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A timeline of notable events relating to theBBC World Service, the world's largest international broadcaster, which began broadcasting in 1932.

• 1932
  • 19 December – TheEmpire Service (precursor of theWorld Service) launches, broadcasting onshortwave from Daventry'sBorough Hill.
  • 25 December – King George V becomes the first monarch to deliver aChristmas Day message by radio, on the Empire Service.^[1]

• 1933
  • No events.

• 1934
  • No events.

• 1935
  • No events.

• 1936
  • No events.

• 1937
  • No events.

• 1938
  • 3 January – The BBC begins broadcasting its first foreign-language radio service, inArabic.
  • 14 March –Portuguese for Brasil and Spanish for Latin America begin.
  • 4 June –Portuguese for Europe programmes begins.
  • 27 September – German,French and Italian programmes begin.
  • November – The Empire Service is renamed theBBC Overseas Service.

• 1939
  • 14 May –Afrikaans language programming begins.
  • 4 June –Portuguese for Africa programming begins.
  • 5 September –Hungarian language programming begins.
  • 7 September – Following the outbreak ofWorld War II, the BBC launches itsBBC Polish Section.
  • 30 September –Greek language programming begins.
  • 20 November –Turkish language programming begins.
  • 31 December –Czech language programming begins.

• 1940
  • 7 February –Bulgarian language programming begins.
  • 12 February –Swedish language programming begins.
  • 18 March –Finnish language programming begins.
  • 9 April –Danish andNorwegian programming begins.
  • 11 April –Dutch language programming begins.
  • 5 May –Cantonese Chinese programming begins.
  • 11 May – Programming inHindi begins.
  • 12 May –Swedish language programming begins.
  • 28 July – Dutch programmeRadio Oranje launches.
  • 10 August –Maltese programming begins.
  • 2 September –Burmese programming begins.
  • 15 September –Romanian programming begins.
  • 16 September –Greek for Cyprus programming begins.
  • 28 September –Belgian French &Belgian Dutch programming begins.
  • 12 November –Albanian programming begins with the launch of theBBC Albanian service.
  • 1 December –Icelandic programming begins.
  • 28 December –Persian programming begins.

• 1941
  • TheBBC European Service moves toBush House in Central London.
  • 22 April –Slovene programming begins.
  • 27 April –Thai programming begins.
  • 2 May –Malay programming begins.
  • 3 May –Tamil programming begins.
  • 5 May –Cantonese Chinese programming begins.
  • 19 May –Mandarin Chinese programming begins
  • 11 October –Bengali programming begins with the launch ofBBC Bangla.
  • 31 December –Slovak programming begins.

• 1942
  • 1 March –Gujarati andMarathi programming begins.
  • 10 March –Sinhala programming begins.
  • 1 October –Hokkien Chinese programming begins.
  • 7 October – Programming in Russian begins.
  • 2 November –French for Canada programming begins.

• 1943
  • 29 March –German for Austria programming begins.
  • 26 May – Programming in Russian ends.
  • 29 May –Luxembourgish programming begins.
  • 4 July – Programming in Japanese begins.

• 1944
  • 27 February –BBC General Forces Programme replaces the BBC Forces Programme (also broadcast on shortwave).
  • 26 June –Icelandic programming ends.
  • 28 August –Dutch forIndonesia andFrench for South-East Asia programming begins.
  • 3 September –Gujarati programming ends.

• 1945
  • 1 January –Welsh for Patagonia, Argentina programming begins.
  • 2 April –Dutch forIndonesia programming ends.

• 1946
  • 25 May –Dutch forIndonesia programming resumes.
  • 26 May – Programming in Russian resumes.
  • 31 December –Welsh for Patagonia, Argentina programming ends.

• 1947
  • No events.

• 1948
  • 7 February – Programmes inHokkien Chinese end.

• 1949
  • 3 April –Urdu programming begins.
  • 30 October –Hebrew andIndonesian programming begins.

