World Radio
Spin the globe, tap a dot and live radio from that place starts playing. You can also browse by country, genre or name. Free, no sign-up.
This device cannot show the 3D globe, so only the list is shown. Pick a station from the list below.
How to use
- Drag the globe with a finger or the mouse to spin it, and pinch or scroll to zoom in.
- Tap a yellow dot. That station starts playing and other stations from the same area are gathered in the list.
- Or pick a country, search by station name, or tap a genre and choose from the list.
- Tap the heart to save a station to your favourites so you can find it again next time.
Once a station is playing, its name and country appear in the bar at the bottom. Pause, change the volume or skip to the next station from there.
What World Radio is
World Radio is a free site for listening to live broadcasts that stations around the world publish on the internet, picked from a 3D globe. There is no app to install and no account to create; it opens in the browser on a phone or a computer. Morning news from Seoul, jazz from Paris, Latin music from Mexico City and classical radio from Berlin are all a tap apart on the same screen. If you have used Radio Garden, the idea will feel familiar.
Station information is fetched live from Radio Browser, a public database maintained by volunteers. The globe shows up to 2,000 stations that have a location, ordered by listener votes, and searching by country, name or genre also lists stations that are not on the globe. Only streams that are sent over a secure connection (https) and passed their most recent check are shown, so most of them start within a few seconds.
What people use it for
- Language learning — pick the country of the language you are studying and leave news or talk radio on to get used to real speed and accent.
- Background music for work or study — the jazz and classical buttons quickly find stations that are mostly music.
- Travel — listen to local radio from a city you are about to visit, or one you miss.
- Radio from home while abroad — choose your own country and hear familiar stations from anywhere.
Good to know
When there is no sound
Internet radio streams drop out or change address from time to time. If a station does not connect within 20 seconds, a message is shown and the player moves on to the next station in the list. If several fail in a row, check your internet connection first. Some stations also block listeners outside their own country.
Data usage
Live radio is usually streamed at 64 to 320 kilobits per second. One hour of a 128 kbps station uses about 58 MB. Keep that in mind when listening for a long time on mobile data.
When the globe is slow or missing
The globe is drawn with 3D graphics (WebGL). It can be slow on older devices or in power-saving mode, and browsers without WebGL show the list only. The list, search, favourites and playback work the same without the globe.
Content and rights
This site does not store or rebroadcast anything. Audio travels directly from each station's server to your browser, and the programmes and their rights belong to the stations. If a listing is wrong, anyone can correct it on Radio Browser.
FAQ
Is it really free? Do I need an account?
It is free and there is no account. Your browser simply plays the live stream address each station publishes on the internet.
I tapped a station but hear nothing.
The station's server is down for the moment or its address has changed. A message appears and the player moves on to the next station in the list.
I can't see the globe.
If your device or browser does not support 3D graphics (WebGL), only the list is shown. Picking a station from the list works exactly the same.
Where are my favourites stored?
Only in the browser you are using now. They do not appear on other devices or browsers, and clearing browser data removes them.