Sunday Life Spirit of NI Awards

JComms has helped organise the Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards for our client Mediahuis since the awards began in 2009.

Spirit of NI celebrates the unsung heroes in Northern Ireland who have achieved extraordinary things. There are awards in areas including health, education, sport and charity.

After the lead singer of Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody picked up the Outstanding Contribution accolade in 2023 for his work on the Lightbody Foundation, the award was last year awarded to UTV presenter and long-standing host of the Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards, Pamela Ballantine MBE, for her work in raising awareness around breast cancer in Northern Ireland.

Some of Northern Ireland’s most famous faces attended to celebrate local heroes, including the First and deputy First Minister, James Nesbitt and the cast of Blue Lights, to name a few. Stars also flew across the Irish Sea to attend including Christopher Biggins, Kelly Holmes, Linda Robson and Debbie Magee as well as stars from Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

In addition to working for our client Mediahuis to organise the awards, we also look after the interests of our client Ulster Bank, the principal sponsor.

WHAT WE DO

Organising a highly successful launch, making it bigger and better year-on-year which includes liaising with winners, booking flights for relevant attendees, and organising the seating plan

Creating and managing a major campaign to drive entries, involving PR, media partnerships, activation, and influencer engagement

Managing the judging process and gathering information from shortlisted nominations

Organising the gala awards ceremony itself, which sees over 400 people attend at the Culloden Resort & Spa, celebrity attendance, media attendance, and performances from stars which in previous years have included Tony Christie, Thin Lizzy, D:Ream and Love Inc.

THE OUTCOME

Extensive coverage and engagement surrounding the awards across NI

A record number of nominations to the awards from across NI

A record attendance at the gala awards event

International media coverage after the event