‘Clap for carers’: Britons will fill their doorways, gardens, balconies at 8pm tonight to celebrate nation’s heroic health workers – as Wembley Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall are lit up in NHS blue
- Britons have been invited to join a mass round of applause from their doorsteps
- The event is planned for 8pm on Thursday and was organised by Clap For Carers
- It is being staged because ‘during these times they need to know we are grateful’
- The Wembley Arch and the Royal Albert Hall are said to be lit up in blue in salute
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A national salute is set to take place to honour the hardworking NHS staff who are trying to battle coronavirus.
In a gesture of thanks to the frontline healthcare heroes, everyone across the nation has been invited to join a a mass round of applause from their doorsteps, windows and balconies on Thursday at 8pm.
The Clap For Carers campaign, which started online, is being staged because ‘during these unprecedented times they need to know we are grateful’, according to the organisers.
It comes as cheery footage shows nurses at West Suffolk Hospital dancing to Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.
A national salute is set to take place to honour the hardworking NHS staff (pictured at St Georges Hospital in London) who are trying to battle coronavirus
The Wembley Arch, the Principality Stadium, the Royal Albert Hall and Lincoln Cathedral are said to be among some of the landmarks which are set to be lit up in blue during the salute.
It is part of the #lightitblue campaign which has been organised by members of the events and entertainment industry as a way to say thank you.
Chris Moyles and Kate Garraway are among the presenters who have said they are backing the event.
Chris Moyles (pictured) and Kate Garraway are among the presenters who have said they are backing the event
Radio X presenter Moyles rallied his listeners to ‘make some noise for the thousands and thousands of people [in the NHS] that we’ll probably never meet, just to say ‘thank you’ for everything they are doing for us’ with a powerful message.
Gary White and Chuck Crampton, who jointly started the #lightitblue campaign, said all venues will use existing LED technology to create a flash of blue on facades and screens.
It means people at different venues will be able to show their support while staying at home in line with current Government advice during the pandemic.
NHS Urgent Supplies delivery trucks are working to distribute essential kit to hospitals around the country as Britain tries to cope with the coronavirus pandemic
In a statement, they said: ‘The events and entertainment industry finds itself in an unprecedented state of enforced inaction.
‘The best thing we can do – apart from staying at home – is to use our skills and networks to say thank you to everyone who is supporting the NHS and risking their own health to help others during this pandemic.’