• 1950
  • No events.

• 1951
  • 13 May –Dutch forIndonesia programming ends.
  • 3 June –Greek for Cyprus programming ends.

• 1952
  • 6 February –Vietnamese programming begins.
  • 30 March – Programming inBelgian French &Belgian Dutch ends.
  • 30 May – Programming inLuxembourgish ends.

• 1953
  • No events.

• 1954
  • No events.

• 1955
  • 3 April –French for South-East Asia programming ends.

• 1956
  • No events.

• 1957
  • 13 March –Hausa language programming begins with the launch ofBBC Hausa.
  • 27 July –Swahili language programming begins.
  • 18 July – TheBBC Somali Service launches as a twice-weekly 15-minute programme.
  • 10 August –Danish,Dutch,Norwegian andPortuguese for Europe programming end.
  • 8 September –Afrikaans programming ends
  • 15 September –German for Austria programming ends.

• 1958
  • September – TheBBC Somali Service begins daily broadcasts.
  • 25 December –Marathi programming ends.

• 1959
  • The World Service launches its first sports programme. CalledSaturday Special, it runs for one hour in the Summer of 1959.

• 1960
  • 5 March –Thai programming ends.
  • 20 June –French for Africa programming begins.

• 1961
  • 4 March –Swedish programming ends.

• 1962
  • 3 June – Programming inThai resumes.

• 1963
  • No events.

• 1964
  • No events.

• 1965
  • 1 May – The General Overseas Service is renamed theBBC World Service.^[2]

• 1966
  • The World Service's reach in Africa is expanded with the opening of theAscension Island relay.
  • 4 July –Outlook is broadcast for the first time.

• 1967
  • 20 January – TheBBC Albanian service ends.

• 1968
  • 28 October –Hebrew programming ends.

• 1969
  • 7 June –BBC Nepali launches as a weekly programme.

• 1970
  • BBC Nepali expands to a five days a week service.

• 1971
  • No events.

• 1972
  • No events.

• 1973
  • No events.

• 1974
  • No events.

• 1975
  • No events.

• 1976
  • 30 March –Sinhala programming ends.
  • 25 December –English for the Caribbean programming begins.

• 1977
  • No events.

• 1978
  • No events.

• 1979
  • Sportsworld launches.
  • 7 July –Science in Action launches.

• 1980
  • 8 May – Programming inFrench for Canada ends.

• 1981
  • 15 August –Pashto programming begins.
  • 31 December – Programming in Italian andMaltese ends.

• 1982
  • 28 September – Transmissions end fromCrowborough following the switching-on of, and final transfer of transmitting operations on 648 kHz MW to,Orfordness. Orfordness was seen as being a better location due to it being on the Suffolk coast, whereas Crowborough was inland.^[3] This transmitter change means that the World Service becomes available to UK listeners for the first time, albeit only for people in south east England.

• 1983
  • No events.

• 1984
  • No events.

• 1985
  • August – For the first time in its history the World service is taken off air due to strike action in protest at theBritish government's decision to ban a documentary featuring an interview withMartin McGuinness ofSinn Féin.

• 1986
  • No events.

• 1987
  • TheBBC World Service launchesBBC 648 from theOrfordness transmitting station. The service provides a tailor-made service for northern Europe featuring some French and German programming interwoven with the main output in English.^[4]

• 1988
  • For many years, the World Service had been available for part ofBBC Radio 4's overnight downtime on that station's long wave frequency. However, by the start of 1988, the World Service is now heard throughout the full overnight period when Radio 4 is not on air. Consequently, for the first time, the World Service is available on long wave across the UK between 12:45am and 5:55am.
  • Newshour launches.

• 1989
  • 1 April – The BBC launchesBBC TV Europe, a subscription-based pan-European television station.^[5]

• 1990
  • 11 March – Programming inSinhala resumes.

