Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, turns 90 this year and is inviting all Australians to celebrate the milestone, with community events and special programming planned across television, radio, online and social platforms.

The celebrations will run across much of 2022 with the key event, a live 90-minute television special, to be broadcast on 30 June – almost 90 years to the day that the Australian Broadcasting Commission, as the ABC was then called, first went to air.

Since that time, the ABC has grown from 12 radio stations into a multi-media organisation, broadcasting from more than 66 capital city and regional locations, and around the world from 11 international bureaus.

Announcing the ABC’s 90th celebration plans, Managing Director David Anderson said the anniversary was an opportunity for all Australians to share in the ABC’s rich history.

“The ABC has been part of everyday life in Australia since 1932. It has played a big part in documenting our country’s development and achievements over nine decades, and has grown and adapted to changing times, in step with the nation,” he said.

ABC Chair, Ita Buttrose, said the organisation’s 90th celebrations were about giving back to Australians. “The ABC has always reflected Australian life. It is at its very best when it celebrates the achievements of all Australians and the things that make this country such a special place in what is the world’s oldest continuous culture.”