Over 1,500 children, aged 7 to 16, from 27 London schools will take over the iconic Royal Albert Hall on 3rd March 2014 to bang the drum for street children’s rights and smash the official World Record for the World’s Largest Samba Band.

The performance marks the UK launch of the second Street Child World Cup (SCWC) that kicks off three weeks later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Up to 250 street-connected boys and girls from 19 countries on five continents will come together to play football and challenge the negative perceptions and treatment of street children everywhere.

David Beckham, OBE said “I look forward to Brazil in 2014 when street children from around the world will play football and represent the millions of children who still live or work on our streets.”

As a prelude to the world famous Rio Carnival, the samba-drumming school children are expected to turn the Royal Albert Hall into a cauldron of vibrant colour and sound as they revel in the carnival atmosphere. Hosted by television presenter Andy Akinwolere and Hayley McQueen of Sky Sports, the event will feature an exclusive performance of the official SCWC anthem, “I Am Somebody” by Hospital Records artists London Elektricity, Diane Charlemagne and S.P.Y.

The groundbreaking event would not be possible without the expert tuition provided by world-music workshop provider Inspire-works and the support of the Royal Albert Hall, whose management and staff have not only provided London’s most spectacular venue but also their in-house and creative expertise. As a charity, the Royal Albert Hall strives to develop its education offer as part of its extensive public benefit remit.  Not just providing a venue for some of the world’s most popular artists, its education and outreach programme reaches 100,000 young people each year and aims to support cultural life of the country for future generations making the Hall more accessible to all.

Caroline McNamara, Senior Education Consultant at the Royal Albert Hall, said “We are proud to be supporting this great cause as part of our education and outreach work and what better chance to break a World Record in the process. We look forward to welcoming all the schools involved for what will be an unforgettable event”

John Wroe, Chief Executive of SCWC, commented “The Royal Albert Hall, in the heart of London, is the ideal launch pad for the second Street Child World Cup in Brazil, as children in the UK show solidarity with the millions of children worldwide who are forced to live or work on the streets”

The performance is the culmination of weeks of hard work by the pupils who have been taking part in a 10-week intensive samba course with Inspire-works facilitators to prepare for the attempt on the world record. Inspire-works have specially written the teaching material with Trinity College London, one of the world’s leading providers of music assessments, and the children will also obtain their “Discover” Arts Award for taking part.

15 facilitators will lead the drumming, perform as a samba bateria or percussion band and will be joined by dancers from the London School of Samba. Stewards throughout the venue will ensure that the World Record guidelines are adhered to and every child is watching the Inspire-works facilitators closely and playing in time!
 
Mike Simpson, Musical Director at Inspire-works, said “We are delighted to be supporting the Street Child World Cup by facilitating the World’s Largest Samba Band at the Royal Albert Hall and using music as a platform to inform as many people as possible about the vision and aims of Street Child World Cup. We are really looking forward to uniting 1,500 London school children together to make as much noise as possible for street children’s rights!”

Help bang the drum for street children’s rights and TEXT SCWC14 and the amount to 70070 to donate to Street Child World Cup and make a difference today.

Editors Notes:

The UN estimates there may be as many as 100 million street-connected children around the world. Street Child World Cup is an international movement for street children to receive the protection and opportunities that all children are entitled to. Ahead of each FIFA World Cup, street-connected children come together to play football and take part in an international summit championing the rights of street children. No child should have to live on the streets.

Street Child World Cup
Street Child World Cup is a global movement for street children to receive the protection and opportunities that all children are entitled to. Ahead of each FIFA World Cup, we unite street children from across five continents to play football and join us in a unique international conference. Together through football, art and campaigning we aim to challenge the negative perceptions and treatment of street children around the world.

On March 28 2014 our 10-day tournament and conference will kick off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Countries on the Road to Rio are: Brazil, Argentina, USA, El Salvador, England, Nicaragua, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Mauritius, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania and Burundi.

For more information please visit streetchildworldcup.org, Email jo.clark@streetchildworldcup.org
A Street Child United Initiative | Charity No 1144951

Inspire-Works
Inspire-works 20 workshop facilitators deliver educational world-music workshops to schools across south-east England. From Brazilian samba to Caribbean steel pans, they make music with more than 60,000 children and young adults in 500 schools during each academic year and partner with 10 Music Education Hubs The facilitators are also in demand for teacher CPD/INSET sessions having delivered sessions at all major music education conferences including The Music Education EXPO, NAME, The Sunday Times Festival of Education & The Education Show. Inspire-works’ Musical Director, Mike Simpson, has also authored 4 titles of blended book and DVD teaching resources on how to teach world-music which are published by Rhinegold Education part of the Music Sales group. For further information please see www.inspire-works.co.uk 

Contemporanea
Brazilian samba manufacturers, Contemporanea, have specially made the 1,500 instruments in Sao Paulo which the children will be playing in the Royal Albert Hall.

Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is the world’s most famous stage. Its breathtaking auditorium hosts over 370 shows a year by the world’s greatest artists. The magical atmosphere combined with inspired artists creates legendary events.

Opened in 1871 as part of Prince Albert’s vision for a centre for the Arts and Sciences, the Hall is a registered charity which operates without public funding, remaining true to his founding ambitions within a modern context. Extending the brand with 200 events outside the auditorium, the Hall has broadened its appeal to younger, diverse audiences whilst still engaging its existing customers.

The Hall also offers the Elgar Room, a state-of-the-art small-scale performance space which hosts performances of classical music, jazz and world music, comedy, dance and hush, a series of gigs for just signed bands throughout the year. In the main auditorium, it offers the Albert Sessions, an initiative that encourages up and coming acts to play at the Hall by offering reduced rental fees to promoters and lower ticket prices to encourage younger audiences to visit the Hall. It also works extensively with schools, young people, disadvantaged groups and partners such as Music For Youth through its Education programme, reaching over 100,000 participants each year as part of its extensive public benefit remit. It has also been appointed by the Arts Council as one of the country’s regional music education hubs.

For more information, please visit www.royalalberthall.com. Registered charity number: 254543

I am Somebody UK Arts Programme
I am Somebody, will transform the way that people think about children and young people living on the streets by sharing their stories and giving them a voice.

A multi-disciplinary arts programme, managed by Momentum Arts in collaboration with Street Child United and Street Child World Cup, LIFT, Inspire works, The Audience Agency and Trinity College and funded by Arts Council England and  the Shillings Trust will coincide with the 2014 Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A series of high profile events, performances, exhibitions and participatory activities will engage, inspire and raise awareness of the global campaign that ‘no child should have to live on the streets’.