Radio Caroline was founded in 1964 and defied the authorities broadcasting from ships until 1991, when the Ross Revenge was shipwrecked off the Kent coast.
The award comes 50 years after the station was rendered an illegal – or pirate – station under the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act.
The legendary pirate radio station will host a special three-day broadcast to mark its 60th anniversary.
It started with a frequency number and a track by the Rolling Stones (Not Fade Away).
But while much is known of the DJs who became household names, what of the man who put the station on air?
“There are not many people in Sweden who can tell their grandchildren that they were a pirate.”
Ove Sjöström, now in his 70s, is one of the few who can.