Hebden Bridge social entrepreneur invited to Eurovision celebration at 10 Downing Street

The event took place a few days before the Grand Final of the Eurovision, which the UK hosted in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine.

Guests included, Sandie Shaw - the first British act to win Eurovision in 1967, representatives from the Eurovision cultural programme in Liverpool, members of the Ukrainian community and Points of Light winners.

Emma Baylin founded 'Shared Harmonies' in 2013, providing programmes to bring people together in the shared act of singing to boost their health and wellbeing, working particularly with people affected by cancer, poor mental health, living with dementia, Parkinson’s, Long Covid, or respiratory conditions such as COPD.

Guests at the Downing Street celebration were encouraged to wear Eurovision themed sparkly clothing. Downing Street was adorned with disco balls, lights and and Ukrainian and Union Flags

The Prime Minister welcomed guests and introduced Ruslana to the stage, Ukraine’s first Eurovision winner, who performed her entree from 2004 for attendees.

Emma said: "Receiving the award was a real honour, as was this invitation to visit Downing Street. The last few years have been tough in many ways for many people but I have been determined to keep connecting people, creating a sense of community and improving people's wellbeing.

“Music and singing are such powerful tools for uniting people as we have seen with Eurovision.

“Thirty years experience of working to transform thinking, actions and outcomes in companies and communities has shown me just how valuable and important this work is.

"At Shared Harmonies, we pride ourselves on creating situations in which people can flourish and thrive, we continued to do this throughout the pandemic and our company has grown as result. Evidence shows, that when we come together through singing, we make a real impact on people's wellbeing and sense of belonging. Our experience and participant feedback demonstrate this to be true in corporations and communities.

“We are excited to continue to expand our community and workplace services to create positive impact in even more lives."