Fifty years of ABC Classic and a nation still listening
13 June 2026 This year’s ABC Classic 100 feels particularly special.
As ABC Classic celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, the annual countdown is no longer simply a poll. It is part of the cultural history of Australia itself. For half a century the station has accompanied people through mornings and evenings, celebrations and losses, long drives, quiet studies, hospital rooms, kitchens and gardens. It has introduced generations of Australians to music stretching across centuries and continents.
Then, each year, comes the great long-weekend ritual. The voting closes. The anticipation builds. On Saturday morning the countdown begins…
In a noisy and distracted age, it is one of the few events that asks us simply to listen.
10 June 2026
