![]() The BBC's Arabic output will continue online. “I can still remember the opening line 'This is London' at the start of the news bulletin, and I used to mimic that voice as a child acting all serious and formal, like I imagined how a proper Arabic orator would sound like but a sort of Elizabethan English air to it.” My father was glued to the radio at the time and it was unfathomable for my siblings and I to make any noise or utter a word during those hourly briefings.”Ībdulla Ali Jaber, 68, who is from Bahrain, recalled listening to BBC Arabic in his father's car while he was dropped off at school. “I was 12 at the time the 1973 war broke out in the Middle East. “My father would not move anywhere about the house without his portable radio,” she said. Listeners who grew up with the station told The National of their memories.īBC World Service to axe Arabic and Persian services in swingeing cost-cutting exercise "Before the hard moment comes where we say our goodbyes, a moment that is tough for all of us, let's celebrate what BBC radio gave back to us and celebrate those who gave their all to this service, those who have gone and those who are with us, and wish them the best for the remainder of their journey," he said. Its final broadcast ended shortly before 1pm London time on Friday, with presenter Mahmoud Almossallami signing off with what called the station's “prized slogan” - “This is London.” It was known for opening its news bulletins with the words: “This is London.” The station launched on January 3, 1938, with presenter Ahmad Kamal Sourour Effendi recruited from Egypt. It is being axed as part of cuts at the BBC's World Service, although some Arabic audio content will be published online.įormer listeners and journalists described it as a sad moment as the corporation's first foreign language service shut down. The BBC's Arabic radio service went off air on Friday after 85 years of broadcasting.
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