(VOVWORLD) - February 13th was first proclaimed by UNESCO as a day to celebrate broadcast radio in 2012. Since then World Radio Day has been observed annually to honor the role of radio in communications and honor radio producers and broadcasters.
 Vice President Vu Hai at VOV's World Radio Day celebration
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In the era of multimedia communications, broadcast radio remains an effective, fast, and accessible medium for conveying messages to the public anytime and anywhere – at home, at work, while exercising or travelling.
Radio and sports connect people
With the theme Radio and Sports, UNESCO underlines the importance of sports and radio in connecting people and fostering friendships worldwide. Recorded ping-pong matches marked a thaw in China-US in the early 1970s. Last month millions of Vietnamese cheered the victory of their U23 football team at the U23 AFC Cup and welcomed them home with a sea of national flags.
A great example of the unifying power of sports was athletes of the two Koreas marching together under the Korean unification flag to the Arirang song at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang, South Korea. Sports is not simply competition, results, and scores. It brings people together and makes people understand each other better.
 A talk show of VOV's sports commentators and listeners
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Voice of Vietnam travels side by side with sports
The Voice of Vietnam has become Vietnam’s top multimedia organization, with radio as its mainstream. VOV has devoted much air time to covering sports events in Vietnam and abroad. VOV carried live broadcasts of football matches in the 1950s. A live broadcast of a football match between Vietnam and Cambodia in 1957 at Hang Day stadium was special because referee Nguyen Hoang Hiep joined commentator Nguyen Van Thu to report it. VOV’s most beloved sports commentators are Dinh Khai, Hoai Son, Xuan Bach, Manh Thang, Viet Anh, and Thanh Luong.
 Young people came to VOV to try to be sport commentators
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Besides specialized sports channels – VTC3 and VOV2 – VOV’s other channels, print newspaper, and online newspaper have covered sports in Vietnam and around the world, in particular following Vietnamese teams at ASIAD, SEAGAMES, and the Olympics.
To mark this year’s World Radio Day, VOV hosted a talk show in which sports commentators and listeners shared ideas about radio broadcasting and the technology revolution. VOV set up a studio where visitors could experience the feeling of being radio reporters, broadcasters, and performers.
Radio continues to be the most accessible, interactive, and engaging medium. Sports is a bridge between countries and people toward a world of cultural diversity and sustainable peace.