Vote for the Radio Times Moment of the Year at the 2026 Audio and Radio Industry Awards

The Audio and Radio Industry Awards (ARIAS) are returning for a landmark 10th annual ceremony, celebrating the biggest names and rising stars in radio.

For another year, Radio Times is honoured to partner with the Audio Academy to celebrate the biggest moment of the year – and it's down to the public to decide who wins!

This year is a tough competition, from political confrontations and sobering reflections, to joyous sporting celebrations and royal revelations. But who will get your vote?

Cast your vote at the bottom of this page – you have until 8 May. Remember... don't click until you're really sure who you want to win as once you've clicked, your vote will be submitted!

Interviews by Caroline Frost and Gareth McLean

The ARIAS Radio Times Moment of the Year nominees are…

Sarah Speaks: The Southport Attacks, on BBC Radio Merseyside

As odd as it sounds, hearing the testimony of Sarah, a survivor of the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July 2024, was, says BBC Merseyside presenter Kev Duala, "life-affirming".

"The realisation such an ordinary day became so unpredictable reminded me that what happened to Sarah could've happened to my daughters. It could happen to anyone's child. Yet, in the face of utter devastation, there was this young girl in front of me explaining very calmly about how she was able to take control and decide how she best could help the other girls around her get to safety."

Duala told Radio Times: "What makes this a truly special moment is Sarah's strength, determination, tenacity, and commitment to help others and not let what happened to her in Southport define her but make her."

Scotland v Denmark World Cup qualifier, on BBC Radio Scotland

After nearly 30 years of sports broadcasting, commentator Alasdair Lamont’s voice broke as Scottish midfielder Kenny McLean scored from the halfway line, and was able to say: "We’re returning to the World Cup. What a night."

Reflecting on that evening, Lamont tells RT: "The game swung one way, then the other, but when Scotland’s third and fourth goals went in, I shared the euphoria of every supporter." He was surprised and touched by the reception to his commentary that summed up all the disbelief and joy of his nation’s return to the World Cup after 27 years.

As for working at this year’s tournament in the US and Mexico, Lamont calls it "a dream come true".

Chelsey Ward shares her experience of racist abuse in Yorkshire, on BBC Radio Sheffield

Listeners to Toby Foster’s afternoon show on BBC Radio Sheffield, BBC Radio Leeds and BBC Radio York are used to hearing Chelsey Ward’s voice. The on-air producer usually reads the travel news on the programme and that October day last year was no exception.

But then there was an item about a Doncaster chip shop that had been daubed with a racist slogan. As the shop owner spoke about the impact of the incident and his fear for his family, Ward felt compelled to speak up and tell of racist abuse she was recently subjected to. Her voice faltering, she explained: "I’ve never felt so small in a place where I feel like I belong."

Listeners responded in their droves, demonstrating the power of local radio to connect people.

The King's Music Room, on Apple Music

To celebrate Commonwealth Day, King Charles shared some of his most beloved tunes with listeners across the world. Bob Marley, Kylie Minogue and Grace Jones were among the artists featured in the monarch’s eclectic playlist.

Speaking from his office at Buckingham Palace, Charles reflected on the power of music: "Throughout my life, music has meant a great deal to me. It has that remarkable ability to bring happy memories flooding back… to comfort us in times of sadness and to take us to distant places. But perhaps, above all, it can lift our spirits, and all the more so when it brings us together in celebration. In other words, it brings us joy."

I Don't Like Cricket, I Love It, on Three Counties Radio

In 1978, 10cc’s reggae song Dreadlock Holiday went to number one in the UK and several other countries. It contained the line, "I don’t like cricket, I love it." Forty-seven years later, presenter Justin Dealey took the band’s frontman Graham Gouldman to his first ever cricket match at the Oval. "We first spoke about in 2018," remembers Dealey. "Due to Covid and touring schedules, it took seven years to pull off but it was worth it."

Listeners heard Gouldman’s reaction to hearing leather on willow for the first time. Dealey tells RT: "Graham had a smile on his face throughout. Afterwards, he told me, unrehearsed, 'I don’t like cricket, I love it,' and that summed up the day."

The Human Cost: How tool theft pushed one listener to the brink of suicide, on Fix Radio

Fix Radio – the UK’s only nationwide station aimed exclusively at tradespeople – is the little station that could. At last year’s Arias, it won two awards - Silver for its breakfast show and Gold for its sonic branding – and this year, its afternoon show shows its mettle.

The Clive Holland Show ("join the big guy as he takes a look at the biggest topics in construction") tackled the two defining crises facing UK tradespeople – tool theft and suicide – when it heard from Steve Baker.

Baker’s raw account of how tool theft became the catalyst for a catastrophic mental health collapse gave a voice to those struggling and hammered home the human cost of the statistics: every 12 minutes, a tradesperson has tools stolen, and every day, two tradespeople take their own lives.

80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, on BBC Radio 3

When Petroc Trelawny heard of the plan, by BBC Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson, to broadcast from the site of the Nazi death camp on Holocaust Memorial Day and explore the place of music in Auschwitz, he had his reservations.

"We had developed a bit of a reputation for doing OBs [outside broadcasts] but they were ‘The River Severn’ or ‘A Journey across the Highlands’," Trelawny told Radio Times. "With this, I thought it would be really hard to strike a balance between reverence and storytelling and also playing beautiful music and keeping listeners with us."

But, after canvassing opinions from Jewish friends, Trelawny put those reservations aside and, thanks to "producer Susan Kenyon and assistant producer Michael Rossi, two absolutely brilliant creative minds who found these extraordinary stories to tell and built the most beautiful musical running order", the result was a profoundly moving and meaningful piece of radio.

"Listen love, you're trying ever so hard", on Bloomberg

Mishal Husain still isn’t sure whether Nigel Farage calling her "love" during an October 2025 interview in which she asked him about Russia was genuine passive-aggressive anger or an attempt at a tactical deflection. "Perhaps it was both. Either way, I thought the best approach was to press on," Bloomberg Weekend’s editor-at-large told Radio Times. "In the end this ‘love’ got Nigel Farage to reveal a major pivot in policy." Not only did that pivot, elicited by Husain’s forensic questioning, make global headlines, the moment went viral as, once again, Farage’s apparent allergy to accountability flared up.

Live Aid Relived, on Greatest Hits Radio

On the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, this 10-hour broadcast brought the unique event back to life. Alongside the familiar music were artists reliving 13 July 1985 when the world, briefly, came together in collective action. Presenter Simon Mayo reports listeners sharing their own memories of the day: "Everyone had their own particular moment."

One listener messaged to say: "What an emotional few hours, remembering the day, and family members I sat and watched it with who are no longer with me." Another, who had attended the concert at Wembley, said: "Thank you for broadcasting the whole thing and bringing it all back! What a truly amazing day it was."

Comedian Dan Skinner swims with the Bluetits Chill Swimmers off the Pembrokeshire coast, on Great Escapes podcast

When the host Dan Skinner made a spontaneous dip into the cold waters off the Pembrokeshire coast, it made for a comical but intimate moment between presenter and listener. Those tuning in heard Skinner exclaim: "It’s October and I’m in the sea."

His experience captured on his smart watch, Skinner tells RT: "The biggest surprise was how cold the water was, close to freezing, but also how quickly your body gets used to it!" The adventure was part of Skinner’s broader mission for the podcast: "We wanted to convey how awesome all the places we visit are. The UK is full of amazing places and people, most of them are right on your doorstep."

The 2026 ARIAS take place on Thursday 21 May.

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