Translated fro French:

Sylvain Tack’s legendary Radio Mi Amigo offshore station will be back for one last time, during the port days of Terneuzen, in the Netherlands. Programs will be made from a ship for three days, as happened between 1974 and 1980. The broadcasts can be listened to worldwide via the Internet and via different AM frequencies in the Netherlands and Flanders. ‘Mi Amigo 50’ will be the ultimate and definitive tribute to this Flemish/Dutch radio project which attracted millions of listeners.
But it has also proven to be a thorn in the side of various governments. This gave rise to real manhunts, seizures, legal proceedings and sensational reports in the press of the time.
This third meeting, in which many former employees, DJs, technicians and people who worked behind the scenes once again participate, constitutes the final event half a century after the start.
After the previous days of remembrance in Ostend (2014) and Blankenberge (2019), this time the Dutch town of Terneuzen was chosen. This port city is geographically quite central and therefore easily accessible for all fans who want to relive the golden days of yesteryear’s radio, and this time up close.
The broadcasts are carried out from the studio aboard the former pilot boat, the MV Castor. The public can follow everything live.
Radio Mi Amigo started broadcasting on January 1, 1974 from the MV Mi Amigo. As commercial radio remained banned in Belgium, the only option was to operate from a ship in international waters. The initiator was Sylvain Tack. The man who had already invented Suzy waffles and who then launched into the world of music. First as manager of the late Paul Severs, then he founded a record label (Start, later Gnome) which was home to stars such as Samantha, Joe Harris, John Horton, Ricky Gordon and Norbert. Next comes one of the most modern recording studios in Europe and a weekly youth magazine – Joepie – run by Guido Van Liefferinghe. A beautiful amalgam to breathe new life into the dormant Flemish music scene.
However, as the public broadcaster BRT continued to stubbornly ignore Flemish music, Sylvain Tack copied the plans of the Dutch radio station Veronica, which had enjoyed great success on the air since 1960. He broadcast from his own ship. It worked, Radio Mi Amigo became an instant success. When the Netherlands changed its legislation in August 1974 and prohibited cooperation in the field of offshore radios, Sylvain Tack and part of the Mi Amigo team settled in Playa de Aro, in Spain. Something that continued to worry the authorities. What followed was a veritable witch hunt against employees from four countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain.
Yet Radio Mi Amigo survived until the fall of 1979, when technical problems aboard the radio ship ended the story. In addition to popular programs that attracted millions of listeners in the Netherlands, Mi Amigo was also an adventure regularly covered in the press for years.
A radio station which has not broadcast for 44 years, but whose name is still known, has many fans and appeals to the imagination. For the third time, Radio Mi Amigo broadcasts live radio from the MV Castor, now anchored at Oude Veerhaven in Terneuzen, during the 42nd edition of the local port days on June 28, 29 and 30.
As with previous reunions, former Mi Amigo employees rolled up their sleeves to present you with shows which will be covered by numerous LPAM radio stations across the Netherlands.
You can follow all developments on the “Mi Amigo50” Facebook page. You can listen to it in streaming on the special Mi Amigo 50 website https://www.miamigoradio.be/
Contact the DJs on board: studio@miamigoradio.be.

Radio Magazine FB group (2024-06-15)