South Manchester’s Everycolour project is helping football’s anti-discrimination campaign, Kick It Out, mark their 25th anniversary season. John Conibear highlights how each of the Trust’s schools is playing its part in spreading the word about inclusion.
Last year, Everycolour was proud to be a finalist in the Inclusion category of the Northwest Football Awards. One year later and our choir, featuring singers from Didsbury CE, Cavendish and Broad Oak, opened the awards evening itself – singing our very own Kick It Out song!
Being shortlisted as a finalist in 2017 was an encouraging recognition of the project, acknowledging the creative and insightful contributions of young people when given a voice to celebrate diversity.
The Awards performance rounded off a busy year for the Everycolour project, which has seen choirs record the Kick It Out song at West Didsbury CE and perform at The Etihad. Our London choir even sang at Wembley.
The Everycolour Choir was also privileged to be one of the invited collective choirs leading the finale at Manchester Together in May, marking the first anniversary of the Arena bombing. Thousands gathered in Albert Square for a mass singalong as a united act of remembrance for those killed in the attack after the Ariana Grande concert in 2017.
Positioned right in front of the main stage, pupils from St Wilfrid’s CE and Pike Fold enjoyed a feast of choir music before helping to lead the last half hour of the concert. Along with other invited choirs, they sang their hearts out to hits from Elbow, Oasis and Ariana Grande.
Earlier in the month, the two schools had combined to get our 2018 summer campaign off to a brilliant (if damp) start on Manchester City’s Blue Carpet at the Etihad. Performing our England anthem ‘Dare To Dream’, the event began a series of activities as we followed England at the World Cup in Russia.
Pupils from St Wilfrid’s and Pike Fold joined Broad Oak as they created another fantastic Everycolour Blog – showcasing their brilliant creativity and talent as they supported England and called out all forms of discrimination. The schools also took part in the Everycolour Quiz at the National Football Museum, the Everycolour 7-a-side Tournament, hosted by Broad Oak, and our fifth Everycolour Commentating Competition, judged this year by ITV’s lead commentator Clive Tyldesley.
2019 promises to be another exciting year as we spread the word with our Kick It Out song in primary schools and follow England at both the Women’s World Cup and the Nations League Finals.
Find out more about the project and enjoy the Kick It Out song at everycolour.co.uk
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