World Amateur Radio Day

Every April 18, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. It was on this day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris.  April 18th 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the IARU in Paris

Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short wave spectrum — far from being a wasteland — could support worldwide propagation. In the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, Amateur Radio was “in grave danger of being pushed aside,” the IARU’s history has noted. Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio worldwide.

Just two years later, at the International Radiotelegraph Conference, Amateur Radio gained the allocations still recognized today — 160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters. Since its founding, the IARU has worked tirelessly to defend and expand the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio. Thanks to the support of enlightened administrations in every part of the globe, radio amateurs are now able to experiment and communicate in frequency bands strategically located throughout the radio spectrum. From the 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925, the IARU has grown to include 160 member-societies in three regions. IARU Region 1 includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia. Region 2 covers the Americas, and Region 3 is comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific island nations, and most of Asia. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recognized the IARU as representing the interests of Amateur Radio.

Today, Amateur Radio is more popular than ever, with more than 3,500,000 licensed operators!

World Amateur Radio Day is the day when IARU Member-Societies can show our capabilities to the public and enjoy global friendship with other Amateurs worldwide.

For the History of the IARU please visit: http://w2pa.net/HRH/april-in-paris/

IARU, a federation of the national amateur radio societies of over 150 countries worldwide, is the global advocate for amateur radio through its Sector Membership in the International Telecommunication Union, an agency of the U.N., and other activities. 

No matter where WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY is celebrated, be part of something that’s bigger than all of us.

This special event is put on to bring people together, celebrate and explore the world of amateur radio. Have great fellowships, makes friends, learn new things, whether your special event is a large one or a small one its all about celebrating amateur radio. So make sure you stop by to one of the LARGEST special event on VOIP/Echolink on the *ROC-HAM* Echolink conference node 531091 and on Allstar nodes 2585, 47918, 47620, 531310

Let’s make this special event huge, support “WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY” and see if we can break the record, you have 12 hours to do so.

Last year we brought together over 500 ham radio operators, many of them from all over the world connecting via different modes, many from different cultures.