Bristol Young Heroes Awards 2020 goes virtual and invites the whole city for a huge night of pride and celebration
For the first time in its seven-year history, the awards night for the Bristol Young Heroes Awards 2020 will be open for the whole of Bristol and beyond to enjoy – and the organisers hope it will be their biggest awards night ever.
The annual awards were originally set up by the Mayor of Bristol to help showcase and celebrate young people who have overcome adversity to achieve greatness or gone above and beyond to make a positive difference in their community. Each year, an awards night takes place, usually in the spring, for the young people and their family and friends to enjoy a special evening supporting by local celebrities, businesses and political leaders, and find out if they’ve won one of the nine awards.
This year’s awards night was originally scheduled for May 1st, taking place at We the Curious with around 300 guests. The pandemic meant that organisers Community of Purpose had to delay, with the hope of being able to put the event on later in the year. With restrictions continuing, they have taken the decision to move the event online and open it up for everyone to come along to.
Amy Kington, CEO of Community of Purpose, said: “These awards have become an absolute highlight of the year. We were so disappointed not to be able to give these incredible young people the night they deserve, so we’ve taken the decision to create the most amazing virtual awards night instead.
“Anyone who has ever attended it before will tell you how emotional and uplifting it is – the stories of the young nominees and their achievements are inspirational. So, we have decided to throw open our virtual doors and invite the whole of Bristol and beyond to join us for this truly special night and share in celebrating our young award winners. We’re aiming for it to be our biggest awards night ever.”
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said: “I’m delighted that the Bristol Young Heroes Awards is able to take place virtually this year. Whilst it’s a shame that the wonderful young heroes will not get the chance to meet together in person, hosting the event online does present a fantastic opportunity for the whole city to join in and celebrate the outstanding achievements of these special young people. I would encourage anyone who loves Bristol to register for a free ticket and make sure you’re watching the awards on 16th December.”
The virtual awards night will take place on Wednesday 16th December from 7.30-9.30pm and will be streamed to anyone with the registration link. As well as revealing the winners of the eleven awards, there will be entertainment during the evening from a number of music acts and performers, of which more details will be released over the next few weeks. Some of Bristol’s most well-known names will also be in attendance and presenting awards to the young winners, including Bristol actor Joe Sims and BBC Bristol presenter Emma Britton.