Senegal Radio Live — Free Online Stations

In March 2000, Senegal experienced its first change of power at the ballot box, and many Senegalese credit radio for helping to make it happen. That night, private stations broadcast the count from polling stations across the country as it happened, and the result became impossible to hide. The story says a great deal about Senegalese radio: close to the people, fiercely talkative and spoken above all in Wolof. It is the radio you find when you search for Senegal radio live or radio Sénégal en direct.

From the colonial capital to a national broadcaster

Radio arrived in Dakar during the colonial period, when the city was the capital of French West Africa and broadcasting served the administration. After independence, radio became a national service, organised from 1973 as the ORTS. A law of 6 January 1992 replaced it with the RTS, Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise, which still runs the national channel, Radio Sénégal International and a network of regional stations from Saint-Louis to Ziguinchor.

Regional stations and national languages

French is Senegal's official language, but it has never been the language of the radio. Regional stations were designed from the start to broadcast in the dominant language of each area — Wolof, Pulaar, Serer, Diola, Mandinka or Soninke — and they keep strong audiences outside the capital.

1 July 1994: Sud FM

The private era began on 1 July 1994, when Sud FM was inaugurated as Senegal's first private radio station. It was born from a group of print journalists behind the daily newspaper Sud, who had pushed the government for a frequency. Sud FM made a decision that changed Senegalese media: it read its news in Wolof as well as French, so that everyone could understand. Within a year it had become the country's leading station, and others followed — Walf FM, Dunyaa, 7 FM, RFM and many more.

The Wolof press review

One of Senegal's most original radio formats is the morning press review in Wolof. A presenter reads, translates and comments on the day's newspapers with humour and sharp asides, turning print journalism into a performance that millions follow who never buy a paper. Researchers estimate that Wolof now carries the large majority of programming on private stations, and interactive shows in which listeners call to give their opinion became national forums for debate.

2000: radio and the first alternation

No private station had ever covered a presidential election before 2000. That year, correspondents at polling stations across the country phoned in results in real time, and the running totals showed the incumbent losing. When Abdoulaye Wade defeated Abdou Diouf, it was the first democratic change of power in the country's history, and the role of private radio in making the count transparent is widely recognised.

Faith, football and community radio

Religious programming has a strong place on the dial, reflecting the importance of the Sufi brotherhoods in daily life. Wrestling — Senegal's national sport — and football draw huge audiences. Since 1996, community radio stations have spread across rural areas, broadcasting almost entirely in local languages on farming, health and local news.

Listening from abroad

For the large Senegalese diaspora in France, Italy, Spain and the United States, a Wolof press review or a call-in show is a daily link with home. Below you can play the Senegalese radio stations online we index, free in your browser.