Voice of Africa Radio (also known as VOAR) was a
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based
FM radio station, founded on 1 January 2000 to correct the exclusion and
marginalisation of the African community from the electronic media. Initially, the station operated
unlicensed, covering the Greater London area on 107.7 MHz. It attracted a wide range of African businesses that advertised and sponsored most of its programmes. Listeners were mainly the youth, but also various African
High Commissioners and
Heads of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
.
Voice of Africa Radio finally won its bid for a five-year permanent
FM licence in London on 16 February 2006, after six years of campaigning, making it the first and only legally licensed African radio station in the UK. Its offices are based in
Plaistow.
The station went live on 20 August 2007, with a range of
African music spanning the continent of Africa and several
phone–in programmes which discuss issues that are pertinent to Africans at local, national and international level.
After experiencing problems with
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
stations operating on the assigned frequency (94.3 MHz),
Ofcom proposed changing the station's
carrier frequency
In telecommunications, a carrier wave, carrier signal, or just carrier, is a waveform (usually sinusoidal) that is modulated (modified) with an information-bearing signal for the purpose of conveying information. This carrier wave usually has a ...
to 94.0 MHz which took effect in February 2011.
The station lost its license in March 2016 after being unable to broadcast for a lengthy period of time.
References
External links
*http://www.voiceofafricaradio.com
Radio stations in London
Former pirate radio stations
{{UK-radio-station-stub
Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom
Radio stations established in 2000
Radio stations disestablished in 2016