On Sunday, some of Hollywood's most famous and successful stars used the BAFTA red carpet.to highlight an important cause, British Academy Film Awards held on Sunday (February 19) at Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
Jamie Lee Curtis, Sophie Turner, Cate Blanchett, Paul Mescal, and Angela Bassett were among the celebrities who wore blue ribbons to show their support for refugees and displaced people worldwide.
What Is The Meaning Of Blue Ribbon?
The blue #WithRefugees ribbon programme aims to send a strong visual message that everyone has the right to seek safety, whoever, wherever, whenever.
An Important Cause Of Wearing Blue Ribbon
The ribbon represents an extremely important cause, after sudden earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, killing nearly 44,000 people and displacing thousands more. Since Russia invaded Ukraine approximately 8 million people have been displaced in February 2022.
The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, invited stars on the BAFTA red carpet to wear the ribbon as a “emblem of compassion and solidarity” for those who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, conflict, or oppression.
According to the UNHCR, more than 103 million people are forcibly displaced around the world.
💫 The stars were shining blue tonight!
Thank you to our Goodwill Ambassadors Cate Blanchett, @YusraMardini, and @GuguMbathaRaw for wearing a UNHCR blue ribbon at the #BAFTAs. Your support for refugees everywhere means the world. pic.twitter.com/t7KThVixXD
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) February 19, 2023
What Celebrities Said About Wearing Blue Ribbon?
Cate Blanchett, an Australian actress known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and stage, and has received numerous honours, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, said, “What I love about film is the way it draws us into compelling human themes to uncover the connective tissue that binds us all. Whenever I have met refugees – in places such as Lebanon, Jordan or Bangladesh, here in the UK, or back home in Australia – what has struck me has not been their “otherness” but how many things we share in common”.
Yasra Mardini wore the ribbon and said, “It’s really incredible to see so many artists wear a blue ribbon tonight in solidarity with refugees and displaced people around the world. Especially right now after the recent earthquakes in Turkey and my home country of Syria. My people – and so many others – are hurting. They need our support. We all need peace.”
In addition, Gugu Mbatha-Raw said: “This ribbon is a symbol of our solidarity to all those who have been forced to flee their homes whoever they are and wherever they have come from.”
Jamie, a supporting actress nominee, said to PA about her decision to wear the #WithRefugees ribbon, “My friend Cate Blanchett is asking people to remind us all in the midst of all the season of shiny things that of course there are terrible refugee crises going on all over the world everywhere all at once and we need to do our part.”
