I heard back from my contacts at the World Service; the matches themselves won't air live, as we'd discussed; however the World Service will have plenty of special programming surrounding the World Cup theme.
There will be no special shortwave frequencies for World Cup coverage, however. Here's a list of the programming; cobbled together from the BBC Press Office; I've stripped out the time citations (which were only BST anyway) so you'll have to consult the BBC World Service website for the times relevant to the way you listen. Most (if not all) of the programming -- even the Africa-specific programming -- should be available on-demand via the World Service website as well. Programs in advance of the tournament: "Africa Kicks" As Africa prepares to host the World Cup, the BBC goes on a journey across the continent’s football ‘factory’ – the region in West Africa that produces the highest number of international players. Names like Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast, Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo, Michael Essien of Ghana and Nwankwo Kanu of Nigeria, are known to fans around the world for their English Premier League and international exploits. Africa Kicks will focus on countries which have produced a wealth of football talent - and attract huge international business interest from across the world. Africa Kicks will explore the political, economic and football hopes, dreams and challenges of this region in a series of multimedia reports. From Monday 30 May on BBC World Service English’s flagship programmes for Africa including: Africa Have Your Say, Network Africa and Focus on Africa. For BBC World Service on The World Today, as well as for a range of language services - BBC Afrique, BBC Arabic, BBC Hausa, BBC Hindi, BBC Persian, BBC Swahili and at bbc.com/worldcup. BBC World Service’s writer in residence Hamid Ismailov will also be blogging during this journey through Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria BBC World Service in English "In the Shadow of the Stadium", from Friday 4 June. South-African Audrey Brown goes to the area around Johannesburg’s refurbished Soccer City stadium – the venue for the opening match and the final – to meet the people who are living around the stadium and are directly affected by the tournament, to find out what impact the World Cup will have on their day-to-day lives. "The Power and the Passion", a new four part series from Monday 7 June. While many football fans around the world will be avidly debating and agonising over the fate of their nations in June, it is often at the domestic club level that the game finds its most passionate support. The Power and the Passion, follows David Goldblatt as he travels to four very different football games, all big local derbies, in Italy, Egypt, Ghana and the UK, to experience the build-up and pitch action from the perspective of the fans. "South Africa's Path to Freedom", from Wednesday 9 June. Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka travels from his native Nigeria to the host country of World Cup 2010 - South Africa - to assess the past and present of the Rainbow Nation through the eyes of its finest writers. Wole Soyinka fought apartheid from outside South Africa during the years of oppression and conflict. He now makes a special journey to meet some of the key writers who lived through the turbulent years, including fellow Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer, as well as Albie Sachs, South Africa’s Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile, playwright Athol Fugard and academic and writer Antjie Krog. Programs during The Tournament: BBC World Service in English "Sportsworld", the flagship global sport programme hosted by Russell Fuller, will be in Johannesburg with six special World Cup editions on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June, and Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July. In addition, Russell will be hosting weekend editions of World Cup Have Your Say, Saturdays and Sundays from 12 June. "World Football", on Saturday 12 June will be profiling the history of football in South Africa, examining the impact of apartheid on the game. It includes a profile of football on Robben Island and the Makana Football Association, a body formed by political prisoners on the island. "World Cup Have Your Say - talking a good game": While coverage of action on the pitch will be dominated by the insight and opinions of a host of football experts, for the second consecutive World Cup tournament, BBC World Service will be giving football fans around the world a daily opportunity to have their say about the action, drama and tears on and off the pitch. Presented by Ros Atkins and anchored from Soweto, World Cup Have Your Say will be a daily half-hour multimedia discussion show, in which the pundits will step aside and let the fans decide on the tournament talking points, from chants to cheats, referees to vuvuzelas. Fans can join in the debate from around the world via bbc.com/worldcup and via Twitter (@BBC_WHYS) and Facebook (World Have Your Say). World Cup Have Your Say is daily from Friday 11 June to Monday 12 July. Komla Dumor and Ros Atkins will be presenting "The World Today", BBC World Service’s flagship news and current affairs show, from Soweto, bringing audiences the atmosphere and finding out first-hand about the impact of the tournament on local residents. There will be special World Cup editions on Friday 11 June and Monday 14 June. BBC World Service English – services for Africa "Fast Track", the flagship sports show for Africa on BBC World Service, presented by Farayi Mungazi, will be covering all the latest news from the tournament on Mondays and Fridays. The interactive discussion show "Africa Have Your Say", presented by Vera Kwakofi, will debating a range of issues and topical news subjects over the course of the tournament. Africa Have Your Say on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the tournament. "Focus on Africa" and "Network Africa" will have presenter Peter Ndoro travelling around South Africa for the duration of the tournament, to meet the fans and bring the excitement, atmosphere and stories from Africa's World Cup to BBC audiences across the continent. -- Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA International broadcasting / shortwave blog: http://www.intlradio.blogspot.com _______________________________________________ Swprograms mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.
