Spirit of London Awards explained

Spirit of London Awards
Abbreviation:SOLA
Formation:2009
Type:Youth Awards and Youth Movement
Purpose:"To break the imbalance of the way young people are portrayed in the media by rewarding the best young people of the UK who often get ignored"
Headquarters:Cambridge House, London
Location:1 Addington Square London SE5 0HF
Region Served:England
Language:English
Leader Title:Managing Director
Leader Name:Gary Trowsdale
Parent Organization:Damilola Taylor Trust
Affiliations:Damilola Taylor, PlayStation, Barclays, Working Links, Choice FM, Candy Store, AEG, Rio Ferdinand, Kids Company, British Youth Council, Kiss 100 London, The Sun (United Kingdom), SB.TV, Endz 2 Endz Magazine
Website:spiritoflondonawards.com

The Spirit of London Awards is an awards ceremony that awards young people for their talent across London and the UK, in the arts, media, sport, campaigning and education. The project was created by the Damilola Taylor Trust[1] in 2009 as a way of addressing the imbalance young people are portrayed by the national media by creating a Community Oscars for young people to rival the MOBO Awards and the BAFTAs. SOLA is also a youth movement aimed at decreasing crime by young people, decreasing poverty and ensuring every young person reaches their potential. They do this by working in conjunction with the Greater London Authority, local government and Parliament.[2]

Supporters include David Cameron PM, Frank Warren, Leona Lewis, Brooke Kinsella, Noel Clarke, Diversity, Boris Johnson and Rio Ferdinand. It is supported by Barclays, The Sun, Team GB, Kiss 100, Working Links, PlayStation[3] and many other organizations[4] and companies.[5]

The first Spirit of London Awards was held on 27 November 2009, at the Alexander Palace in London.[6] The second awards took place 27 November 2010, at The O2 Arena IndigO2 in London. The 2011 awards took place at the Royal Albert Hall on 20 November 2011[7] and the 2012 awards took place on 10 December 2012 at The O2 Arena.

Before each awards night there is a reception at 10 Downing Street so the short-listed nominees can meet the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Prime Ministers to have greeted and congratulated the nominees so far are Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

Downing Street reception

Approximately two weeks before the awards night the three nominees in each category, the sponsors of the event and performers on the night get a chance to meet each other at 10 Downing Street before the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom delivers a speech.[8]

SOLA School Roadshow

Previous nominees along with a celebrity ambassador go to secondary schools all over London to speak to the students about their experiences. There is also a Q&A at the end when students can ask questions.

In 2012 the roadshow went to over 20 schools in London.[9]

Youth manifesto

In 2012 using the collection of ideas from 140 young ambassadors of SOLA and other young people around London's most disadvantaged areas a youth manifesto was created which delivers ideas on how the government can effectively engage young people in the UK. It was written by 23-year-old Oliver Hypolite-Bishop who also wrote Siobhan Benita's manifesto for the 2012 London mayoral election. It was presented to David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband on 29 November 2012.[10]

Award categories

Each category has three nominees shortlisted. (Sometimes one more is added in special circumstances.)

2012 awards

The awards ceremony on 10 December was held at The O2 Arena in Greenwich.[11] The hosts for this event were Emily Atack and Russell Kane; the confirmed line up performing on the night included Labrinth, Maverick Sabre, Stooshe, McFly, Noisettes, YolanDa Brown, Diversity and Angel.[12]

The submissions for each category this year averaged 3000 nominations.

The Spirit of London Awards will become the biggest ever youth event with an 8000-seater audience celebrating the young people of the UK.

2011 awards

The awards were held on 20 November 2011. The event was at The Royal Albert Hall[13] and was hosted by Stacey Solomon and Eddie Kadi.

Performers on the night included Tinchy Stryder, Beverley Knight, DJ Fresh, Diversity and Keri Hilson.

Class of 2011

Achievement through music

Achievement through education

Achievement through media

Community champions

Young business entrepreneur

Achievement through the arts

Achievement through sport

Young hero

Achievement through fashion

Young campaigner of the year

London legend

2010 awards

The awards were held 27 November 2010. This year's event was held at the IndigO2 in Greenwich, and was hosted by Tamar Hussan (Clash of the Titans) and Tasha Danvers (Olympic bronze medalist in 400m hurdles).

The supporting cast included such acts as Toploader, Roll Deep, Labrinth, Robbie Craig, Diversity, and Alexandra Burke.

Class of 2010

2009 awards

In attendance were distinguished celebrities such as Sir Michael Caine, JLS, Tasha Danvers, and Tamar Hassan, the majority of the mayors from the 33 London boroughs, senior executives from various sponsors, and notable government officials.[15]

The show was hosted by Brooke Kinsella and Lemar. There were performances by Alexandra Burke, DJ Ironik, and Diversity to name but a few who gave their time for free to celebrate the young people.

Class of 2009

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Taylor Employment Trust | Youth Employment Service . Damilolataylortrust.com . 2015-12-18.
  2. Web site: Luke Jacobs . Youngsters shortlisted in annual Spirit of London Awards – Politics . London 24 . 2015-12-18.
  3. Web site: SB.TV x Spirit of London Awards in association with PlayStation – VIP event giveaway competition – SBTV. Sbtv.co.uk. 18 August 2016. 26 November 2012.
  4. Web site: Tickets | Find, Win & Buy – CAPITAL Xtra . Choice-fm.co.uk . 2015-12-18.
  5. Web site: Spirit of London awards . Workinglinks.co.uk . 2015-12-18.
  6. Web site: Mayor praises young achievers at Spirit of London Awards. 1 December 2012 . london.gov.uk. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120824100630/http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/mayor-praises-young-achievers-spirit-london-awards . 24 August 2012 .
  7. Web site: Royal Albert Hall provides the Hall free of charge for Spirit of London Awards. 1 December 2012 . royalalberthall.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111110104948/http://www.royalalberthall.com/press/pressreleases/release.aspx?id=18882 . 10 November 2011 .
  8. Web site: Spirit of London Awards Reception at 10 Downing Street. pictures.metro.co.uk. 18 August 2016.
  9. Web site: E2E.TV: SOLA 2012 Inspire Roadshow – Lilian Baylis School. Endz2endz.com. 18 August 2016. 9 November 2012.
  10. Web site: Oliver hypolite-bishop . Race,Sports and Politics: A little introduction . Oliverbishop.blogspot.co.uk . 2012-07-21 . 2015-12-18.
  11. Web site: Spirit of London Awards (SOLA) 2012 . UGCY . 2015-12-18.
  12. Web site: Sola 2012. Official website. 18 August 2016.
  13. Web site: Recent Events – Spirit of London Awards. 1 December 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120124164443/http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/spirit-of-london-awards/default.aspx. royalalberthall.com. 24 January 2012 .
  14. Web site: Spirit Of London Awards 2011. 1 December 2012. kissfmuk.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121013011606/http://www.kissfmuk.com/2011/10/12/sola-video/ . 13 October 2012 .
  15. Web site: Spirit of London Awards. 1 December 2012 . lbhf.gov.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100502175634/http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Spirit_of_London_Awards.asp . 2 May 2010 .

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