Bana Al-Abed - The 8 year old Syrian girl who captured the world’s attention documenting the Syrian crisis honoured in London with the Rising Star Award
 
Bollywood Icon Sridevi celebrated and honoured with posthumous Cinema Award
 
K-Pop boy-band stars BTS honoured with Outstanding Achievement in Music Award
 
World’s greatest Squash player Jahangir Khan honoured with Outstanding Achievement in Sport Award
 
British TV star Anita Rani honoured with Outstanding Achievement in Television Award

The Asian Awards returned for it’s 8th edition on Friday 27th April 2018 and once again honoured some of the world’s most outstanding and highest achieving individuals. The Asian Awards is a pioneering event that has quickly evolved into the most prestigious global acknowledgement of pan-Asian success across all walks of life, emphasising inspiring accomplishments and highlighting international role models in the fields of business, sport, entertainment, philanthropy and popular arts & culture.
 
This year The Asian Awards in partnership with Payswiff honoured Bana al-Abed with the Rising Star Award. When eight-year old Bana al-Abed took to Twitter to describe the horrors she and her family were experiencing in war-torn Syria, her heartrending messages touched the world and gave a voice to millions of children. Bana has since become known globally for her work to create awareness and direct attention towards the problems in her home, and earlier this year was invited to the Oscars to stand in support of children in war.
 
On collecting her award, Bana Al-Abed said: “It is my pleasure to be here with all of you tonight. I am happy that the voice of the Syrian children is being heard. This award is for all the children who lived in war. A child should have the right to live and grow up in peace and a child should have the right to education. I want to thank The Asian Awards for giving me this honour.”
 
Paul Sagoo, Founder of The Asian Awards, said: “The Asian Awards is an event which honours exceptional individuals who have captured the attention of the world. Bana al-Abed is a perfect example of exactly that and at only 8 years old she has bravely shared her perspective on one of the biggest humanitarian crises in history. I am so glad that she accepted our invitation to attend this year’s Asian Awards and collect the Rising Star Award in recognition of her resilience, unconquerable courage, and hope for herself and for other children around the world who are victims and refugees of war.”
 
The 8th Asian Awards paid tribute and honoured legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi, who’s passing earlier this year was a tragic loss to Indian cinema. The timeless actress, who is regarded as one of India’s most iconic stars rose to worldwide fame in the 80’s with several starring roles in films such as Himmatwala, Jaani Dost, Ghar Sansar, Mr India and many more. Winner of the prestigious Padma Shri and voted India’s Greatest Actress in 100 years in a national centenary poll in 2013, Sridevi receives the posthumous honour of Outstanding Achievement in Cinema at this year’s Asian Awards.
 
Paul Sagoo, Founder of The Asian Awards adds: “Sridevi was a remarkable figure in the Indian cinema industry. An icon on-screen, she was the greatest actress of her time in a golden generation for Indian cinema. Her untimely passing earlier this year reminded the world of her talent and sheer brilliance in her art and highlighted her iconic status. We are honoured to pay tribute to Sridevi and celebrate her astonishing career at the 8th Asian Awards.”
 
Award-winning British TV star Anita Rani picked up the Outstanding Achievement in Television and on collecting gave an impassioned speech about her ground-breaking broadcasting career thus far and representation in the media industry, closing: “Thank you to The Asian Awards, I’m going to use this to break more glass ceilings.”
 
Other winners on the night included legendary Pakistani squash player Jahangir Khan, Entrepreneur of the Year Sunny Varkey and Ramesh and Pratibha Sachdev who were awarded Philanthropist of the Year. Pratibha Gai picked up the Science and Technology Award for her pioneering work in electron microscopes, whilst Arundhati Bhattacharya, the first woman to chair the State Bank Of India, won Business Leader of the Year and Nepalese District Police Chief SP Kiran Bajracharya was honoured with the Public Servant of the Year Award. Finally Korean boy-band BTS, the K-Pop phenomenon who have conquered the globe in recent months and have a huge fan following worldwide, were awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award.
 
The Asian Awards was founded in 2010 to celebrate the outstanding achievements and excellence of pan-Asians across the globe. This year’s event is hosted once again by comic genius, and winner of the 2015 Outstanding Achievement in Television award, Sanjeev Bhaskar. The Asian Awards will partner with UK based charity One Family for the 2nd consecutive year.
 
The event will be attended by the who’s who of politicians, dignitaries, celebrities, industrialists and influencers from across all sectors. Previous winners include, Bruce Lee, Zayn Malik, Shah Rukh Khan, AR Rahman, Sachin Tendulkar, Jack Ma, Dr Amar Bose, Sir David Tang, Freddie Mercury, Kunal Nayyar and the late Ahmed Kathrada.
 