• 1991
  • 16 January – Upon the outbreak of theGulf War, the BBC begins aBBC Radio 4 News FM which is broadcast in the UK onBBC Radio 4FM frequencies and around the world on the World Service.
  • 2 March – At 18:00 GMT,BBC Radio 4 News FM closes and programming on the World Service returns to its usual output.
  • 31 March – Japanese programming ends after 48 years andMalay language programming ends after 50 years.
  • 15 April – TheBBC World Service Television news service is launched. Unlike World Service radio which is funded by direct grant from theForeign and Commonwealth Office, WSTV is commercially funded and carries advertising, which means that it cannot be broadcast in the UK.
  • 29 September – Programmes inCroatian andSerbian begin.
  • 14 October –World Service TV launches its Asian service.
  • The first broadcasts ofEurope Today take place.

• 1992
  • 1 June –BBC Ukrainian launches.^[6]
  • June – The World Service launches a programming covering theWimbledon Championships calledSportsworld at Wimbledon.
  • TheBBC World Service is broadcast regularly on FM in the UK for the first time when it begins to be carried overnight onBBC Local Radio.

• 1993
  • 20 February – TheBBC Albanian service is relaunched after being off air for 26 years.
  • November – The World Service's monthly listings magazineLondon Calling is replaced with a 100-page colour magazine and is renamed BBC Worldwide. It is later renamed to BBC On Air.

• 1994
  • 8 September –Kinyarwanda programming begins.
  • 30 November –Azerbaijani andUzbek programming begins.

• 1995
  • 26 January –BBC World Service Television is renamedBBC World and is launched as an internationalfree-to-airnews channel at 19:00GMT.
  • 31 March –French programming ends.
  • 1 April –Kazakh andKyrgyz programming begins.
  • 27 September – TheBBC begins regularDigital Audio Broadcasting, initially just from theCrystal Palace transmitting station. Consequently, the World Service becomes available to listeners across the UK on a 24/7 basis for the first time.^[7]

• 1996
  • 6 January –Macedonian programming begins.
  • 9 June – A Sunday edition ofSportsworld launches.

• 1997
  • March – The first edition ofEverywoman is broadcast.
  • 4 November – Debut of the BBC World Service soapWestway.
  • 31 December – TheFinnish service ends after 57 years.^[8]

• 1998
  • Following the recent commencement of the World Service being heard overnight on BBC Radio 4's FM frequencies, the overnight transmission on BBC Local Radio ends. It is replaced with a simulcast ofBBC Radio 5 Live.

• 1999
  • BBC 648, which provided French and German language content for northern Europe from theOrfordness transmitting station, ends with the closure of the BBC's German service.^[9] – the French for Europe service had closed in 1995.^[10] Consequently, all programming from this transmitter is in English only.
  • The World Today is broadcast for the first time.

• 2000
  • No events.

• 2001
  • Technology programmeGo Digital launches.
  • 1 July – The World Service ends short wave radio transmission directed to North America andAustralasia. It says that "changing listening habits" are the reason for this decision.^[11][12] Ashortwave listenercoalition formed to oppose the change.^[13]

• 2002
  • August – The first edition ofWorld Book Club is broadcast.^[14]

• 2003
  • No events.

• 2004
  • December – The final edition of the World Service's magazineBBC On Air is published.^[15]

• 2005
  • 5 October – It is announced that broadcasts in a number of European languages will end by March 2006, to finance the launch in 2007 of TV news services inArabic andPersian.^[16]
  • 10 October – The BBC's Latin American service is renamedBBC Mundo.
  • October – The BBC World Service soap operaWestway comes to an end after eight years on air.
  • 16 December –Kazakh programming ends.
  • 23 December –Polish programming ends after 66 years andSlovene programming ends after 64 years.
  • 30 December –Bulgarian programming ends after 65 years.
  • 31 December –Hungarian andGreek programming end, both after 66 years andSlovak programmes ends after 64 years.

