Voice of Peace Key Dates 2

Voice of Peace - Key Dates (2)

28th May 1975	The MV Peace left Marseilles harbour, and broadcast a thank you programme to the French people.
3rd June 1975	Broadcasts from the Voice of Peace commenced while she was en route to Port Said, Egypt.
5th June 1975	At 3:30am broadcasts stopped as they neared Egyptian territorial waters. It was hoped the Peace ship would be able to join the first convoy through the Suez Canal after it's reopening, but the Egyptian Navy did not let the MV Peace enter the Canal.
26th June 1975	The MV Peace left Egyptian waters and broadcast an appeal to be allowed to use of the Suez Canal, which was ignored by the Egyptian authorities. The ship then headed north first to an anchorage off Ashdod, then entered harbour in Haifa while Abie Nathan tried to raise more funds.
1st August 1975	With some funding secured the MV Peace was able to leave Haifa and the Voice of Peace resumed broadcasts.
16th September 1975	The MV Peace headed again towards the Suez Canal in a new attempt to be allowed through, but again the ship was refused permission.

1975

1st January 1977	In the early hours of the morning,the MV Peace was escorted as part of a convoy to the mouth of the Suez Canal.
2nd/3rd January 1977	The MV Peace sailed along the Suez Canal
4th January 1977	The Peace ship arrived at Eilat to be greeted by local residents and the Mayor of the town.
10th January 1977	After sailing back through the Suez Canal, the MV Peace arrived back in the Mediterranean and recommenced broadcasts for the Voice of Peace.
August 1977	A survey by British trade magazine Broadcast claimed that the Voice of Peace had an estimated audience of 23 million - a quarter of all radio listeners in the Middle East.
12th August 1977	Test broadcasts for the Voice of Peace are made on 6245 Khz in the shortwave band.

1977

1976

July 1976	A London based company, Broadcast Placement Services (BPS), was appointed as British advertising representative for the Voice of Peace. The company also recruited DJs and made jingle packages for the station.
5th December 1976	The MV Peace entered Haifa where she was refuelled and restocked with supplies. She sailed two weeks later, heading southwards towards Egypt because Abie Nathan had been given permission to sail the ship through the Suez Canal.
31st December 1976	The MV Peace arrived off Port Said and was immediately put under guard by the Egyptian Navy.

5th June 1975

A British referendum revealed that 67.2% of voters were in favour of the UK remaining a member of the European Economic Community.

5th June 1975

Egypt reopened the Suez Canal eight years after it was closed because of the 1967 war with Israel.

25th June 1975 Mozambique became an independent state ending nearly five centuries of Portuguese rule.

19th September 1975

The British sitcom "Fawlty Towers" premiered on BBC TV.

17th July 1976

The Summer Olympics opened in Montreal.

3rd December 1976 Fidel Castro was elected President of Cuba.

25th December 1976

100 people returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, died when their boat sank in the Red Sea.

3rd January 1977 Apple Computers incorporated as a company. In March Apple produced the Apple II, the first pre-assembled, mass-produced PC.

3rd August 1977 Archbishop Makarios President of Cyprus, died aged 64.

12th August 1977 The space shuttle Enterprise passed its first solo flight test, taking off from on top of a Boeing 747, separating and then touching down in California's Mojave Desert.