Not afraid of a challenge, especially for a good cause, breakfast DJ Sam Steen will extend his weekday breakfast show by an astonishing 29 and a half hours next Thursday, broadcasting from 6am until 3pm on Friday. In doing so, he will beat the 32-hour record for a single broadcast in Luxembourg that he set in 2018.

What has prompted this endurance test? Well, Ara City Radio is launching a crowdfunding campaign that will help sustain the station as Luxembourg emerges from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. “Like many small businesses in Luxembourg, the pandemic and following economic crisis has hit the radio station hard,” says Sam. “We support local artists, causes and the different international communities in Luxembourg, to continue to do this we need to stay on-air.”

Station manager Lisa McLean says that while the new media law that has been tabled by the government is trying to support journalism in the digital age, community radio stations like Ara City do not fit into its framework. “We need to use crowdfunding to stabilise our immediate finances, but also to show the government that our listeners care, and in a sense demand that we gain some government support”.

In 2018 Sam’s show managed to garner pledges totalling around €8,000. This year’s “Big Fat 33-hour Marathon Show” promises “a mix of listeners’ favourite features from Sam’s daily show, as well as fun chat, and loads of interesting games and challenges to keep him awake.”