Radiodays Europe 2025 is finally here in Athens, the city where “the ideas just happen and travel through history”. This year’s motto is “Designing the Future of Audio”, as mentioned by the hosts Katerina Karavatou, Greek Presenter, and Paul Robinson, Boom Radio, in the opening ceremony of this year’s event, after an awesome performance by Greek singer, Alex Sid.
They welcomed the first guest, Peter Niegel, CEO of Radiodays Europe, who wholeheartedly thanked EIIRA for helping to host this year’s event, as well as the Greek audio industry, the Greek state and the sponsors for contributing to the regular operation of the organization. Given the rise in competition in the fields of audio and broadcasting, he hopes that in the following days we will all gain deep insight thanks to the summits and the interaction between us of what the future holds for the radio and find ways and solutions to design a way brighter one.
Following Peter, Konstantinos Fotopoulos, the CEO of Audiomax Inv SA & President of Directors of the Association of Private Radio Stations Owners of Attica, came to stage, addressing the two essential things that this organization achieves: Looking inward and exploring the future of radio, since Radiodays is the best place to sit together and exchange ideas on it. “Radio is the heartbeat of our society, democracy in action. Let’s make it an unforgettable experience. Welcome to Athens!”.
Next, Katerina and Paul welcomed on stage Pavlos Marinakis, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister & Government Spokesperson, who mentioned the joy of celebrating here the words of strength and communication, perspective and the importance of radio in days of crisis, when action is needed. Understanding the significance of supporting radio and the field of journalism and broadcasting in general, Pavlos Marinakis presented the actions that the Greek Government has taken to ensure the safety of journalists and sustainability of the media sector.
The next guest on stage was Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens, saying that radio is not just music and frequencies, but connection and interaction itself. At the same time, he characterized radio as the most human and vibrant media. “Athens loves radio”. Yannis Papadopoulos, the President of Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation E.R.T. S. A. came to the stage and added that radio what is needed is to keep on with the battle against the field mass media and enhance the radio through involvement, personalization of experiences and connection with the young audiences.
Cilla Benkö also joined the stage, presenting her journey in this field, and the Swedish media market, addressing the most common concern: what is the future of linear radio? Especially in moments of crisis, she said, radio is bringing hope and entertainment. Stefan Möller, the President of AER – Association Of European Radios, along with Edita Kudlacova, the Head of Radio European Broadcasting Union, mentioned the current top priorities in European Radio’s field in order to make radio easily found and heard by everyone and through every possible platform.
The last guest joining us was Aled Haydn-Jones, the Head of BBC Radio, who expressed that radio is THE ally to an artist’s journey. An ally that can truly focus on both the artists and the audience. The time has come, according to Aled, for Europe’s media to work together for a brighter future!
image © Hedda Axelsson
