Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Happy 75th anniversary Radio Sweden! #RadioSweden75


Radio Sweden celebrates 75 years on 13 December. It was that grim first December of World War II that the station took to the airwaves in English (a Swedish service started a year earlier). They were mostly heard on shortwave back then,  although the English service of the station left the airwaves a few years back, I listen to their weekday 30 minute podcast several times a week.

The hashtag #RadioSweden75 is being used on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as listeners are encouraged to share their stories and photos of station memorabilia.

I am fairly sure that Radio Sweden in English with its lovely interval signal and identification was the first station I heard on shortwave back in the 1970s. Their programmes have always shown me an intelligent, liberal-minded and culturally rich country. I was hooked as I became a teenager and have not veered far from their delightful Nordic news and views of the Nordic countries ever since- they remain a favourite and are a voice of reason on what is often an otherwise propaganda-led, rather dumbed-down radio dial. 

I have a smattering of QSL cards which I must photograph and put on Instagram this week, I also have happy memories of their paper schedules, and of proudly wearing a “Keep In Touch - Radio Sweden” T-shirt in dark blue with that familiar Radio Sweden font in yellow, in the early 1980s. I wonder if they still produce such clothing items- a tote bag is available?

The 2014 Swedish General Election coverage was fabulous, as was the Green Party forming the collation government. I hope the 22 March 2015 snap election produces similar successes.

It would be nice to hear relays of Radio Sweden programmes return to shortwave on Global 24 Radio. I hope they sign up, as many other stalwart shortwave stations already have re-established a shortwave voice this way since October 2014.


Happy 75th anniversary Radio Sweden! Have a listen to them, both their daily programmes and their archive material.





3 comments:

John J said...

I well remember listening to Radio Sweden on 254m MW late on Saturday nights / early Sunday mornings - 'The Saturday Show' with Big Bad Roger and Kangeroo Kim. I don't think any other broadcaster has managed to come close, it really was cutting edge, alternative comedy and entertainment.
Happy days, sadly never to return.
JJ

Unknown said...

Hi! I´m Jorge from Colombia.

My father used to listen radio sweden, I still have notebooks where he used to write the time and I think the frequency of many stations I´m not sure what this numbers mean, this notes are from arround 1981. It was nostalgic for me to remember that my mother told me that the first time she meet my father he was dessing this green T-shirt with the "Keep in touch- Radio Sweden" in yellow words and that like you he used to wear proudly his favorite shirt. I still have a photo of him wearing this T-shirt. He died when I was 4 yoars old, so I dont know how good this radio station was.

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