VARA
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| Type | Public broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Country | Netherlands |
| Availability | Netherlands and parts of Belgium |
| Founded | 1 November 1925 |
| Owner | membership association |
| Dissolved | Merged on 1 January 2014 with BNN, to form BNN-VARA |
Former names | Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs |
Official website |
omroep |
The Omroepvereniging VARA (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɔmrupfəˌreːnəɣɪŋ ˈvaːraː]), the VARA Broadcasting Association, is a Dutch public broadcasting association that operates within the framework of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system.
The association was founded in 1925 as the Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs[1] (Association of Worker Radio Amateurs). The name was changed to Omroepvereniging VARA in 1957 and is no longer an acronym.
VARA originally focused on labour and socialism. In the era of Dutch pillarization the association had close links to the Social Democratic Workers Party and its successor, the Labour Party. For many years VARA's chairmen, such as Marcel van Dam and André Kloos, were prominent members of the party. Although the connection between the two organizations loosened, affinities remain, such as a large overlap between their respective support bases.
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On 7 March 2002 VARA adopted its latest logo which consists of a red cube bearing an exclamation mark alongside the word "VARA" in its new, trademark font. VARA's previous logo, dating from 1983, has been retained as a secondary logo.
Programming
Some VARA television programmes are:
- Kassa (1989–present)
- Kinderen geen bezwaar (2004–2013)
- Kinderen voor Kinderen (1980–present)
- Pauw & Witteman (2006-2014), a live programme about current events, presented by Jeroen Pauw and Paul Witteman
- Sonja (1983–2006), a talk show hosted by Sonja Barend
- De Wereld Draait Door (2005–present), a live programme about current events, hosted by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk
- Paul de Leeuw (various programmes)
- Pipo de Clown (various programmes)
- Zeg 'ns Aaa
VARA also broadcasts some localized programming, such as:
- Alfred J. Kwak, a Dutch-German-Japanese animated series
- The Smurfs, an Amero-Belgian animated series
On 5 June 1964, during The Beatles' world tour of that year, VARA organized and recorded for television a Beatles concert in the Treslong Café Restaurant in Hillegom as part of the group's three-day visit to the Netherlands. Vara broadcast a complete summary of the Beatles' visit to the country three days later, on 8 June 1964.[2]
Notes
- ↑ The word vereeniging is an antiquated spelling; today this word is spelled vereniging.
- ↑ The visualization of the three day visit showed:
* arrival at Schiphol Airport - young women wearing Volendam folk costumes welcoming, offering tulips and traditional Dutch hats.
* the concert at Treslong.
* a roundtrip by boat through the canals of Amsterdam. The Beatles visiting the red light district De Wallen was not shown.
* arrival at De Doelen Hotel in Amsterdam.
* the concert at the Veilinghallen in Blokker.
* the group waving goodbye while boarding a plane at Schiphol Airport on their way to their next destination, Hongkong.