“Finally Radiodays has come to Athens,” said Konstantinos Fotopoulos, the CEO of Greek Commercial Network Audiomax, at the opening of RadioDays Europe.

“The core of this conference is about two key things.

“Looking inwards to identify challenges and find solutions. What the ancient Greeks called ‘know yourself.’

“Secondly, exploring the future of audio. The Greek phrase, ‘where are you going.’ Athens, the city of philosophers, is the perfect place to think about where we are going as an industry. It is more important than ever to help us plan the future…

“Connections, creativity and the joy of great content bring us together,”  said Konstas.

Yannis Papadopoulos, President of the Greek public broadcaster, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation talked about how the conference brings together passionate broadcasters and leading thinkers of the radio community to ponder what the future holds.”

“I grew up with radio as a constant in my life, radio was the medium where I learnt about the world and it gave me my entertainment options. Behind the microphone I learnt the art of interaction and audience communication. Radio allows us to communicate unfiltered and touch the hearts of listeners.”

ERT is Greece’s largest radio organisation operates, it operates 12 stations in Athens and 21 stations outside the capital.

In Greece, audience measurement ratings only cover the capital Athens and ad budgets are allocated only on those ratings. One of the things that the industry would like to change is to get a greater perception of who listens outside Athens so that they can sell advertising based on the total numbers.

The broadcaster has introduced ECO, an app that covers all its stations with the aim of delivering “the best possible audio experience to all and increase engagement with our audiences.”

Athens and Thessaloniki have had digital radio for some time, but it was not elsewhere in the country. This year there is now a nationwide expansion program for the DAB+ system. “It will be expanded across the nation. Radio is at a critical juncture, we have lost the battle for mobile phones, but we must not lose the battle for the car dashboard, DAB+ will help us with that. We need ‘one button reach’ to remain as strong as ever in cars.

“Radio fosters a connection with the audience that no other media can replicate, but we must face the fact that we need to engage young audiences to future proof the medium. “By joining forces, public and private stations and working together on thinkgs such as digital transmission, we can achieve more and make radio stronger and more accessible to all.”

Radiodays CEO Peter Niegel welcomed the 1500 people from over 50 countries attending the conference.

A small delegation from Ukraine got a special round of applause when they were introduced.

“Thank you so much for coming I hope you will feel the support from your colleagues over the next few days,” Niegel said to the Ukrainians.

The theme of this year’s conference is the future of audio.

“We are gaining audience but the competition is increasing. What will the future of audio look like and what decisions should we make to design the future of the audio industry,” asked Niegel

More summit sessions have been added to the lineup this year and there is more participation from young professionals, with a special focus on youth.

Greece’s Minister of Media recounted how radio “has been with us through revolutions and celebrations. It spread hope in dark times and it took action in moments of need. Radio brought us together, during uncertainty it became a beacon of clarity.

Today, where information travels at the speed of light, let us not forget the power of sound and voices. Radio is the heartbeat of our society and a way for government  to meet the people and for the people to speak back.”

The current Greek government has made a commitment to support radio and established media in the face of current challenges. The Greek govt abolished the old defamation laws and has provided stronger protection for journalists. It has also increased penalties for violence against journalists and brought in new regulations to ensure that media owners support journalists.

Head of BBC Radio 1, Alan Haydn-Jones spoke about the importance of radio to culture and music artists. He believes radio is the main ally for an artist’s journey.

“The new music system rewards ‘tracks’ but they don’t build musical icons or fill stadiums for contcerts. We build relationships between the artists and our listeners.

“BBC Radio 1 plays 1200 differnet artists every week. There are the main artists, but also hundreds of local artists. Radio must strengthen its language around the artist’s journey. It is too easy for music companies to focus on music streaming, but that is short term. Our entire evening schedule introduces artists who have uploaded music directly to the BBC. Music from these artists is showcased and many make it to the main playlist.

At festivals you can see the artist’s journey from unknown artists on the small stage to get to the main stage. At this week’s big weekend lineup 77% of artists cmae through our artists journey,” he said.

Haydn-Jones reminded attendees that radio must stay focused on the audience to survive.

“Check… do you really do that? When you’re focused on your next playlist or the next station priority, do you really check that changes are being made for the audience. How much of what we do is based on wht we’ve always done? Our differnce is knowing and connecting with the audience.”

After the opening session Konstantinos Fotopoulos explained the commercial radio landscape in Greece to Colm Flynn.