HELLO! held its annual Inspiration Awards in an extremely special ceremony to commend inspirational figureheads across the UK. Held at the Corinthia London in association with Childsplay Clothing on Tuesday, Editor-in-chief Rosie Nixon welcomed a whole host of celebrities to present and pick up awards in front of star-studded guests including Rochelle Humes, Harris Reed, Vick Hope and many more.
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The moving event began with a pause and reflect moment for one of the magazine's biggest inspirations, Queen Elizabeth II. Soprano Natalie Rushdie, wife of Salman Rushdie's son Zafar, captivated the audience with a stunning rendition of Sting's chart hit Fields of Gold whilst a montage of Her Majesty played on the screens in the background.
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The HELLO! Inspiration Awards was created to highlight people - both famous and not - whose talents have empowered and inspired others during the last 12 months.
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Winners included Dame Kelly Holmes, who was presented with the Trailblazer of the Year award. The 52-year-old Olympian, who recently announced she is gay, was honoured for leading the way for others, especially those in the military.
"Firstly HELLO!, thank you so much for this award," she said when accepting the award. "When I was 14 I was inspired by the army and I thought my destiny was to be an Olympian, but now my purpose is to make a difference to those who don't have a voice.
"Recently I've met a huge amount of people from the military and LGBT community that are still suffering from the barriers of society. I'm no different to the person you cheered on in the Olympics but now I can finally be me."
Dame Kelly Holmes won the Trailblazer of the Year award
She added: "I can't explain how much it's changed me as a person. I feel I can come to these events and not have a wall up and be in fear, normalise the conversation that everybody deserves to be who they want to be."
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The England women's national football team - the Lionesses - were named Role Models of the Year for their extraordinary win at this year's Euro where they beat Germany 2-1 in extra-time.
Anita Rani and Rochelle Humes with Kelly
England Caption Leah Williamson told the crowd: "Thank you so much for recognising our achievement this summer. We hope that young women have no limit to what they can achieve and be inspired by what they've seen."
British-American Fashion designer Harris Reed won this year's Fashion Game Changer in association with HELLO! Fashion Monthly."I think today really reflects strong powerful women, and I'd like to dedicate this to them, my mum and my brand director," he told the audience. "I still feel like I’m living in a dream every day."
All the winners at this year's Inspiration Awards
The 2022 Change-Maker of the Year was handed to 23-year-old Vee Kativhu - one of the most inspiring young women of the younger generation. Vee's good friend Malala Yousafzai also pre-recorded a beautiful message for the event.
In her message, Malala shared: "When Vee came to the UK from Zimbabwe as a child, she did not speak English, struggled in school, and did part-time jobs to support her family. Yet with all the odds stacked against her, she succeeded. She received her undergraduate degree from Oxford, a Master's from Harvard and was recently accepted to do her PhD programme.
"She has taken hundreds and thousands of young people on this journey with her, through her YouTube channel, helping disadvantaged students on how to prepare them for their exams, apply for colleges and do well in their studies." The 25-year-old added: "Congratulations to my friend and Change-maker of the Year."
Frankie Bridge presented the #HelloToKindness award
The Community of the Year was given to jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas MBE, who set up the nationwide initiative Brilliant Breakfast to support disadvantaged young women over the last year. So far the Brilliant Breakfast has raised over £1.17 million for the Prince’s Trust with money going to help 377,000 young women.
The Star Mum award - voted for by HELLO! readers - was won by Kelly Stevens - a woman who stepped in to foster her own cousin when her aunt's addiction issues were going to force him into adoption. Now a single mother, Kelly is an inspiration by running her own salon, has run the London Marathon in aid of the British Heart Foundation and won the category by a landslide.
The founders of Paul's Place
The HELLO! To Kindness Award - also voted for by HELLO! readers - was presented to Kath Devlin and Agnes and Joe Williams, the founders of Paul's Place, a fantastic grassroots charity providing help and support for families who have been affected by suicide.
Frankie Bridge was on hand to present the award, and fought back tears as she reflected on her own experience with mental health: "It's a massive honour for me to be here today as someone who has suffered from mental health my whole life and having those moments of thinking about ending their life.
Star Mum winner Kelly Stevens with her award
"To have people there to help you with that can make a massive difference. So many people, especially with what's to come, need people like this. Congratulations, it's so deserved."
There was also a special moment when the late Dame Deborah James was honoured with the Divine Inspiration Award. Her mother Heather came to the awards to accept the recognition. Presenter Gaby Roslin asked the audience to get up and dance to Beyonce's Single Ladies in honour of the late broadcaster, who loved dancing.
Davina McCall won the Inspiration of the Year award
"I just want to say thank you so much, I wish Deborah could be here to receive it," said mum Heather said when accepting the award, while Deborah's dad Alastair remarked: "Deborah loved a good lunch, conversation, good wine and Vee you would have been someone she would have loved to have talked to.
"Debs was an educator through her teaching, podcasting and writing and that comes down to everything... Thank you to all the people who helped her platform.
"Natalie had one of the toughest gigs you could have and sang twice at her funeral. Fields of Gold was played as she left the church, thank you, it was lovely to hear it again today."
The Inspiration Awards were held at Corinthia London
He continued: "Know your bodies, you're in charge of them, you speak for your body, you push and push. Enjoy life, live life and love. Have no regrets. Talking about Deborah's 3am chats with her mum, heartbroken Alastair added: "She said, 'Mum you know I don't want to die, but you know I've had a good life.' Have no regrets and live with rebellious hope, thank you."
The finale to the event was the presentation of the 2022 Inspiration of the Year award to Davina McCall, who received special recognition for all her hard work fighting for women going through the menopause.
A special thanks to all our sponsors
"Thank you to all the warriors who were there before me," the TV presenter said. "I don't know how I ended up being this person, I'm just pleased that what I'm doing helps. If I tell one woman, they will tell 20 women. The power of women helping each other is unparalleled. I feel so unworthy. I'm just going to keep doing this until you get bored of me."
Special thanks from HELLO! to all sponsors including Rob Van Helden flowers, Jaguar and Laurent Perrier Champagne. Also thank you to Great Scotland Yard Hotel, 111Skin, Paul Mitchell, Medeau Fragrances, REN, Environ, Advanced Nutrition Programme, The White Company, Germaine de Capuccini, Holland & Barrett and UKLASH.
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