Age UK's star-studded Love Christmas carol concert

Age UK's star-studded ‘Love Christmas' carol concert, held at St Marylebone Parish Church, London, on Thursday 10 December 2015, has raised £50,000 to help tackle loneliness through our vital national and local services.

Barbara Windsor MBE described it as ‘a truly magical evening.' The festive fundraiser, sponsored by E.ON, was hosted by TV's Penny Smith, with musical performances from opera singer Lesley Garrett CBE and Opera Holland Park, seasonal readings from celebrities including Barbara Windsor MBE, Jon Culshaw, Kevin Whately and Kathy Lette, and traditional Christmas carols.

Loneliness at Christmas

Money raised at Love Christmas will help us make a crucial difference to the lives of older people. According to research by Age UK, more than a million older people say they haven't spoken to a friend, neighbour or family member for over a month. We want to combat this by providing companionship, advice and support for older people facing later life alone.

Penny Smith, an Age UK Ambassador, said ‘I've had the pleasure of hosting Age UK's Love Christmas carol concert many times and I'm always amazed by the generous support we receive. Many of us enjoy a good celebration at this time of the year however loneliness can make the outlook bleaker.'

How Age UK can help

Age UK helps to prevent and reduce loneliness by supporting a range of services and activities such as a friendly telephone call, weekly visits, social activities such as lunch clubs, exercise classes, and tea-dances, advice when there's nowhere to turn, and the chance to get out and about in the local community, all of which play a crucial part in helping make later life better. Regular contact from local Age UK services can be life-changing and give older people the confidence they need to feel more connected and less isolated.

Older people and their families can get in touch with Age UK to find out how the Charity could help someone who may be feeling lonely by calling Age UK Advice for free on 0800 169 2081.

Last month, we kicked off our No one should have no one at Christmas campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the loneliness epidemic among older people at Christmas. To help Age UK support lonely older people by donating, volunteering or signing our petition calling on Government to take action go to: www.ageuk.org.uk/christmas.

E.ON is the headline sponsor of Love Christmas. Ageas, Dignity and Rothesay Life are also sponsoring the event.