• 2006
  • 13 January –Thai programming ends for a second time.
  • 31 January –Croatian programming ends.
  • 28 February –Czech programming ends.
  • April – The final edition ofEverywoman is broadcast.^[17] Archived episodes of the programme have since been made available on the BBC website.
  • October – The first edition ofWorld Have Your Say is broadcast.

• 2007
  • No events.

• 2008
  • 18 February – The World Service ends analogue short wave broadcasting in Europe.^[18]
  • 6 April – Discussion programmeThe Forum debuts.
  • 1 August –Romanian broadcasts end after 69 years.^[19]
  • 27 October – A new daily arts magazine programmeThe Strand is launched.

• 2009
  • No events.

• 2010
  • September – The BBC announces thatSportsworld at Wimbledon is to be axed as a cost-cutting measure.^[20]

• 2011
  • January – The closure of the Albanian, Macedonian, Portuguese for Africa, Serbian^[21] and English for the Caribbean services is announced. All of these services close over the next three months. This reflected the financial situation the Corporation faced following transfer of responsibility for the Service from the Foreign Office, so that it would in future have been funded from within licence fee income.
  • 25 March –Europe Today is broadcast for the final time after 20 years on air.
  • 27 March – These budget cuts also result in the switching off of theOrfordness transmitting station inSuffolk, which had been transmitting theBBC World Service on 648 kHz MW to much of northern Europe since 1982.
  • 29 March – Technology programmeGo Digital is renamedClick (later in 2019 renamed for the third time toDigital Planet).
  • Also in 2011, the Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Azeri, and Spanish for Cuba services ceased radio broadcasting, and the Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi services ceased shortwave transmissions.

• 2012
  • 12 July – TheBBC World Service relocates toBroadcasting House after 70 years atBush House.
  • 23 July –Newsday is broadcast for the first time.^[22] It replacesThe World Today andNetwork Africa.

• 2013
  • 29 March – Daily arts magazine programmeThe Strand ends, with coverage of the arts integrated intoOutlook.
  • 1 April
    • World Briefing, the World Service's standard 30-minute news bulletin, is cancelled and replaced by The Newsroom.
    • Outlook is extended and now runs for just under an hour.
  • 28 October –BBC OS launches. The new programme says that it "aims to open up the news process, enabling people to discover the latest on the stories that matter to them."^[23]

• 2014
  • 1 April – The World Service stops being funded by the UK Government grant^[24] and is now funded by thetelevision licence fee and the profits ofBBC Worldwide Ltd.^[25] although the Government is providing limited funding until 2020.^[26]
  • 10 July –Thai programming recommences, but only on social media.^[27]

• 2015
  • 17 January – The first edition of a newcricket showStumped, timed to coincide with the2015 Cricket World Cup, is broadcast.

• 2016
  • November – The BBC announces the largest expansion of foreign language programming since the 1940s.^[28]

• 2017
  • 21 August – The first of the new language services start broadcasting when transmissions inNigerian Pidgin begin.
  • 18 September – Programming inAfaan Oromoo andTigrinya begin.
  • 26 September –Korean programming begins.
  • 2 October
    • After 73 years off air,Gujarati programming resumes and after 59 years off air,Marathi programming resumes.
    • Programming inPunjabi andTelugu begin.

• 2018
  • 19 February – Programming inIgbo andYoruba begins.^[29]

• 2019
  • 1 May – Technology programmeClick reverts to its original name ofDigital Planet.

• 2020
  • No events.

• 2021
  • No events.

• 2022
  • Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the BBC begins broadcasting World Service English programming at shortwave frequencies 15735 kHz and 5875 kHz for receivers in Ukraine and parts of Russia.^[30][31]

• 2023
  • 27 January – The radio service ofBBC Arabic ends after 85 years on air.^[32]

• BBC World Service documentary in December 2022

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• BBC World Service

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