Singer Georgi Mottram and former EastEnders star Jonny Labey will preside over this year’s gala evening at Le Manoir de Rooster on Thursday 23 September.
Ms Mottram, who is hosting the awards ceremony for the second time, said: ‘After the year we have had, it is as important as ever to celebrate the small and big wins in the Island, the acts of kindness, our unsung heroes, the everyday acts of compassion that haven’t gone unnoticed.
‘It is an honour to host Pride of Jersey for another year. It was one of the most uplifting and joyous nights of 2019 and I can’t wait to be involved and hear more wonderful stories from our Islanders.’
Jersey-born actor Jonny Labey, best known for playing Paul Coker in EastEnders, takes over from regular host, footballer Graeme Le Saux, who is unavailable this year.
Mr Labey, who is the subject of this week’s Saturday Interview on pages 10 and 11, said: ‘I was honoured to be asked. The Pride of Jersey Awards recognise Jersey talent, which is something about which I am massively passionate.’
He added: ‘I know Georgi from way back. We’ve been friends for a long while and she said: “Do you want to do it?” I immediately agreed.’
The awards have had to be postponed twice due to the pandemic.
As usual, the ceremony honours all the best examples of Jersey’s successes, selflessness, compassion and community spirit.
Since the awards were founded by the JEP six years ago, they have grown every year and this time they have again broken all records with a total of 36,887 votes cast for 153 nominees in 14 categories including teacher, neighbour, charity fundraiser, ambassador, environmentalist, grandparent, child, community champion and inspirational leader of the year.
JEP editor Andy Sibcy said: ‘We are delighted that Jonny has offered to give up his time to help us recognise and celebrate some truly inspirational Islanders at the Pride of Jersey Awards evening on 23 September.
‘He will be our host alongside Georgi, so we should be in for quite a night. This is also an opportunity for me to thank Graeme Le Saux, who has been one of our hosts for five years and who sadly cannot be with us this year.’
Mr Sibcy added: ‘We had to cancel the awards ceremony last year because of the pandemic, which makes this year all the more special and poignant.
‘Through the highs and lows of the past 18 months, we have seen our Island tested in a way unimaginable a short while ago. It has, however, also been a story of people coming together, supporting each other and going above and beyond for their community – the essence of Pride.
‘We look forward to announcing our winners on the night and subsequently in the paper, and I would like to thank all of our sponsors, and particularly our event sponsors Dandara, without whom we could not make this happen.’
