The Ultimate Backstage Experience
A unique event for young people who’ve had cancer to get together and enjoy one of our iconic gigs at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2024 for free.
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About the event
At the Ultimate Backstage Experience, we’ll welcome you and members of your clinical team to London’s famous Royal Albert Hall, a stunning venue with a unique history and atmosphere.
You’ll get to spend time with your clinical team as well as young people who’ve also had cancer from your region and get to know them throughout the afternoon.
Together you’ll get the chance to enjoy a workshop with the talented Royal Albert Hall team, have a behind the scenes tour of the Hall (you might even be lucky enough to hear an artist in soundcheck), as well as dinner backstage before the show.
You’ll then take your place in some of the best seats in the house – in an exclusive area near the stage – to watch the gig in style.
We’ll cover your travel and accommodation costs including a coach back to the hotel at the end of the night. The next day you will have free time to enjoy London with members of your clinical team from your region.
Places for this unique opportunity are limited. Details of who can apply are below.
When is it?
The Ultimate Backstage Experience will take place from Monday 18th March to Sunday 24th March 2024. You can find the poster here:
- Monday 18th March: The Who with Orchestra and very special guest Squeeze
- Tuesday 19th March: A night of comedy (line up to be announced)
- Wednesday 20th March: The Who with Orchestra and very special guest Squeeze
- Thursday 21st March: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds with very special guest Blossoms
- Friday 22nd March: Young Fathers plus special guests
- Saturday 23rd March: The Chemical Brothers plus DJ James Holroyd
- Sunday 24th March: ‘Ovation’ a celebration of 24 years of gigs for Teenage Cancer Trust with: Roger Daltrey, Kelly Jones, Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Eddie Vedder, Paul Weller
You can find out more about the line up here.
The night you attend is already determined based on your region. The experience is more than seeing the gig, so don’t worry about who you are seeing on the night.
Who can register to attend?
You can apply to the Ultimate Backstage Experience if you:
- Were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 13 and 24, (or were still on active treatment on or after your 13th birthday).
- Will be between the ages of 13 and 27 on 18 March 2024.
- Have been treated in the UK.
You must also either:
- Have finished active cancer treatment during or after March 2022; OR
- Currently be on maintenance treatment; OR
- Have had a bone marrow or stem cell transplant between March 2021 and March 2023 and not be on active treatment.
You will also need to:
- Check with your clinical team that you are well enough to travel to/from London and spend a day at the Royal Albert Hall at an indoor gig with five thousand people.
- Be confident to manage any medication that you might require as this will be your responsibility.
- Be comfortable that this is a long two days, so you must have energy to be able to navigate London with your group and Youth Support Coordinator as well as enjoy yourself!
This opportunity is not suitable for anyone who is severely immunosuppressed and has been advised to avoid enclosed crowded spaces. There is no medical team at this event, so you must be confident that you will not require one.
Please note, we retain the right to tighten medical restrictions nearer the time in the event of a spike in Covid-19 cases and/or change in government guidelines.
How do I apply?
To apply you need to contact your Youth Support Coordinator in your region, if you are eligible to attend your Youth Support Coordinator will send you a registration form to complete.
What happens next?
Once you have completed the registration form and submitted it, we’ll contact your Youth Support Coordinator to confirm you have applied, and if you are eligible to attend, they will confirm your place.
Each person who gets a place will only be able to attend one night of the Ultimate Backstage Experience. Each night is allocated specifically by region, so unfortunately you cannot request to attend a different night.
Frequently asked questions
Please find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions about the Ultimate Backstage Experience below.
Please get in touch with your Youth Support Coordinator first, or [email protected] and we can discuss your particular needs. Let your YSC know if you need support to fill out your application form.
If you need a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or language translator, please tell us when you complete your application form and we can do our best to support this.
If you are successful in getting a place, we will work with you to make your attendance possible in any way we can – let us know!
Young people who have not attended before will have priority. However, in the unlikely event that we are undersubscribed, then you may still get a place if you meet the eligibility criteria. You can only attend the experience a maximum of two times. If this is your third time, you cannot register to attend.
If you can no longer make it, please notify us and your Youth Support Coordinator immediately by emailing [email protected] so that we can offer your place to someone else. The registration for the event is usually oversubscribed and there is a waiting list, so we will have a lot of people who would love to attend if you aren’t able to.
If this happens, please tell us immediately by emailing [email protected] so that we can offer your place to someone on the waiting list.
Follow current government advice on when to stay home if you have Covid-19.
If you test positive for Covid-19 6 to 10 days before the date you are due to attend the Ultimate Backstage Experience, please contact your Youth Support Coordinator immediately and they will inform us. We will then advise you on what action needs to be taken and how this might affect your attendance at the event.
If you test positive for Covid-19 5 days or less from the date you are due to attend the event, unfortunately you will not be able to come because you are likely to still be infectious. If this happens, please contact your Youth Support Coordinator immediately and we will offer your place to someone on the waiting list.
Attending the event involves travelling on public transport and watching a gig seated in the Stalls at The Royal Albert Hall with thousands of other people. You are welcome to wear a mask if you want and we will have hand sanitizer available. However, it is a mass indoor event therefore attendance is at your own risk.
The event is not suitable for anyone who is immunosuppressed and has been advised to avoid enclosed crowded spaces because it involves mixing indoors in an old, limited ventilated building. Therefore we cannot protect participants from the risk of catching flu, Covid-19, colds and other viruses.
