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By Will Dave on

This Is 2LO, London Broadcasting Station Calling!

Ninety years ago at 5:33pm on 14th November 1922, the first British Broadcasting Company transmitter, 2LO, crackled into life.

This is 2LO, London Broadcasting Station calling! Ninety years ago today, at 5:33pm on 14th November 1922, the first British Broadcasting Company transmitter, 2LO, crackled into life – a moment when radio listening changed from a specialist hobby to a national pastime.

2LO transmitter in Marconi House, the Strand, London, 1923
The BBC 2LO transmitter at Marconi House. Despite 22,500 volts running through the transmitter, the only attempt at health & safety was a flimsy metal barrier and small ‘Danger’ signs visible at the back of the picture.

To celebrate this 90th anniversary, we invited the BBC to broadcast a special edition of Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 Drivetime show live from the Science Museum and in front of invited guests, including acting Director General Tim Davie,  and part of the original BBC 2LO transmitter.

At 5:33pm, marking the exact time of the first ever BBC broadcast, 2LO Calling, a specially commissioned piece of music curated by Damon Albarn, was simultaneously broadcast to almost 80 million people across the globe via 60 BBC radio stations. This was an ambitious first for the BBC and a great way to celebrate the enduring power of radio.

Tim Boon, Head of Research and Public Histories at the Science Museum and Damon Albarn discuss the history of 2LO live on BBC Radio 2 in front of the original 2LO transmitter.
Tim Boon, Head of Research and Public Histories at the Science Museum and Damon Albarn discuss the history of 2LO live on BBC Radio 2 in front of the original 2LO transmitter.

In the museum, we’re celebrating with a new exhibition opening on Nov 15, The Voice of the BBC. You can explore the history of early radio with the legendary 2LO transmitter used for the first BBC broadcasts, a ‘meat-safe’ BBC microphone and a 1923 copy of the Radio Times in this special exhibition.

The ‘Meatsafe’ Microphone
Known as “Meatsafe” due to its appearance, these microphones were wheeled into studios for recording radio.

These objects are part of the BBC Heritage Collection; 946 historical broadcasting objects celebrating 90 years of BBC history which have been donated to our sister museum – the National Media Museum – some of which are now on display in Bradford.