Part 1 of our coverage of the 2024 Child of Wales Awards.
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00:00Shumai and Croeso, tonight we celebrate the incredible achievements of some of the bravest,
00:22most talented and resilient young people in our country at the 2024 Child of Wales Awards.
00:28That's right James, it's an absolute privilege to be here for such a special event where
00:33we get to shine a light on young Welsh heroes. Their stories of perseverance, creativity
00:38and selflessness are nothing short of extraordinary and tonight it's all about them.
00:42And what a night it's going to be. Not only will we hear about these amazing individuals
00:46but we'll also be treated to performances by some of the biggest stars including the
00:51incredible Beverley Knight MBE and Grammy winner Amy Watts.
00:55This event wouldn't be possible without the support of so many from the generous sponsors
00:59to the judges who had the tough task of choosing our winners from hundreds of deserving nominations.
01:05It's because of your dedication that we're able to celebrate these young champions.
01:10So sit back, get ready to be inspired and let's meet the next generation of leaders
01:14and changemakers right here at the 2024 Child of Wales Awards.
01:25La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
01:55I will see you through, I'll be there for you
02:01You've been told what life has in store
02:06And now, at the end that you're free
02:13Love will stand where all else goes
02:19Love will stand where all else goes
02:26Love will stand where all else goes
02:41In Brazil
02:43Ah, ah, ah
02:57Raise your voice, lift it up to heaven
03:04♪ Raise your voice, spread it across the sky ♪
03:11♪ Let's declare it loud and clear, let the world rejoice ♪
03:17♪ Raise your word, raise your cheer, raise it to the stratosphere ♪
03:24♪ Raise your strength, raise your spirit, raise it so the angels hear it ♪
03:30♪ Raise your love, raise your song ♪
03:36♪ Raise it up, let it ring, let it ring, let it ring, let it ring ♪
03:52♪ I'm in a fever, the spotlight shines, the storm's on me on the stage ♪
04:00♪ They'll put me dressed with a mighty gun, and I'm ready to stand, baby ♪
04:09♪ Look at me, can't you see, I'm fabulous, baby ♪
04:16♪ We're right here in the field where I'm heading to ♪
04:22♪ Run, run, run, run, I'll get us there, oh, oh, go, oh, there we go, on my way! ♪
04:30♪ I'm fabulous, baby, I'm fabulous, baby, yes, I'm fabulous, baby ♪
04:39Nobody but me
05:09Hello, happiness, goodbye, loneliness Tonight we'll swing to the morning light
05:15Come on over, you're all invited to see
05:22Hello, happiness, goodbye, loneliness Tonight we'll swing to the morning light
05:28Come on over, you're all invited to see
05:34Oh, baby, dance with me Oh, baby, dance with me
05:54Raise your voice
06:04It's my favourite night of the year, it's actually my third year presenting the awards this year
06:16and I keep coming back because you're just surrounded by incredible young people
06:21Every year I sit down in the week and I read the stories and I watch the videos and I'm in absolute bits
06:26but I always realise it's not tears of sorrow or sadness
06:30it's actually tears of joy, of inspiration
06:33What I can never get my head around is people so young are able to take on so much adversity
06:39and then turn that into something positive in that community
06:42and that's what tonight celebrates
06:44Was there anything in particular that stood out to you, that really touched you?
06:47It's like there's 13 awards tonight and they're so inspirational and they're all right
06:52but so different in the same way
06:55The judges have had to whittle this down from thousands of nominees around the country
07:00My job tonight is easy, I just announce the winner
07:03but for them, how do you do that?
07:05All the nominees have been given their merits and certificates in school
07:09to give them their moment of achievement
07:12and then we whittle it down tonight
07:14but actually these 13 winners this evening, they represent so much more than themselves
07:18they'll be the first to admit that
07:20There's no way I can pick anyone out, I just know it's going to be one heck of a night
07:25Joseph is my son, he was three years old when he passed away with cancer
07:30it was a very high risk cancer
07:33and he only had it for nine months before he relapsed and sadly passed away
07:37but we were raising money, a lot of money, a quarter of a million
07:40for a cancer vaccine in New York
07:43and that was our only regret, the time we didn't have with Joseph before he passed away
07:47because we were so busy fundraising
07:49so we co-founded the charity Joseph Smile
07:52so that we can help other families who are in the same position
07:55so any family who are trying to fund any equipment or treatment that's not available on the NHS
08:01we're there to support
08:02One of our patrons, the incredibly talented Steve Balsamo
08:06he and Tim Hamill co-wrote a stunning song for Joseph
08:11called Never Alone, a song for Joseph
08:14Steve and Tim and the Black Mountain Voices are playing it
08:17performing it here tonight and it's going to be incredibly special
08:21the song is about grief, it's about hope
08:23and it's a real incredible tool for us as a charity to use as a platform
08:27to raise critical awareness of childhood cancer
08:30Music to me, and some of the stories I'm hearing tonight
08:35I was listening to young Tommy who's our sporting hero
08:40you know, they're symbiotic, they just go together
08:44When you want to celebrate something wonderful
08:47what do you do? You use music
08:49because it is that universal language that says so much
08:53with just a few notes, rearranged in different ways
08:57and I think it's so important to have that celebratory aspect to any awards ceremony
09:05you know, bookmarking it by some kind of a musical performance
09:09that kind of just is the cherry on the cake to what these kids are doing
09:14My name is Kellen and I'm 10 years old
09:17Kellen is a real community champion in West Wales
09:21so when lockdown started, Kellen told us she was really sad
09:24because if someone fell over or someone hurt themselves
09:27she couldn't do anything to help them
09:30and she really wanted to do something to help people
09:34and that was how her first idea of planting flowers
09:39and giving them out to the community started
09:42and we started planting pumpkins and cucumbers
09:46and all these different plants
09:49to help people who were allergic to specific plants
09:53so they couldn't go outside much
09:55they could just pop these little plants on the windowsill
09:58and they'd grow as long as they watered them
10:01So after the sunflowers were planted
10:03and we were watching a TV show called Shop Class
10:07and they were building little free libraries
10:09Kellen saw that and straight away said
10:12I want us to do that, I want us to build one of those
10:14and we said, OK, let's do it
10:16She was the driving force behind it, the architect
10:20I am now the CEO of Kelly's Free Plants
10:24and the Little Shop Flower Library
10:27We've got around 1,000 books in our dining room right now
10:30There is literally no space in the dining room for us all to sit and eat there
10:35I'm part of a medieval reenactment group up in North Wales
10:38My parents started it in the 1980s
10:40and every year we donate money to charity
10:43With our first project with the sunflower library
10:45she wanted to raise money
10:47and the air ambulance was visible from our house anyway
10:51because it circles around
10:53so she decided to donate to them
10:56In 2020, Kellen undertook a 2.6 mile walk
11:01whilst handing out her free sunflowers on the way
11:04to raise money for the Welsh Air Ambulance
11:07Kellen started to bake shortbread
11:10and giving the proceeds from selling that shortbread to family and friends
11:14to the local food banks
11:16but when she told us that she wanted to raise money for the food bank
11:20with the shortbread, it was so lovely
11:22And Daddy always helped me bake the shortbread
11:26because he's got a really nice recipe
11:29Kelly's Free Plants and the Little Sunflower Library
11:33has just entered its fifth season
11:35and despite setbacks due to vandalism
11:37is still going strong
11:40What an inspiring start to the evening
11:42We've already met some incredible young people
11:44and we're just getting started
11:46But don't go anywhere
11:48we've got so much more in store
11:50Join us after the break as we continue celebrating
11:52the extraordinary stories of Wales' brightest stars