The Asian Awards in partnership with Payswiff was held on Friday 27th April at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
 
Ends
 
www.theasianawards.com
 
Instagram: TheAsianAwards
Twitter: @TheAsianAwards
#TheAsianAwards
 
For further press information and media accreditation requests,
please contact:
 
Samir Ahmed
[email protected]
07872 019 990

Rifco Theatre Company and Watford Palace Theatre present the British Asian Festival 2018 from 4th – 6th May 2018 at the Watford Palace Theatre. The festival includes Pinky & Preetho’s Comedy Night, a rehearsed performance of ‘Southall Park; fun bhangra sessions for children aged 2 – 6 years; craft workshops an afternoon Desi Tea; a screening of Hinglish Vinglish and performances of bittersweet comedy Pyar Actually by Rifco Associate Sukh Ojla, spoken word sessions with The Asian Writer and exhibitions by artists Mr A Singh and Dotty Art.


British Asian Festival Schedule
Friday, 4th May 2018 @8.30pm
Comedy: Pinky & Preetho’s Comedy Night
Tickets: £15 & £18 (Multi-event ticket discount available)
Masala Queens Pinky (Vedi Roy) and Preetho (Harvey Dhadda) return to Watford to host a night of comedy with a brilliant line-up of British Asian stand-up comedians including Sukh Ojla, Sunil Patel, Kai Samra, Ahir Shah and Sindhu Vee.
Friday 4th May @7pm
Southall Park
Tickets: £7.50
A rehearsed performance of a coming of age drama by Rifco Associate Amarjit Bassan.
Saturday 5th May 2018 @ 11am & 1.30pm
Bhangra Tots
Tickets: £10
Fun Bhangra sessions for children aged 2 – 6 years old with Sohan Kailey of Aashiyana Arts.
Saturday 5th May 2018 1pm & 1.30pm, Drop-in from 2pm
Family Crafts: The Make Escape
Tickets: £4
Filmi craft workshop with tutors Momtaz Begum-Hossain and Mia Vilcins from The Make Escape.
Saturday 5th May 2018 @6pm
Spoken Word: With Apples & Snakes
Tickets: _Pay What You Can
Performance poetry and spoken word company, Apples and Snakes presents an evening full of creativity with acclaimed and emerging British Asian talent. Hosted by Shagufta Iqbal and Sophia Thakur, there will be performances from Nafeesa Ahmed, Zia Ahmed, Ronak Patani, BananaSharma and Zahra Sheik.
Saturday 5th May 2018 4.30pm & 8pm
Theatre: Pyar Actually
Tickets: £14.50 (Multi-event discount available)
Due to popular demand, Sukh Ojla’s comedy about love and missed opportunities returns to Watford! Polly’s picture perfect life is interrupted when her first love Bali gets in touch 20 years later. Why is he back? Is it too late for second chances? And is love, actually, all you need?
Sunday 6th May 2018 11am
Literature: Short Stories with The Asian Writer
Tickets: Pay What You Can
Past finalists of The Asian Writer short story prize, Meera Betab, Mona Dash, Farhana Khalique, Shibani Lal and Jocelyn Watson, will be reading their winning stories and sharing their creative process.
Sunday 6th May 2018 12pm & 1.15pm
Food: Desi Tea
Tickets: £21 per person
Enjoy a unique afternoon tea experience at Watford Palace Theatre, surrounded by British Asian arts and culture with Desi Tea. They will be serving a delicious selection of sandwiches, cakes, scones, South Asian snacks and tea.
Sunday 6th May 2018 2.30pm
Film: English Vinglish
Tickets: £8 (Multi-event discount available)
In honour of Bollywood actress Sridevi. This light-hearted yet touching film follows the transformational journey of Shashi, as personal circumstances make her determined to overcome her insecurities, master English and become a self assured and confident woman.
4th May – 6th May 2018, 10am – 8pm
Exhibition: Mr A Singh
Free event
Award-winning creative director, artist and content creator MrASingh (aka Amrit Singh) will be displaying two collections of intricate mixed media art.
4th May – 6th May 2018, 10am – 8pm
Exhibition: Dotty Art
Free event
Harrow based artist Karun Soni will be exhibiting a selection of dotty art style oil paintings.
Rifco presents the British Asian Festival
Friday 4th May – Sunday 6th May 2018
Watford Palace Theatre, 20 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JZ
Nearest Stations: Watford Junction Station (National Rail) is a 20 minute journey from London Euston via West Midlands Trains. Watford High Street Station (Overground) is a 12 minute walk. Watford Station (Metropolitan line) is a 20 minute walk.
Public Car Parks: Sutton, Church or Gade.
Ticket DiscountsDiscounts are available for Pinky & Preetho’s Comedy Night, Pyar Actually and English Vinglish. Book 2 events and receive £2 off total. Book 3 events receive £3 off total.
Discount applied to total at checkout. Limited to 4 tickets per event, per customer.


For more information about the British Asian Festival, visit www.rifcotheatre.com