World Radio Day
Next: February 13, 2027
Thank the voice that keeps you company.
The story
Where it comes from
World Radio Day marks 13 February 1946, the day United Nations Radio was established and made its first official broadcast from modest studios at UN Headquarters in New York. Following a proposal by Spain, UNESCO's General Conference proclaimed the day in 2011, and the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted it as a UN International Day the following year. It is a day to thank broadcasters for the news they deliver, the voices they amplify and the stories they share.
How it's celebrated
Radio stations around the world mark the day with special programmes, open studios and on-air tributes to their listeners. UNESCO encourages stations to team up with a station in another town or country to swap programmes, guests and sound archives. For everyone else it is a good day to tune in to a local station, call in a request, or thank the presenter who keeps you company on the drive to work.
Did you know
- UN Radio's first broadcasts went out in the UN's first five official languages: English, French, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
- In its early years UN Radio often transmitted entire Security Council meetings.
- Arabic was added to UN Radio's languages later, after the first five.
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