Ed Sheeran Makes It A ‘Perfect’ Day For Kids At The Royal Albert Hall
Ed Sheeran dropped into the Royal Albert Hall to put on a special, intimate performance with young people at the West London Inclusive Arts Festival.
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The global superstar said it was “an honour” to join in a sing-and-sign performance of his song, Perfect, with youngsters aged four to 19 in the venue’s Elgar Room.
The performance on Wednesday afternoon was the climax of the West London Inclusive Arts Festival (WLIAF), hosted by the Royal Albert Hall in its Elgar Room, which showcases arts performances created by young people aged four to 19 who have moderate to profound learning difficulties.
Sheeran was mobbed as he entered the room. He told the crowd: “What a pleasure it is to come and see the work everyone is doing here. It’s a real honour to be on stage with these guys.” Performing Perfect, he encouraged audience members to light up the space with their phone torches, then orchestrated a mass sing-along for the final chorus, including not just the children on stage, but the parents, carers and teachers in the audience.
Afterwards, he told them: “Everything that the teachers, carers and students are doing here is amazing. Music is one of those things where everyone starts off at the same level, and the great thing about art is that there is no right or wrong. When I first started playing guitar, there was no right way for me to play a chord, there was no wrong way to play a chord, if it sounded good and I enjoyed it, that was what mattered.”
The WLIAF was the inspiration for the Cultural Inclusion Manifesto, developed in 2018 in response to a lack of access to artistic and cultural opportunities for disabled children and young people. The festival is supported by John Lyon’s Charity. To learn more, or to sign the petition, go to: culturalinclusion.uk/