Spirit of London Awards

Fondly referred to as the Community Youth Oscars, this annual event took place between 2009-2012 and celebrated the positive achievements of young people with a special awards ceremony.

The aim of the Spirit of London Awards (SOLA) was to address the negative way that young people are portrayed in the media. By putting the spotlight on the vast majority of young people who make the right decisions, it was hoped that SOLA would take some of the media focus away from the negative actions of the minority.

As part of SOLA, young people could be nominated for an award in a range of different categories including the Community Champions Award, the London Legend Award and the Young Heroes Award.

In 2009, the event was hosted at Alexandra Palace with an audience of 700. It then grew in popularity with 2000 people attending the event at the Indigo O2 in 2010, followed by 5000 people attending the Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011. In 2012, the event was staged at the O2 Arena with 10,000 people.