One Direction star and Alesha Dixon make shortlist for prestigious award
Posted by  badge Boss on Aug 14
Alesha Dixon is up for a gong (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

TV presenter Alesha Dixon, and star , have been revealed as nominees for the upcoming .

Hosted in collaboration with HSBC UK, is set to honour the most influential Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities in the UK with a prestigious ceremony, and today, they have released the names of those in with a chance of taking home an award.

Also up for an accolade to celebrate their achievements and work to promote diversity and inclusion, are football legend Rio Ferdinand, and host . The Ethnicity Awards will certainly be a star-studded affair!

Zayn, 31, has been shortlisted alongside other musicians including Raye, Tinie Tempah and legendary soul divas Gabrielle and Emeli Sande, in the Music Artist category.

For the Celebrity Ally Award, judge Alesha, 45, has been selected as a nominee alongside AJ Odudu, Ncuti Gatwa, and Simone Ashley.

TV presenters Maya, 29, Alison Hammond, Charlene White and Asad Ahmad have been recognised in the Broadcaster or Journalist of the Year category while the former editor of British Vogue, Edward Enniful, is nominated for his work in championing causes to promote equality. 

Zayn is on the shortlist (Picture: Steve Granitz/WireImage)
Could Alison be a winner? (Picture: Lia Toby/Getty Images)

Rio, 45, who alongside a major TV career leads a major social mobility charity providing opportunities for young people from racially diverse backgrounds, is nominated for a major Sports Personality award alongside fellow sports stars Denise Lewis and Aston Villa footballer Tyrone Mings. 

The winners of their awards will be decided by the public, who can vote online . Meanwhile, the winners in the business categories will be chosen by a panel of esteemed judges.

They will need to start rehearsing their acceptance speeches soon, just in case, as the ceremony takes place on October 31 in London.

Rio has a nod (Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Founder of the Ethnicity Awards, Sarah Garrett MBE, said: ‘I’m delighted that the 2024 Ethnicity Awards are once again supported by HSBC UK as headline partner, and that the awards continue to highlight the people and organisations who  are continuing to do good – both publicly and privately – for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority communities and organisations across the UK.

‘All the individuals and organisations are very deserving of their place on the shortlist. The awards will be a celebration of their achievements and it is going to be another fantastic event.’

The Ethnicity Awards began in 2018, with the purpose of celebrating individuals and organisations that support Black, Asian and diverse Ethnic communities. Music superstar Dionne Warwick, Little Mix singer Leigh Anne Pinnock, Manchester United footballer and social mobility campaigner Marcus Rashford, newsreader Moira Stuart and Labour MP Diane Abbot, are amongst the impressive list of previous winners.

‘The Ethnicity Awards engages those who ensure equality, opportunity and fair treatment for all, regardless of ethnic background. The awards bring together communities, businesses and individuals to support a diverse Britain where everyone feels they can belong,’ the organisers explained.

Maya could be picking up an award (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Garrett MBE originally set up the awards ceremony, after seeing her mother treated as a ‘second-class citizen’.

‘Seeing the adverse reactions of people towards her compounded in me the general feeling of not belonging. Something I longed for, and that would have really mattered to me, was to have some positive representation. I wanted to see people, like members of my family, be celebrated,’ she explained to Metro.co.uk.

‘I knew I needed to help create this change. 

‘So, seven years ago, I decided it was time to do something positive – to unite people rather than divide – in the hope that I could dissipate some of the ignorance and that exists. The Ethnicity Awards was launched as part of my wider initiative.’

