Celebrities wears blue ribbons in support of refugees at BAFTA award

• Cate Blanchett was one of a number of celebrities making a message.
• The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announced that now over 103 million forcibly displaced people.
• In 2016, the UNHCR designated the two-time Oscar winner as a Goodwill Ambassador.

 At the 2023 BAFTA Awards, Cate Blanchett was one of a number of celebrities and United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors making a message.

The UNHCR stated on Saturday that its Goodwill Ambassadors, including Blanchett, British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, former Olympian Yusra Mardini, and others, would wear a blue ribbon to Sunday’s awards event “in solidarity with and support for refugees and displaced people throughout the world.”

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announced that “now over 103 million forcibly displaced people around the world” and inviting “artists to wear the #WithRefugees ribbon as an emblem of compassion and solidarity for those who have been forced to flee their homes because of war, conflict, and persecution.”

The organization’s statement made mention of the ongoing crisis in Syria as well as recent earthquakes that occurred in Turkey and Syria and were followed by the deaths of 35,000 people, according to News.

The ribbon, according to Mbatha-Raw, 39, “is a symbol of our support to all people who have been forced to escape their homes, whoever they are and wherever they have come from.”

The 24-year-old Syrian Mardini continued, “It’s absolutely amazing to see so many artists wear a blue ribbon tonight in solidarity with refugees and displaced people throughout the world.” “Many people, including my people, are in pain. They require our help. Everyone needs peace.”

The Swimmers, Bad Axe, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On were also included by the organisation in its statement, along with the observation that “the human themes of displacement, separation, and loss are prevalent in several of the films nominated this awards season.”

What I adore about film is the way it draws us into intriguing human topics to find the connective thread that unites us all, said Blanchett, 53, who added her appreciation to these works.

“What has impressed me whenever I have met refugees — in places like Lebanon, Jordan, or Bangladesh, here in the UK, or back home in Australia — has not been their ‘otherness,’ but rather how many things we share in common,” she continued.

At the next presentation in London, Blanchett is competing for the best leading actress prize for her work in the film Tár. In 2016, the UNHCR designated the two-time Oscar winner as a Goodwill Ambassador.

According to a profile on the agency’s website, the actress reportedly commented at the time, “I am genuinely proud to take on this job.” Never before has it been more important to support and stand with refugees.

On the website of the U.N. Refugee Agency, it is stated that Blanchett has also worked with the organisation on a film series that examined “themes of human resilience, hope, and home” during the COVID pandemic in 2020.

According to a statement from the UNCHR, starting on Feb. 19 at the 2023 BAFTA Awards, “the wearing of the blue #WithRefugees ribbon on the red carpet delivers a powerful visual message that everyone has the right to seek protection, whoever, wherever, anytime.”

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