“Through the extraordinary will of the community… things began to change, and the tide began to turn.”
– Stephen Fry, at the British LGBT Awards 2019.
Along with the rest of the world, we’ve been closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation as it evolves.
Each day brings more information and new developments, and we understand that this makes it a confusing time – but we’re staying positive!
The British LGBT Awards’ top priority will always be the safety and wellbeing of our guests and staff, so following Government guidelines and the recent advice by Public Health England, that people with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, diabetes or HIV should isolate for a period of 12 weeks, we’ve taken the decision to move the ceremony date by a few months.
This means that we can keep voting open for a little longer, giving you more time to make sure your favourite celebrity, charity, or online influencer goes home with the Award.
The event will still take place at the iconic Brewery and we’ll be keeping a weekly blog with any new updates right here.
Having spent the last ten months preparing for the Awards, the prospect of having to wait a little longer before we can come together as a community is disappointing, but it will make the celebration all the more impactful.
In the meantime, we know many of you are working from home or already self-isolating, and wanted to share the following links and suggestions to keep busy and stay connected:
- Keep fit with Top 10 Charity or Community Initiative, Goal Diggers Football Club, who are running a Keepie Uppie #IsolationChallenge on their Instagram stories
- Watch a URL gig! Musicians like L Devine, Christine & The Queens, and Yungblud are streaming live performances for everyone at home
- Make your way through this list of LGBT+ films currently available on streaming platforms
- The BBC has announced plans for programming, including a daily educational show for those with children. New streaming platform Hopster also provides LGBT+ inclusive content for children.
- Binge-watch comedian Mae Martin’s new show Feel Good, which airs on Channel 4 at 10pm tonight and 10:30pm on All4
- If you’re near National Trust land, they are opening previously ticketed parklands and gardens for free
- Unmuted has put together this timeline of online activity to support queer people of colour
- And you can learn more about past British LGBT Awards winner Dustin Lance Black, with #MeetTheWriters
As one of the few companies working within the LGBT+ community, we know that our community responds to crisis with resilience, a strong will and positivity.
Stay safe, stay hopeful and keep planning your outfits for this year’s British LGBT Awards!