Cate Blanchett among stars wearing ribbons in solidarity with refugees at Baftas
Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal, Bill Nighy and Angela Bassett were also seen with the #WithRefugees ribbon.
Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis were among the stars wearing a blue ribbon at the Bafta film awards to show their solidarity and support for refugees and displaced people around the world.
Colin Farrell, Daryl McCormack, Paul Mescal, Bill Nighy and Angela Bassett were also among the nominees spotted with the #WithRefugees ribbon on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony.
The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, invited the famous faces to wear the ribbon as an “emblem of compassion and solidarity” for those who have been forced to flee their homes because of war, conflict, and persecution.
Speaking to the PA news agency on the red carpet about why she wanted to wear the ribbon, supporting actress nominee Curtis said: “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.”
Blanchett is a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR as well as actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini.
It comes after the recent earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria killed an estimated 44,000 while countless have been displaced.
The UNHCR said that there are more than 103 million forcibly displaced people around the world.
Themes of displacement, separation and loss are present in many of the films nominated this awards season including The Swimmers, which is based on the story of Mardini and her sister Sara Mardini, which is up for outstanding British film.
The blue #WithRefugees ribbon initiative was launched at the Bafta film awards on Sunday, with the intention to send a “powerful visual message that everyone has the right to seek safety, whoever, wherever, whenever”.
