Today, Wednesday, July 1, is International Reggae Day, a celebration of the reggae genre, culture, and lifestyle which originated in Jamaica.

To commemorate IRD, Jamaica’s leading reggae radio station, IRIE FM continues to put the genre to the fore. Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, Dancehall, and Gospel IRIE FM celebrates the Best of Creative Jamaica with its global audience of music lovers.

The aim of its founder, Andrea Davis, is to create a yearly global reggae party on July 1. The idea for International Reggae Day came to her following a speech by Winnie Mandela who talked about the inspiration reggae music gave to the people of South Africa in their fight against apartheid.

This motivated Andrea Davis to launch the first International Reggae Day in 1994.

Jamaicans and people around the world are invited to participate in the ILOVEJA campaign by wearing their Reggae colours, listen to Reggae, log on to the IRD website, drink a Red Stripe, donate to a Jamaican charity and plant a tree.