Radio New Zealand will provide extensive coverage of the state funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary from St Mary’s Church in Auckland on Tuesday 22nd January NZ time. As the official radio broadcaster Radio New Zealand will ensure New Zealanders all over the world have the opportunity to be part of a very significant time of national reflection and commemoration.
Radio New Zealand will broadcast the entire service live and will live-stream via the Radio New Zealand website for international audiences, allowing New Zealanders living or holidaying overseas to share this important occasion with their friends and families back home.
People in the Pacific and parts of South East Asia listening on shortwave will be able to tune in to Radio New Zealand International on the frequencies of 15720 kHz for the analogue service, and 17675 kHz for DRM.
For those unable to listen to Radio New Zealand’s live coverage, a recording of the service will be available on the website to be replayed as audio-on-demand and as a podcast.
Radio New Zealand coverage will begin from 1800 UTC on 21st January. Morning Report and Nine to Noon will use respected senior broadcasters including Geoff Robinson and Jack Perkins and a team of news reporters in the lead up to live coverage of the funeral service which will commence at 2230 UTC.
The Radio New Zealand website is featuring several audio on demand programmes covering the life and times of Sir Edmund Hillary, including an obituary by Morning Report’s Geoff Robinson and two special documentaries produced by Jack Perkins for Radio New Zealand National.
Everest And Beyond, a tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary was first broadcast on Friday 11th January and It’s One Thing To Climb A Mountain is a special three-part series tracing the late Sir Edmund Hillary’s extraordinary life from the conquest of Everest onwards. The programmes highlight the largely untold stories of those who were shoulder-to-shoulder with Sir Ed on his expeditions to remote corners of the world and during his humanitarian activities with Nepal’s Sherpa people.
(Source: Radio New Zealand wesite & R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)