BBC Radio 5 Live marks 30 years on the airwaves

BBC Radio 5 Live has announced plans to celebrate its 30th birthday on?Thursday 28 March 2024?with a day of special programming.

Since its launch at 5am on Monday 28 March 1994, Radio 5 Live has become the BBC’s home of breaking news and live sport. 30 years on, the station remains the voice of the UK and is one of the country’s? leading channels for news and current affairs, speech radio and sports broadcasting.?

From the very start, 5 Live has set the standard in sports commentary. Since the introduction of its digital station, Radio 5 Sports Extra in 2002, the network's coverage has increased massively, thanks to its unique obligation to ensure listeners have a front row seat at all major sporting events including the Premier League, World Cups in football, cricket and rugby, The Ashes, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup, with the Olympic Games and the European Championship to follow again this summer.

To mark the birthday milestone, 5 Live are planning a day of celebratory programming and conversations. On?5 Live Breakfast,?Rick Edwards and Rachel Burden will be joined by former presenter and the first voice to be broadcast on the station in 1994, Jane Garvey. From 10am, listeners can hear a special birthday hour of?Nicky Campbell’s phone-in programme,?where he will be asking listeners to share the big moments that 5 Live has been there for them, when it’s really mattered – ‘30 years of 5 Live and you?’

As one of the first voices on air,?Adrian Chiles?will be joined by fellow long-term 5 Live presenter Eleanor Oldroyd to reflect back on some of the biggest news and sport stories over the past 30 years.?

On?5 Live Drive, former Drive show presenter?Peter Allen?is joining Tony Livesey and Clare McDonnell to reminisce about his time on the show. And throughout the programme, they will continue to hear stories from across the UK about how 5 Live has had an impact on listeners lives.??

Into the evening, 5 Live Sport will present?The?30 Defining Sporting Moments of 5 Live’s 30 years.?From Euro 96 and London 2012’s Super Saturday, to Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon win and the Lionesses’ Euros triumph, Eleanor Oldroyd will be joined by special guests to re-live some of the most ear-catching sporting moments from the past three decades, as well as revealing the top 10 moments voted for by listeners via the BBC Sport website.

Online and on 5 Live’s social channels, the station will also bring to life its unique history through a digital audio archive with?‘5 Live’s Yearbook’. Featuring a selection of the station's most memorable news and sporting moments from 5 Live over three decades, the biggest highlights from the archive will be played throughout the official birthday on?Thursday 28 March.

BBC Radio 5 Live Controller, Heidi Dawson said: “We are excited to celebrate this milestone with our listeners. Radio 5 Live has been bringing people together for 30 years, through the biggest news and sports events to the stories listeners have shared that have changed lives. Our presenters have been a constant companion, taking you along with them to the greatest events, making you think and making you laugh.”?

She continues: “After 30 years, the station continues to evolve with our audience. More of 5 Live’s audience listens digitally than any other BBC station, and alongside gripping live radio on BBC Sounds we also offer outstanding podcasts, from sport, to investigations, to entertaining conversation.”