Eastside radio awarded license to broadcast from Bondi Pavilion

By ERIN MODARO

Community radio station Eastside 89.7 FM has been approved by council to operate from the Bondi Pavilion. Waverley council announced today that the local station has been granted a license to broadcast their shows from the pavilion, after the subject was broached at a May 17 council meeting.

Eastside radio has been on air for nearly 40 years, broadcasting to the City of Sydney and the Eastern Suburbs, saying it’s “the only station in Sydney to devote five mornings a week to supporting theatre, dance, film, design, literature, Indigenous, visual and other art forms.”

Tony Smythe, managing director from Eastside Radio, said that “many of Eastside’s presenters and producers are working musicians, DJs, and artists while others have a background in journalism, science and education.”

Bondi Pavilion ‘cultural identity’ of community

The local station’s move to the Bondi Pavilion comes as the Council’s restoration works are coming to completion after construction began in August of 2020.

Waverley council’s general manager, Emily Scott, backed Eastside radio’s move to the pavilion, stating the pavilion has been central to the community’s cultural identity for over 90 years.

“We are confident that Eastside Radio will do a marvelous job in activating our radio studio through the creation and broadcast of localised content and community engagement initiatives for all of Waverley,”  Ms Scott said.

Eastside Radio will begin broadcasting from the Pavilion in September of this year, with the radio studio being operated by council and a licensing agreement with Eastside FM.