Riverside Radio will be celebrating Local Radio Day this week broadcasting along the River Thames on a boat which led the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee river pageant in 2012.

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Riverside Radio Managing Director Jason Rosam said: “The theme of this year’s Local Radio Day is ‘love your place’. Where better to celebrate here in south west London than on the much loved and world famous River Thames which (along with the River Wandle) is where the radio station got its name.”

On Friday 15th October from 7am the Riverside Radio team will be cruising down the Thames to Westminster from Kew Bridge on 100-year-old vessel The Connaught, which is operated by family-owned boat hire company Colliers Launches.

Colliers featured on Riverside Radio during the first lockdown, issuing a mayday call for donations to its crowd funding campaign set up to avoid the company from sinking during the pandemic.

The special radio show presented by Riverside Radio’s volunteer team will feature stories from people who work, live and have fun on the river. They’ll be asking local people in Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton and Lambeth why the Thames is so loved and is an important part of life in south west London.

Dom Chambers, founder of the Local Radio Alliance, which runs Local Radio Day, said:

“I think it’s important that we have a day when we can celebrate and mark the achievements of local radio. There’s never been a greater need for local radio than now, and I think the pandemic has shown this. There are many ways we can feel connected, but radio is such a powerful and potent way. It’s about tuning into those locally trusted voices to hear about what is going on in your community.”

Dom will be joining the Riverside Radio team and is no stranger to the river after spending 10 years living on it.

Riverside Radio, which usually broadcasts from its base in Battersea, will set up a makeshift studio on the Connaught, which is thought by most river connoisseurs to be the epitome of a traditional Thames passenger boat. Built by Salter’s Steamers in 1911, the Edwardian vessel originally cruised upriver in Windsor. It was lovingly restored 10 years ago as it led the Queens Diamond Jubilee river pageant.

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Listen to the broadcast from the Thames on Friday 15th October starting at 7am on Riverside Radio, available across south west London on DAB Digital Radio, on your smart speaker, on the Riverside Radio app or on our website.

Take part on social media by using #LocalRadioDay #LoveYourPlace and tell Riverside Radio on @thisisriverside what you love about the River Thames.

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