Hello Wembley!
There are moments in life when you have to stop, look around and think, Is this actually happening? Standing on stage at the OVO Arena Wembley, looking out at thousands of girls and young women, was definitely one of them.
This weekend, Girlguiding’s Big Gig brought together more than 21,000 girls, young women, leaders and volunteers for an extraordinary celebration of music, friendship and everything that makes being part of Girlguiding so special.
A very Big Gig indeed!
The atmosphere was electric from the moment Charlie Hedges from BBC Radio 1 kicked things off with a high-energy DJ set, before co-hosting the event with Girlguiding Ambassador, Angellica Bell.
Then came a brilliant line-up of artists, including JLS, Scouting for Girls, Carla Monroe, Midnight in Vegas and Kerry Ellis, who brought the magic of musical theatre to the arena with songs from the shows.
There was music, dancing, screaming (a whole lot of screaming - I took ear defenders! Never let it be said that I'm not well prepared!), singing and enough energy to power a small country. The performances were incredible, but what struck me most was the sheer scale of it all. Thousands of girls, all there to have fun, make memories and share an experience with their friends. Girls from different backgrounds, different communities and different parts of the country, all connected by their membership of Girlguiding.
That’s the thing about Girlguiding, it might be about badges, adventures, camping trips, learning new skills and having a go at things you never thought you could do, but underneath all of that is something much bigger: belonging. It's being part of something, finding your people and discovering what you’re capable of. To me it's about knowing that you have a place where you can be yourself. I must admit, Wembley was a pretty spectacular place to see that in action.
Mountain Top Moments
As Deputy Chief Guide, I’m incredibly fortunate to be part of the Chief Guide Team. We spend a lot of time thinking about what Girlguiding means, how we can make it better and how we continue to create opportunities for girls to shape their own futures.
Every now and then, you get a moment that brings all of that to life in a way you couldn’t possibly have planned. Taking to the stage with the Chief Guide Team at Wembley was one of those moments for me.
You'll know I’ve had a some big adventures in my time. I’ve rowed across the Atlantic, faced more than my fair share of unexpected challenges and found myself in situations where keeping calm and carrying on was less of a motivational slogan and more of a survival strategy, but standing on that stage, in front of thousands of Girlguiding members, was a different kind of mountain-top moment.
And yes, we even got to shout, “HELLO WEMBLEY!”
I’m not sure you can adequately prepare yourself for the feeling of shouting those words into an arena packed with thousands of people. It was joyful, surreal, absolutely brilliant but also slightly ridiculous - I was wearing a pair of sparkly hot pants after all - and I'm got a peg clipped to my t-shirt (you have to be in Girlguiding to get the relevance!) It was the sort of moment when you want to bottle up the feeling and keep it for a rainy Tuesday.
It was also a reminder that leadership comes in all sorts of forms - sometimes it means making difficult decisions, navigating uncertainty or helping people through challenging times. Sometimes it means stepping into the spotlight, sharing a moment with your team and being part of something that makes thousands of girls smile. I'm more than happy to take both.
Our Promise
One of the most meaningful parts of the Big Gig was leading the girls in a renewal of their Girlguiding Promise. With around 11,000 people at each of the two performances, a matinee and an evening show, it was an extraordinary opportunity to bring so many members together in a shared moment.
But what I remember most isn't something that happened on stage. It's what happened in the arena.
As the girls renewed their Promise, they began to stand up. It wasn't because of a big announcement or a carefully choreographed cue, but they stood spontaneously, one after another, across the arena.... and I could hear it.
The quiet tidal waves of sound as the weight shifted from thousands of girls sitting to thousands of girls standing. A subtle, rolling change in the noise of the arena as more and more rose to their feet. It was one of those moments when you feel the significance of something before you have quite found the words to explain it. Thousands of individual girls, making their own choice to stand, coming together in a shared expression of something they believe in ... I won't lie I found it incredibly moving.
There was another, much smaller moment during the evening show that has stayed with me, too. I spotted three Guides coming out into the aisle and they were waving at me. So I stopped, looked straight at them and waved back. It might sound like a tiny thing, but I wanted them to know I'd seen them. That, in the middle of an arena filled with thousands of people, I'd spotted them and that's something I believe matters enormously in Girlguiding. Yes, we're part of something big. We can fill the OVO Arena Wembley and make enough noise to raise the roof. We can stand together and renew a Promise shared by generations of girls and women, but it's also about the individual. The girl who wants to be noticed. The young woman finding her confidence. The Guide who waves at someone on stage and hopes they'll wave back.
Being part of something extraordinary is brilliant. Knowing that you matter within it is something else entirely.
That's what I hope every girl gets from Girlguiding - the chance to feel part of a bigger adventure, while knowing that she is seen, valued and important in her own right.
So, if three Guides went home from Wembley knowing that the Deputy Chief Guide had spotted them in the crowd, then that was a pretty special moment for me, too.
A BIG Thank You!
Of course, an event on this scale doesn’t just happen. Behind the lights, the music and the screaming crowds are huge amounts of planning, preparation, teamwork and dedication. There are people working incredibly hard to make sure thousands of young people can have an experience they’ll remember for years to come.
I feel enormously grateful to everyone who made the Big Gig possible: the teams behind the event, the performers, the hosts, the volunteers and, of course, the leaders and supporters who brought girls to Wembley and helped make the whole thing happen.
Also to the girls themselves, who brought the energy, the enthusiasm and the noise. You were magnificent. It’s easy to talk about the importance of giving girls opportunities, but there is something incredibly powerful about actually seeing those opportunities come to life on such a scale.
The Come Down
I suspect it will take me a little while to come down from this particular high. I’ll remember the artists, the atmosphere and the sheer scale of the event. I’ll remember standing on stage with the Chief Guide Team and the extraordinary feeling of looking out across that arena ... and I’ll definitely remember shouting “Hello Wembley!”
More than anything, I’ll remember who important it is that Girlguiding makes these mountain moments possible.
It’s about so much more than what happens on a stage, in a meeting place or around a campfire. It’s about giving girls the confidence, the friendships and the opportunities to work out who they are and who they want to become.
If 21,000 girls, young women, leaders and volunteers coming together in one place tells us anything, it’s that there is something pretty special here. I’m super proud to play my part in it. I’m proud to be part of the Chief Guide Team, and I’m incredibly grateful that, among all the adventures life has thrown at me, this one included a stage at Wembley.
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