Australian actor and entertainer, Barry Humphries, has been announced as keynote speaker for the commercial radio industry’s annual national conference.

Humphries will talk broadly about radio, as part of his career and life, at the conference on 14 October in Sydney. Last year’s speakers included Clive James and Bruce Beresford, while previous years featured Buzz Aldrin and Sir Bob Geldof.

Also confirmed for the 2005 conference is UK based Jono Coleman, who presents ‘My Generation’ on Australian Radio Network stations. Coleman hosts the LBC 97.3FM weekend entertainment show, after moving recently from breakfast on Heart 106.2. He will talk about the differences between radio in the UK and Australia.

Commercial Radio Australia CEO, Joan Warner, says the industry is thrilled to have Barry Humphries as keynote speaker and is also very pleased with the overall program and diverse range of speakers expected at this year’s conference, which she describes as “the most important annual event for radio.

Topics to be addressed at this year’s conference include the latest on electronic measuring devices and industry research, digital radio and programming.

Other speakers include:
* Francis Currie, Program Director, Heart 106.2
* Sally de la Bedoyere, Rajar (electronic measurement tests in the UK)
* Sheila Byfield, Director, Mindshare Global Insights, UK
* Laurie Lawrence, former Australian swim coach and motivational speaker.

Barry Humphries has collected innumerable honours for his stage and television work, including the Rose d’Orde Montreux in 1991 for his television show, ‘A Night on Mount Edna’, and a Sir Peter Ustinov Endowment (for his life work as an entertainer) at the Banff Television Festival in 1997. In 2000, he won a Special Tony Award for his Broadway show and a Special Achievement Award from the Outer Critics Circle.