Choosing Hope – Reflections on Our Annual Party

Our Annual Party 2025 was a day of joy, hope and connection. Read Matt's thoughts on the day, and why this year was extra special.

A few days before our Annual Party, I was well and truly fed up.

Not only did we hear the news that there were going to be more anti-migrant protests outside hotels, but that the protests were happening on the same day as our Annual Party, only a short walk away. So, almost exactly a year on from the horrendous scenes we saw last year, once again we had to stop everything and figure out what on earth we were going to do.

Having so many young people arriving into the same station as a group of angry and potentially violent protestors just wasn’t an option for us. But what do we do instead?

Do we get everyone taxis? Logistically impossible.

Do we bring in security? That might help at the venue, but not on the journeys there.

Do we cancel or move the event? But what about the venue hire, the caterers, the performers, the staff, volunteers, and supporters who had cleared their weekends?

What about the young people who had booked train tickets from across the UK? And then the hardest question of all: how do we communicate any change without stoking more fear and anxiety amongst our community?

It’s taken months of tailored one-to-one support for some young people to feel comfortable enough to leave their accommodation, travel on public transport, and be amongst people they don’t know. Is this all going to be undone when we have to tell them the reason our party can’t go ahead?

Despite all these challenges, thanks to the flexibility, dedication, and understanding of so many people, with just two days’ notice, we were miraculously able to move our whole event to the following day.

And you know what? It was the most special, uplifting, and magical event we could have ever hoped for. We celebrated the achievements of every young person on our programmes. We heard the most moving speeches, musical performances, and poetry from those whose journeys have been touched by our work. We had the most delicious food, played some hilarious games, and danced like nobody was watching.

We came together and showed all those full of hate what can be achieved when we come together in celebration of one another. We showed them that they will never win.

I want to thank our incredible staff, mentors, volunteers, trustees, supporters, Shoreditch Tab, Koshari Street Ltd and, most of all, the young people who planned and delivered the whole event. Your support and hard work in the lead-up made what felt impossible, possible. You helped turn a moment of fear and frustration into one of joy and hope.

I’m already counting down the days to next year!

At Hope for the Young, we are lucky to have such inspiring and committed young people, who are keen to get involved and be part of the Hope for the Young community. We want to say a huge thank you to the Youth Planning Committee and everyone else who was involved in the organisation of the Annual Party 2025! We can’t wait for 2026.