‌The 2023 Ethnicity Awards will announce its winners on October 31

2024 Ethnicity Award nominees

Broadcaster, Journalist Or Host  

Alex Scott   

Alison Hammond    

Asad Ahmad   

Charlene White   

David Olusoga   

Edward Enninful   

Marvin Humes  

Maya Jama   

Nadia Ali    

Zeze Millz  

Music Artist  

Elmiene   

Emeli Sande   

Gabrielle   

Jay Sean   

Naughty Boy   

Raye   

Rina Sawayama   

Saloni   

Tinie Tempah   

Zayn  

Sports Personality  

Alice Dearing   

Denise Lewis    

Karenjeet Kaur Bains   

Katerina Johnson-Thompson 

Kobbie Mainoo   

Mohamed Elshorbagy   

Rehan Ahmed   

Rio Ferdinand    

Son Heung-Min   

Tyrone Mings  

Online Influencer  

Adeola Patronne   

Anchal Seda   

Dr Karan Raj   

Indiyah Polack   

Mason Blake   

Nella Rose   

Priya Sohanpal   

Radhi Devlukia-Shetty   

Rahi Chadda   

The Kabs Family  

Celebrity Ally

AJ Odudu   

Alesha Dixon    

Beverly Knight    

Fleur East   

Jermaine Jenas   

Mawaan Rizwan   

Ncuti Gatwa   

Shaznay Lewis   

Simone Ashley   

Tony Bellew  

Brand And/Or Marketing Campaign  

Dove   

English Football League   

Fenty Beauty   

Gymshark   

Home Is Where The Elephant Atta Is   

M&C Saatchi Group   

NYX Cosmetics   

The Premier League   

Self Glow   

Skims    

Outstanding Contribution To Communities  

Halima Begum – Oxfam 

Bayo Adelaja  – Do It Now Now 

Funke Abimbola Mbe –  Austen Bronte Consultancy 

Jehangir Malik Obe – Unicef South Asia 

Laila El Metoui –  Proud In Education 

Lydia Amoah – The Black Pound Report 

Natalie & Naomi Evans – Everyday Racism 

Sadique Maskeen – Umbrella Faith 

Samantha Ming – Barts Health NHS Trust 

Tanya Compas – Exist Loudly 

Charity Or Community Initiative 

Ashiana 

Asian People’s Disability Alliance 

Besea.N 

Black Minds Matter UK 

Chinese Community Centre 

Damilola Taylor Trust  

Jami UK  

Purple Rain Collective 

The Diversity Trust 

The Land Collective 

Business Categories 

Champion Ally 

Emma Howard – Tesco  

Jayne Opperman  – Lloyds Banking Group  

Karen Taylor – Amazon  

Lisa Hulbert – Cadent  

Mark Chapman – Nationwide Building Society  

Mat Moakes – OVO  

Matthew Hamilton-James – Motability Operations  

Nick Howe – Natwest  

Zealah Brindley – KPMG  

Exceptional Inclusion  

Amisha Wilde – Network Rail  

Arfan Bhatti – King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust  

Cordelia Johnney – Stonewater  

Helen Choudhury – The Music Publishers Association (The MPA)  

Iman Abdi – Sodexo  

Jacquline Alcindor – Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)  

Margaret Zimunhu – Investec Bank  

Samantha Owo – Lloyds Banking Group   

Tara Forde – Experian  

Tricia Lucas-Clarke – GSK

Future Leader  

Adam Malik – Avanade  

Adnan Anwar – JLL  

Alicia George  – Salesforce UK Limited  

Liam Obuobie – Arup  

Niki Lam – Takeda UK Ltd.  

Olivia Grant – Reed Smith LLP  

Ralph Aidoo – Google  

Ricca -Renee Ramsay-Nicol – Computacenter  

Rudhira Sambrey – Arcadis UK  

Sana Butt  – DLA Piper  

Inspirational Leader  

Apay Obang-Oyway – Microsoft  

Donna Herdsman – Korn Ferry  

Frama Aboh – Bank Of New York (BNY)  

Geoffrey Williams – Burberry  

Josh Graham – Deloitte  

Naomi Sesay – Channel 4  

Nimesh Joshi – ITV News West Country  

Priya Godse – Nomura International PLC.  

Raghu Narula – Natwest Group  

Roland Carandang – Protiviti  

Network Group   

Being UK  – Warner Bros. Discovery   

Black Diversity Council  – Linklaters   

Black Employee Network  – Amazon   

Black Professionals Resource Group – Barclays   

Computacenter’s Ethnic Diversity Employee Impact Group  – Computacenter   

Cultural Awareness Network Emea  –  UBS    

Fusion Employee Network Group  – Macquarie Group    

Hispanic/Latino Organisation for Leadership & Advancement (HOLA)  – Johnson Matthey   

Moody’s UK Multicultural BRG  – Moody’s   

ONE Employee Resource Group  – National Grid   

Positively Ethnic Network (PEN) – BP 

Race, Ethnicity And Cultural Heritage Business Resource Group  – Boots UK, No7 Beauty Company And Boots Opticians   

Race, Religion And Cultural Heritage Network  – Whitbread   

REACH (Race Ethnicity And Cultural Heritage)  – Macfarlanes LLP   

The REAHL Network (Race & Ethnicity At Hogan Lovells)  – Hogan Lovells LLP   

Outstanding Employer  

Bank of Ireland  

BP  

HSBC UK  

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)  

Linklaters  

Lloyds Banking Group  

Network Rail  

Stonewater  

Tesco  

Whitbread  

Social Impact 

Black Britain Unspoken – Warner Bros. Discovery  

Creative Access – Creative Access  

Cross Company Allyship Programme (CCAP) – KPMG  

Early Careers – FT

HSBC And Merky Books  – HSBC UK  

The Insurance Cultural Awareness Network – iCAN 

Moody’s Partnership With Tent Refugees – Moody’s  

Sadique Maskeen – Umbrella Faith  

What’s The Score – Experian  

Workplace Hero  

Aisha Addison – Essencemediacom  

Annmarie Holligan – BT Group  

Ibrahim Mohammed – Farrer & Co LLP  

Marilina Bachmann – Jacobs  

Mehareen Latif – Coutts  

Rong Su – JLR (Jaguar Land Rover)  

Shane Newton – BAE Systems – Maritime Services  

Ugo Eboh – Virgin Money  

Victoria Einarsen – Kenvue  

Zee Botchway – Wickes 

You can find out more about all the nominees and vote for all public categories .