Lebanon Radio Live — Free Online Stations

Somewhere in the archives of Radio Liban in Beirut are some of the first recordings ever made by Fairuz, by Wadih El Safi and by other giants of Arab song. Few radio stations in the region hold so much of the Arab world's musical memory. Lebanon gave Arabic radio its poets, its singers and later one of the most crowded and diverse dials anywhere. That is the heritage behind the stations you find when you search for Lebanese radio live or want to listen to Lebanese radio online.

1938: Radio Orient in the Grand Serail

Lebanese radio was born in 1938, under the French Mandate and during the presidency of Émile Eddé, as Radio Orient. Its studios were in the Grand Serail, the Ottoman-era building that is today the seat of the government. Albert Adib became the first director of the Arabic section, and the great poet Said Akl was among its first Arabic broadcasters, a sign of the literary ambitions the station had from the start.

1946: a station for an independent country

In April 1946, after independence, the Lebanese government formally took over the station from the French authorities, during the presidency of Bechara El Khoury, and it became the Lebanese Radio. In January 1958, the foundation stone was laid for a new House of Radio in the Sanayeh district of Beirut, with seven studios, a record library and a powerful transmitter.

The voice of the golden age

From the 1950s onwards, Lebanese radio became one of the great stages of Arab music. The Rahbani brothers, Fairuz, Wadih El Safi, Sabah and many others reached audiences across the region through its broadcasts and its operettas, and the station's recordings preserve a large part of that legacy. For many listeners from Damascus to Kuwait, the Lebanese sound was synonymous with modern, elegant song.

Radio in a divided country

Lebanese radio also reflects the country's politics. In 1958, during a political crisis, the Kataeb Party founded the Voice of Lebanon. During the civil war that began in 1975, the dial filled with unlicensed stations, many linked to political parties and armed groups, each speaking to its own community. For listeners, radio was both a source of news about which roads were safe and a reminder of how divided the country had become.

1994: putting the dial in order

After the war, Parliament passed an audiovisual media law in 1994, setting conditions and standards for radio and television and creating a National Media Council to advise on the sector. Licensing reduced the number of stations, but Lebanon kept one of the most diverse radio landscapes in the Arab world.

Three languages on one dial

Today the Lebanese dial moves easily between Arabic, French and English, and Radio Liban itself broadcasts a second programme mainly in French, with English and Armenian content. News and talk stations follow politics closely, music stations mix Arabic pop with international hits, and the classics of the golden age are never far away. For the large Lebanese diaspora, from Brazil to Australia, streaming brings Beirut home. Below you can play the Lebanese radio stations online we index, free in your browser.