WaterAid to host star-studded Christmas Concert in London

WaterAid is holding its first ever Christmas Concert this year at the beautiful St Mary Aldermary Church in London on Tuesday 10 December from 6:30pm.

Celebrities including Casualty actress Amanda Mealing, comedian Shappi Khorsandi, the Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson, comedian Helen Lederer and actress Joan Hodges will join the festivities by giving readings, while the stunning Some Voices Choir will lead the festive singing. 

Tickets cost between £15 and £35, plus booking fees. All proceeds go to support the charity’s Access Denied winter campaign, which aims to raise £2 million to transform lives around the world with clean water and decent sanitation.

WaterAid will also be celebrating the incredible support and work that has taken place over the past year to reach people with these vital services, and looking ahead to the opportunities in the year ahead to bring their vision of clean water and sanitation to everyone, everywhere by 2030.

The audience can expect to enjoy some favourite carols and Christmas songs, mulled wine as well as spiced Hot Chocolate and buñuelos, which are traditional seasonal treats enjoyed in Colombia, one of the countries WaterAid works in.  

Amanda Mealing, who visited our work in Ghana earlier this year, will be reading ‘Twas the night before Christmas’. 

Amanda said:
“WaterAid’s festive concert to raise money and awareness of the millions of people who have no access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene holds very special meaning for me. I’ve seen for myself the vital and life-changing - life-saving - work of WaterAid in Ghana and I will be holding all of the people I met there in my heart as we all raise our voices for change.”   

Sheila said:
“Creating music and singing together is such a powerful way of uniting people and bringing joy and I’m delighted to join WaterAid for their first ever Christmas Concert. We are going to sing out loud with our message that everyone, everywhere has access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Together we can make a difference.”

Helen Lederer, comedian, actress and writer who has starred in BBC sketch shows, will read ‘A Christmas Poem’.

Helen said:
“Let’s come together and raise the roof, remembering that many people around the world will not be sharing our festive joy – the millions who live without access to clean water. I am really looking forward to joining WaterAid at this fantastic festive event, together we can use our voices to make a real difference.”

Joan Hodges, an actress who in her early career was chosen by Frank Sinatra to appear in his film ‘The Naked Runner’, was married to the late Chas Hodges, a valued long-standing supporter of WaterAid. Joan will be reading ‘Whiskey Christmas Pudding’.

Joan said:
“Christmas concerts are the perfect way to get into the festive spirit. I am really excited to be celebrating the season with WaterAid at this special event, as we come together and use our voices to raise awareness for the thousands of people around the world who are denied access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.”

Rob Deering, a comedian, musician and a sought-after headliner on the stand-up circuit, will be reading 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'.

Find out more and buy tickets at https://www.wateraid.org/uk/get-involved/events/christmas-concert. 

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Eloise Reader, Media Team Assistant, [email protected] or +44 (0)207 793 5068, or Laura Crowley, PR manager, [email protected]  or +44 (0)207 793 4965. Or call our after-hours press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552 or email [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people with clean water and 26.3 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org/uk, follow @WaterAidUK or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or find WaterAid UK on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.

• 785 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.[1]
• 2 billion people in the world – almost one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]
• Around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]
• Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[4]
• Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.[5]

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[3] Prüss-Ustün et al. (2014) and The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2018)

[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage

[5] www.wateraid.org