The journey there took hardly 5 minutes, and we were off and at Wembley Park in a flash. At the train station, we discussed any last minute tactics.
We met with Sarika, a member of the BBC School Report team and our guide for the day. She gave me a few top tips on how to take the perfect picture: Always remember to choose an interesting angle, and to add a bit of spice, include your background.
We arrived outside the SSE Arena, where there was massive crowd of mostly teenage girls flocked together and buzzing with excitement. The atmosphere felt electric as everyone was preparing for the Red Carpet event to begin. In a few moments or so, there would be a handful of world renowned celebrities wondering across it, and I would be millimeters away from their glorious presence.
After we briefly ran through the last minute preparations, we decided it was time to take our place on the red carpet. We left our temporary territory where we spent practicing, and made our way towards the Red Carpet.
The actual event hadn’t started by now, so we had a bit of time to rehearse and get to grips with the atmosphere. By this point, there were hundreds; possibly a thousand teenagers crowded trying to get a glimpse of the celebrities that would be turning up. They were all screaming and building up a very festival like, electric atmosphere.
10 minutes later and we were told to take our place as official press. Our positions were near the end of the Red Carpet, which was apparently the best place as we wouldn’t be over shadowed by the other press, and it would be easy for the celebrities and teen heroes to pop by to us before they are whisked into the arena.
The fans across us were all screaming and feeling the buzz. There was a Mercedes parked, and apparently it carried Jameela Jamil. Everyone began crying out her name, and as she walked out, I noticed that Scott Mills was also with her. We felt really blessed when Scott Mills popped up to have a chat with us, he was our first interview of the day and he seemed so down to earth and so reassuring. Then, out of the blue, Jameela Jamil appeared.
Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora who were presenting the award ceremony, were kind enough to visit us. He spoke about how he really looked up to David Beckham as a teen, which I found quite interesting as nearly all the other celebrities had mentioned musicians as their idols. They also wore our school ties which was quite the sight. Rita kept hers on throughout the rest of the red carpet event.
Labrinth was another role model in the crowd. He told us that his idol, growing up as a teen was Stevie Wonder, and that he’s inspired the music he’s creating today and what he loves about music. Little Mix also popped by for a chat.
Moments later, we were given the honour of meeting the four Teen Heroes. They were with Aled Jones who seemed very protective and caring over them. We made sure to ask them about who their inspirations are, Jack G mentioned how Alex Holmes (Anti-Bullying Ambassador) has inspired him to speak out against bullying and do the brilliant work he is doing today. Shannon spoke of how much support she was receiving from Greg James and Jack M spoke to us about how his experiences fundraising and raising money for those who need it is all that matters to him. They all seemed very humble and it was easy to tell that the fact that they had helped so many people was all that mattered to them. The fact that they’ve come out the other end with nothing but the motivation to help the less fortunate, is really truly outstanding. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to notice how bright the passion in the four people shone. I hope they carry on doing what they’re doing now for a long time to come.
Having the skill to shout out and grab the attention of a celebrity is the difference between meeting and talking to them, and watching them walk past. Also, making sure that your voice is intriguing and that your attitude is passionate is also key. I knew that if I kept a set monotone throughout the interview, and held a dull character, I would have bored the poor socks off the individual. And also, the preparation myself and Christina spent time working on also paid off a lot. I urge anyone who may go through this experience in the future to do a lot of research beforehand!
By Christina and Sara
Kingsbury High School News Club 