YolanDa Brown OBE and The Voice UK 2018 winner Ruti Olajugbagbe named among Young Voices Foundation’s newly appointed team of ambassadors

18 January 2024 - Press release

 

• The BPI Chair and The Voice UK winner will be joined by Board Director of the Ivors Academy, Anna Phoebe, and Vice President Venue Programming - The O2 and Europe at AEG, Emma Bownes
• The 2023 Young Voices programme delivered £56.5 million in social value and £10 million of economic impact in turnover across four UK cities
• Music stars Alexandra Burke, Gary Barlow, Katherine Jenkins, Katie Melua, Lemar and Tony Hadley have all taken to the stage with Young Voices choirs 

 

Young Voices, the organisers of the world’s largest children’s choir, has named four music industry professionals as ambassadors to the Young Voices Foundation charity. The new role has been established to support the Foundation’s mission to increase the inclusion of children in music, particularly in more deprived areas of the UK. Emma Bownes, Vice President Venue Programming – The O2 and Europe at AEG; YolanDa Brown OBE, musician, broadcaster and chair of the BPI; Anna Phoebe, Board Director of the Ivor’s Academy; and Ruti Olajugbagbe, winner of The Voice UK 2018, will work with the Foundation and support Young Voices in its efforts to encourage young people’s early engagement with music as the fans, workforce and talent of the future.

Each of the ambassadors brings a wealth of experience, from a diverse range of backgrounds spanning the live and recorded music sectors, which will help Young Voices deliver on its aspirations for young people in music. In 2024, Young Voices is embarking on the most ambitious programme in its 28 years, with 30 concerts planned across the UK and three in New York, giving 200,000 young people - including 700 new schools – the chance to perform live sold out shows in some of the world’s biggest arenas.

Ben Lewis, CEO of Young Voices, said: "By bringing together this team of influential and passionate ambassadors, we want to highlight to our industry the value of giving children access to music from a young age. Not only does it bring important life skills to young people, it is a critical step towards ensuring a healthy pipeline of music talent – and indeed the fans and creative workforce – for the future. I hope that 2024 will be the year where we can strengthen our relationships with the music industry and work collaboratively to protect and preserve the UK’s defining status as a musical nation.”

YolanDa Brown OBE, Chair of the BPI said: “Music has the incredible power to bring joy, confidence and a sense of belonging to children’s lives. Young Voices has been at the forefront of inspiring young hearts through music and I am excited to champion their remarkable work. Together, we will continue to break down barriers and ensure that every child has access to the transformative experience of music and singing. Let’s raise our voices and make a difference in the lives of our future generations.”

Anna Phoebe, Board Director of The Ivors Academy, commented: "We are thrilled to be working with Young Voices to ignite the spark of creativity in over 200,000 children across thousands of schools. By empowering them to express themselves through songwriting, I hope we inspire the next Harry Styles, Stormzy, Dua Lipa or Tim Minchin."

The Voice UK 2018 winner, Ruti Olajugbagbe, said: "It is inspiring to see young children discover their Voice and express their passion for music, particularly when they take to some of the country's largest stages to become stars for an evening. Participating in Young Voices allowed me to fulfil a childhood dream that began when I was eight. In 2007, my primary school participated in the programme, and it was during our show, when Beverley Knight performed, that I realised my desire to become a performer. Through Young Voices, I aim to inspire more young individuals like myself."

The announcement comes as Young Voices takes to the stage of the O2 arena tonight for the 77^th time; 9,000 young voices will sing together, led by educational rapper, MC Grammar, and British drumming prodigy Nandi Bushell, whose brother Thomas is performing in this year’s choir. In previous years, the young people have been joined by a host of music stars including Alexandra Burke, Gary Barlow, Katie Melua and Tony Hadley.

 

Record-breaking performances by the school children at The O2 have seen Young Voices presented with the prestigious keys to the arena, a rare honour awarded to mark the milestone of 21 performances at the venue. Only seven artists or performers have been inducted into the ‘21 Club’, including Prince, Drake, Take That, Michael McIntyre and Micky Flanagan. In 2022, The O2 named the ‘non-stage’ end of the arena ‘The Young Voices End’, with a plaque installed to commemorate the accolade.

 

Music brings tangible social and economic value at community level

Alongside the announcement of the new ambassadors, a report published today by Young Voices provides tangible evidence that engaging the UK's children in music at primary level delivers material social and economic value.

The new data shows that the Young Voices 2023 touring programme of 27 concerts, which brought together 175,000 children from 4,000 primary schools, delivered an almost 6x return in local economic impact across the host cities of Birmingham, London, Manchester and Sheffield and £56.6 million in social value. This is the equivalent of 19,000 people achieving five good GCSE results and 81,000 people going from physically inactive to physically active.

Every child who participated in the 2023 performances generated an average turnover of £72.19 in the local economy, with over £10 million generated for the host cities, driven by non-local attendee spend. On average, 72% of the concert goers had travelled from elsewhere, spending £2.3 million locally on food and drink, shopping, travel and accommodation. Out of the four host cities, Manchester benefited most from Young Voices concert goers, gaining from an almost 6x return on every £1 invested in the Young Voices concerts.

Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE commented: “A key objective for LIVE is to ensure that we continue to see new generations coming into the world of live music, as performers, crew and audience. When it comes to engaging with young people to show them the magic of live performance (while reminding their parents of the joys of gig-going), nobody is doing that better than Young Voices.”

The O2’s Emma Bownes, who has been a long term supporter of Young Voices and was recently appointed an ambassador, added: “As a venue I think it is incredibly important that we offer access and opportunity and give children a gateway to experience the joy and wonder of live music.”