsuccessful, largely because of Lovely's lack of independent territory; Wallace's own flat being within the UK.
, Royal developments in the country appear to have stopped, with the King heavily engaged in other projects.
, Danny Wallace no longer lives in the flat, but still owns it and rents it out to tenants. He believes the tenants are unaware of the flat's status, and has left a newspaper article about himself and Lovely – complete with photograph of him posing in front of the flat – on top of a cupboard, in the hope that someone will discover it.
Economy
The country's unit of currency was the Interdependent Occupational Unit (IOUIOU (debt)
An IOU is usually an informal document acknowledging debt. An IOU differs from a promissory note in that an IOU is not a negotiable instrument and does not specify repayment terms such as the time of repayment. IOUs usually specify the debtor, the amount owed, and sometimes the creditor...
). The currency was based on the phrase "time is money" – IOUs were exchangeable for an amount of the recipient's time, e.g. paying a citizen for 5 minutes of washing up. Previously, each member of the micronation's official BBC messageboard received one tenth of an IOU for each post made, but since the move to the new forum this had been abandoned. No way to make use of the accumulated IOUs had ever been announced. This can be compared with local exchange trading schemes.
Government
The Government of Lovely originally consisted of friends of Wallace who were recruited at a meeting held at a London pub. One of these was "fired" and replaced by Bjorn Olsen; other Royal appointments have been made, and the first open elections to specific posts were held via the official website. Subsequently there have been further elections – and disputes – on the official internet forum and other websites.As of 2007 there were informal elections for a new Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
every six months, with elections held in the form of polls on the main messaging board used by the citizens.
Currently, the message board has been closed by the BBC, and is inaccessible. Therefore, no further Prime Ministers have been elected.