The IMRO Radio Awards is celebrating its 21st birthday and coming of age in 2021!
Awards organizers are calling on radio stations and independent radio producers to celebrate the milestone by submitting the biggest number of entries ever this year.
On its 21st edition, and the second year running, the IMRO National Radio Awards will be a virtual event.
Following on from the station’s double gold-winning success at the 2020 awards, the Beat content team is busy working on a range of entries across a variety of categories.
The last twelve months have seen exciting changes and brilliant moments across local, regional, and national radio on the island of Ireland, and this is the opportunity for great radio to be recognised.
Spanning categories as diverse as music, speech programming, news, sports, Irish language, promotions, and innovation, the IMRO Radio Awards celebrate the skill and craft of great radio and are considered the premier awards and are highly sought after within the radio industry.
Entries for the awards open today and can feature broadcasts from the period of June 1st, 2020, to May 31st, 2021.
Last year, Beat scooped two gold IMRO awards for Radio DJ of the Year (David Hammond) and On-Air Promotion (Leap Of Faith).
There were also four nominations for the station, with Michelle Heffernan nominated for best newcomer. Wexford-native Shonagh Lyons got the nod for her powerful documentary, “Born this Way”, which shone a fascinating & insightful spotlight on Transgender people in Ireland.
Beat’s Sports Journalist, Kevin Galvin was in the ‘Sports Story’ category for his documentary ‘UnBeatable’ which explores the landscape of access to sport for children with disabilities, and asks what opportunities are available for children. While Rob O’Connor has been shortlisted for the Irish Music Programme for ‘Irish Beat’s’ which airs Sunday evenings, showcasing the best Irish talent.
Chris Doyle, Chair of the 2021 Awards committee, said, “It is hard to believe it is 21 years of the radio awards this year. These last twelve months have been amazing for radio. We look forward to receiving a record number of entries and celebrating the amazing radio content produced on October 1st. I would like to thank our sponsors IMRO for their continued support of the awards; without them, the awards would not be possible.’
Retiring Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Michael O’Keefe, said of his final Radio Awards “The annual IMRO Radio Awards are upon us once again, and radio programmers across the length and breadth of the country will be busy putting their entries together. The BAI has been proud to support the Radio Awards from the very beginning, and we salute once again all those involved in making high-quality programmes for their listeners.
It is the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is to the enormous credit of the radio sector in Ireland that the high standard of programming has been maintained throughout this challenging period. For my own part, this is my final year as CEO of the BAI, and it has been a privilege to have been associated with these Awards since they were introduced to recognise excellence in the sector back in 2001”.
