Podcasts History The History Hour The first lesbian couple to get married and World Laughter Day

The first lesbian couple to get married and World Laughter Day

Published: Jan. 13, 2024, 12:30 a.m.

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise gay marriage. Four couples were chosen to take part in a collective wedding at midnight which was broadcast on TV. H\xe9l\xe8ne Faasen and Anne-Marie Thus talk about the wedding they thought they'd never have.

Our guest Lauren Moss, the LGBT & Identity Correspondent at BBC News tells us about the history of gay marriage.\nAlso, the man who risked his life to make the audio recordings which blew open one of the biggest corruption scandals in Spain's recent history.

Then we hear the story of the 1970s defection from the Soviet Union of a world-famous ballerina. Plus, the mystery surrounding the fate of the last king of France's son and the man who really does believe that laughter is the best medicine.

Contributors:\nH\xe9l\xe8ne Faasen & Anne-Marie Thus - the first lesbian couple to get married legally.\nLauren Moss - LGBT & Identity Correspondent at BBC News.\nJos\xe9 Luis Pe\xf1as - the man that made secret recordings that revealed the Gurtel scandal.\nProf Jean Jacques Cassiman - Belgian geneticist.\nDeborah Cadbury - historian.\nDr Madan Kataria \u2013 founder of World Laughter Day.

(Photo: The couple arrive to be married at the Amsterdam City Hall. Credit: Marcel Antonisse/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)