2026 FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is the quadrennial international men’s football (soccer) championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of the Federation Internationale de Football Association. Jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 2026 “World Soccer Tournament” will take place from 11 June to 19 July and amateur radio operators from the sixteen host cities will be active to celebrate the event: 4A1CMX Mexico City; 4A1GDL Guadalajara; 4A1MTY Monterrey; K0C Kansas City; K4C Miami; VB7F Vancouver; VC3F Toronto; W1C Boston; W2C New York/New Jersey; W4C Atlanta; W5C/D Dallas; W5C/H Houston; W6C Los Angeles; W6S San Francisco; W7C Seattle and WM3PEN Philadelphia. Complete information, including detailed operating schedules and certificates, can be found on https://wc2026ses.org/.
Rwanda, 9X. Alain, F8FUA will be active holiday style as 9X5KM from Kigali, Rwanda between 4 and 13 June. He will operate CW, SSB and Digital on various bands. QSL via home call (direct and bureau); QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log and LoTW.
Tonga, A3. Oliver, W6NV will be active as A31WW from Nuku’alofa on Tongatapu Island (OC-049), Tonga from 23 May to 2 June. He will operate CW on the HF bands, with main activity during the CQ WW WPX CW Contest (30 – 31 May). QSL via LoTW.
Palau, T8. Nobu, JA0JHQ will be active again as T88PB from Koror (OC-009), Palau between 27 and 31 May, with main activity during the CQ WW WPX CW Contest. QSL via LoTW (preferred) or direct to JA0JHQ.
India, VU. To mark the 90th anniversary of Akashvani (aka All India Radio), India’s state-owned public radio broadcaster, VU3YBH will be active as AT90VANI between 25 May and 16 August. He will operate SSB and digital on 20, 15, 12 and 10 metres. QSL via the bureau; QSOs will be uploaded to Club Log and LoTW.
Maldives, 8Q. Yosuke, JJ1DQR will be active holiday style as 8Q7QR from the Maldives (AS-013) from 28 May to 1 June, including part-time participation in the CQ WW WPX CW Contest. QSL via home call, direct or bureau.
Jordan, JY. Celebrating the 80th anniversary of Jordan’s independence, special event call sign JY80ID will be active on various bands and modes between 23 and 25 May. QSL via QRZ.com.
Russia, UA. Back in 2001, the Arctic High-Latitude Radio Expedition to “The Lost Islands” activated six IOTA groups, including a new one (AS-156) and three rare ones. To mark the 25th anniversary of that memorable DXpedition, three special call signs will be active on 21-31 May: RA25LI (Novosibirsk), RN25LI (Norilsk) and RD25LI (Dikson Island). QSLs via RZ3EC. This operating event is organized by the Russian Robinson Club: https://robinsons.ru/lost-islands-2026/ (in Russian)
Italy, I. The United Nations Global Service Centre ARC (4U1GSC) in Brindisi is active as 4U29MAY until 31 May. QSL via 9A2AA. The special call sign honours the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (29 May). DXCC wise, it counts for Italy.
Italy, I. Franco, IZ5IUY will be active again as IL7/IZ5IUY from San Domino, Tremiti Islands (EU-050) from 20 June to 9 July. He will operate SSB on 40-6 metres, as well as on 144 MHz and 433 MHz. QSL via home call, bureau preferred.
Italy, I. Once again Vin, IK7IMO will participate in the IOTA Contest (25-26 July) as IB7V from San Pietro, Cheradi Islands (EU-073). He will operate SSB running high power. QSL via home call, direct or bureau.
Spain, EA. Georgette ON6AK/EA5HZC, Jean ON5JV/EA5HZB and members of the Radio Club Torrevieja (EC5RKT) will be active as EH5DEL and EH5ALB on 6 and 7 June during the Museum Ships Weekend. The stations will be installed on the “Delfin”, a submarine formerly in service with the Spanish Navy and the patrol boat “Albatros III”. See qrz.com for more information.
France, F. Once again, the Association des Radioamateurs de la Sarthe (F6KFI) will operate a special event station for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Look for TM24H between 30 May and 14 June, with activity on various bands and modes. QSL via F6KFI.
France, F. Marc, F6HQP will be active as F6HQP/p from Ile de Re (EU-032) between 21 and 26 June. He will operate SSB mainly on 40 and 20 metres (also on 15 and 10 metres, if propagation allows), typically during his morning and evening hours. QSL via the bureau and LoTW.
England, G. The BBC’s historic Long Wave (LW) service, broadcast on 198 kHz from the Droitwich transmitting station in England and its two Scottish sister stations (Westerglen and Burghead), will close for good at 00:00 UTC on 27 June. For more than 90 years, the service provided a vital voice that stretched across the entire UK and far into mainland Europe. To mark the end of an era in British broadcasting, four special call signs will be activated between 21 and 27 June:* GB1500M by members of the RSGB and the BBC Amateur Radio Group from any of the seven British DXCC Entities;
* GB198END by the Moray Firth ARS (Scotland);
* GB198KHZ by the Stirling and District ARS (Scotland);
* GB198LW by the Cray Valley Radio Society (England).
QSL for all callsigns via M0OXO’s OQRS and LoTW. Full details are on https://rsgb.org/ (search for “BBC Long Wave Shutdown”).
Liechtenstein, HB0. Kasimir, DL2SBY will be active again as HB0/DL2SBY from Liechtenstein between 25 and 31 May. He will operate CW, SSB and digital on the HF bands with verticals and an inverted vee and on 6 metres with a 5-element yagi. QSL via LoTW, Club Log’s OQRS, or direct to home call.
Switzerland, HB9. Members of the Radio Amateur Club Swissair (HB9VC) will be active as HB200LF between 1 June and 31 July. The special callsign commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Favre, the Swiss engineer who in 1872 contracted to build the first Gotthard railway tunnel, the longest in the world at that time. QSOs will be up loaded to LoTW and Club Log; a certificate will be available (see www.qrz.com/db/HB200LF), but paper QSL cards will not be provided.
Finland, OH. Look for OH/DL2VFR, OH/DL4BBH and OH/DL4SVA to be active from Emasalo Island (EU-097) on 1 and 2 June and from Kaunissaari Island (EU-140) on 3 to 7 June. QSL via home calls, LoTW and Club Log.
Market Reef, OJ0. Markus, OH1MN and Juha, OH1LEG will be active as OJ0MN and OJ0Z, respectively, from Market Reef (EU-053) between 30 May and 6 June. They will operate mainly digital and SSB on various bands. QSL via home calls.
The Netherlands, PA. Dennis, PA2DK and Pim, PA5PR will be active as PC38EU from Texel Island (EU-038) on 24 to 26 July, including participation in the IOTA Contest. QSL via the bureau and LoTW. Outside the contest they will try and be active also on 6 metres.
Galapagos Islands, HC8. Edgar, K2IN will be active again as HC8M from San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands (SA-004) from 28 May to 2 June, with main activity during the CQ WW WPX CW Contest. QSL via M0OXO’s OQRS.
Canada, VE. Mike, VE2XB will be active again as VY0ZOO from Coral Harbour, Southampton Island (NA-007) between 21 May and mid-June. Usually, he operates SSB and CW on 40-10 metres in his spare time. QSL direct to home call.