We do not require participants to have been vaccinated for Covid-19. However, we do strongly suggest you are vaccinated to reduce your risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 and to help protect others. Please note that regardless of your own vaccination status, it is likely that you will be indoors with unvaccinated people.
You will need to arrive at door 8 at the Royal Albert Hall early afternoon on the day of the event. We will confirm timings before you arrange your travel.
The Royal Albert Hall address is Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP.
It is a 12-minute walk from South Kensington tube station (Piccadilly, Circle and District lines).
The nearest wheelchair accessible station is Earl’s Court; however this is 28 minutes from the Hall. You will be traveling with a group from your region, but Teenage Cancer Trust will be booking your travel. Speak to your Youth Support Coordinator to tell them your accessibility requirements and travel preferences.
No, we will cover the cost of your travel and book it for you, but you will need to complete the registration form that your Youth Support Coordinator will send you in order for us to be able to do so.
Your Youth Support Coordinator will arrange the group travel, and Teenage Cancer Trust will book and pay for it. In order to do this, you’ll need to speak to your YSC about your best travel options, and what time of day you want to leave and return.
We will pay for the cost of your transport, accommodation, evening meal on the day of the concert and breakfast the following day.
You may need to buy food for your journey and/or lunch the next day, this can be discussed with the staff accompanying your group. However if this, or any other expenses you would incur as a result of the event, would cause financial challenges and stop you from attending, please let us know by contacting [email protected] so that we can look at options to support you attending.
Our team will not be there to greet you if you arrive at the Royal Albert Hall before 1pm. However, there is a café at the box office that your group can wait in if you arrive early.
The end time for each of our shows varies slightly but it will be approximately 11pm. We have then arranged a minibus to take all participants to the hotel.
There will be 20 young people in total, made up from your region and other regions of young people who have had cancer attending the event each evening.
No, the date you’ve been given a place for is the only one we can offer you. Registration for the event is usually oversubscribed, so we fill our capacity each evening. Therefore, there are no spare places for you to swap with.
The recommended dress code is smart casual, but don’t worry too much about it – you can wear what you feel comfortable in.
The day will consist of travelling to London, a tour of the Royal Albert Hall, buffet dinner and watching the show from prime seats in the evening.
We understand that you may wish to wear different clothes to travel in and for the show, therefore you can bring a change of clothes with you if you want.
Please wear sensible shoes.
Yes, there will be over 18s and under 18s attending together on each night.
You will be staying in a local hotel in a twin room with breakfast provided the next day.
There is an opportunity to tell us on the registration form if you require your own room.
Rooms for people with reduced mobility are available on request. Please ensure you tell us on the registration form if you need an accessible room.
We cannot accommodate requests to watch specific artists. Allocation of places has been done specifically by regions, so we cannot offer you an alternative show.
If there’s an act you want to watch that’s not on the night you’re attending the Ultimate Backstage Experience, then you will need to purchase a ticket as a member of the public.
Yes, we will have a quiet / prayer room available during the event as it does run during Ramadan. Please ask a member of the event team if you want to use the quiet room and they can take you to it.
We will be providing light snacks, water and soft drinks throughout the day. At 5pm there will be a buffet served backstage in crew catering with several hot dinner options and deserts thanks to Eat Your Hearts Out.
For all peer support opportunities, Teenage Cancer Trust does not permit the consumption or purchase of alcohol during any events.
Just let us know when you complete your registration form and we’ll speak to the catering team at the event, who will do their best to accommodate your dietary requirements. We will also let the hotel know for breakfast the day after the event.
What are the behavioural criteria?
All young people, their guests, facilitators, Teenage Cancer Trust staff and venue staff have the right to be treated with respect and protected from harm wherever possible. As organisers of the Ultimate Backstage Experience, we want you to get the most out of the event.
When registering, all participants have agreed the below behaviour criteria for both themselves and their guest in order to provide a safe environment for everyone during the event.
Requirements when attending the Ultimate Backstage Experience:
- You must remember that you are representing Teenage Cancer Trust and you must always behave sensibly and respectfully.
- You should comply with reasonable requests for safety and event management from Teenage Cancer Trust staff.
- You should show respect for each other and to all staff.
- You must use camera and social media technology responsibly, ensuring that you obtain permission before taking photographs and sharing them across internet platforms.
- Teenage Cancer Trust actively discourages smoking and vaping. It is not allowed anywhere on site.
The following behaviours are not acceptable:
- You will not bully, intimidate, harass or act in any way that causes harm or distress – this includes ableism, homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism or any other behaviour which goes against our aim of creating and promoting an inclusive event.
- You will not have or use illegal substances or recreational drugs.
- You will not be verbally or physically aggressive.
- You will not bully, intimidate, harass or act in any way that causes harm or distress.
- You will not behave in a way that is a health and safety risk to yourself and others.
- You will not steal or deliberately damage equipment or property.
Failure to follow these criteria may result in being asked to leave the event and you may not be permitted to attend future Teenage Cancer Trust events. Any behaviour that is illegal will result in the Police being called.
This event is very kindly sponsored by our partner Domino’s pizza, who have been helping us bring young people with cancer together since 2015.
We have also received generous gift in kind support from the Royal Albert Hall engagement team to run this event.
