The Ultimate Backstage Experience

Please get in touch with [email protected] and we can discuss your particular needs. Let us know if you need us to support you 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 the ballot, we will work with you to make your attendance possible in any way we can – let us know!
 

We will prioritise young people who have not attended before. However, in the unlikely event that we are undersubscribed, then you may still get a place if you meet the eligibility criteria. Therefore, you can still enter the ballot.

Only eligible young people who’ve had cancer can enter the ballot, but if you are successful then we will send your guest a registration form to complete. Guests cannot enter the ballot itself.

Yes. Your guest must be an adult aged 18 or over. They are responsible for travelling with you to the event to provide you with support and reassurance, as well as sharing the special experience with you.

Young people often tell us that the opportunity to bring a guest to the Ultimate Backstage Experience is a chance to say “thank you” to someone who has supported them through treatment or post-treatment.

No. Your guest must be an adult – i.e. aged 18 or above. They are responsible for providing practical and emotional support and reassurance; therefore, it is not appropriate for them to be under 18.

If you can no longer make it, please notify us immediately by emailing [email protected] so that we can offer your place to someone else. The ballot 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.

Your guest will not be able to attend the event without you.

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 email [email protected] immediately. We will then advise you on what action needs to be taken and how this might affect you and your guest’s 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 email [email protected] immediately and we will offer your place to someone on the waiting list.

If this happens, please tell us immediately by emailing [email protected]. We will then advise you on what action needs to be taken and how this might affect you and your guest’s attendance at the Ultimate Backstage Experience.

However, please note:

• If your guest tests positive for Covid-19, or is unable to attend for any other reason, within 48 hours before the event then unfortunately neither you nor your guest will be able to attend the Ultimate Backstage Experience. This is because you must have an accompanying guest with you to attend, and we will be unable to reschedule travel and accommodation bookings with less than 48 hours’ notice.
• If you are travelling by plane – unfortunately neither you nor an alternative guest will be able to attend the Ultimate Backstage Experience as we are unable to transfer booked flights to a new person.

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, poorly 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 and your guest 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 the Royal Albert Hall between 1.30pm to1.45pm on the day of the event.

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, so you may need to get a taxi if using that station. We will cover the cost of the taxi for you – please get a receipt so we can reimburse you.

No, we will cover the cost of your travel for you and your guest and book it for you both, but you will need to complete the registration form that we send you in order for us to be able to do so.

Before completing the form, you will also need to have a think about how you will get to London and do some research on your best route.

Google Maps or Trainline are very useful for planning journeys. It might take you a little while, but will help your journey run smoothly on the day.

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. 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 1.30pm. However, there is a café at the box office that you 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 15 young people who have had cancer attending the event each evening. Each of them will have a guest accompanying them.

No, the date you’ve been given a place for is the only one we can offer you. Our ballot 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 the Stalls 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.

More young people aged 18-24 are diagnosed with cancer each year compared to people aged 13-17. Therefore, we’ve tried to be as representative as possible with the allocation of dates.

You will need to arrive at door 8 at the Royal Albert Hall at 1.30pm on the day of the event. 

The Royal Albert Hall address is Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP. 

It is a 12-minute walk from South Kensington tube station (Circle and District lines). 

The nearest wheelchair accessible station is Earl’s Court; however this is 28 minutes from the Hall, so you may need to get a taxi if using that station. We will cover the cost of the taxi for you – please get a receipt so we can reimburse you. 

We will try and make alternative arrangements where possible. If you would like to change your guest choice, please tell us by emailing [email protected] by 23:59 on Friday 10 March. 

However, please note if you are travelling by plane – unfortunately you won’t be able to bring a different guest with you as the flight will be booked in your original guest’s name and we won’t be able to change the ticket. 

If you are travelling by train, bus or car – your travel and accommodation arrangements can be transferred to a different guest. We will send you several questions to answer before we can transfer the booking. Note that your replacement must meet the following eligibility criteria – your guest must: 

• Be aged 18 or above. 

• Not be under medical guidance to avoid enclosed crowded spaces. 

• Be physically and emotionally well enough to support you. 

• If you are under 18, they should be a parent/guardian/carer or, with parental consent, they can be an adult sibling. 

• Happy to take a Lateral Flow Test in the week before the concerts if required (we would post them a couple of tests). 

We have booked a twin room for each attendee and their plus one at the Copthorne Tara Hotel. 

The hotel address is: Copthorne Tara hotel London Kensington, Scarsdale Place, London W8 5SY  

We have booked a coach from the Royal Albert Hall to the hotel after the show, when you will check in. It’s part of our duty of care to ensure all participants get safely back to the hotel after the event. 

Please note you cannot check in before the event, but you can leave your bags in their luggage room if you want. 

Check out is by 12 noon the next day. Breakfast is included in the booking.  

The nearest tube station is High Street Kensington (4 min walk) – Circle line trains run every 10 minutes. Although it is also served by the District line, this is only possible if you are coming from West London and are on the Edgeware Road branch. 

You can get off at Earls Court (12 min walk) – Piccadilly and District line trains run frequently. It’s a wheelchair accessible station, however it’s 0.6 miles away from the hotel. Therefore, you may need to take an accessible taxi to/from the station and reclaim the cost after the event. 

Rooms for people with reduced mobility are available on request. Unfortunately, we cannot book double rooms because we may need to reallocate if you aren’t able to make it. 

We cannot accommodate requests to watch specific artists. We offer all our places for the Ultimate Backstage Experience in the ballot at the same time, 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 room available during the event if you need a break, somewhere to pray or a place to have a private conversation. 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 5 pm there will be a buffet served backstage in crew catering with several hot dinner options and deserts thanks to Eat Your Hearts Out. 

Alcohol will be available to purchase during theover 18s shows. If you consume alcohol, we ask that you drink and behave responsibly and will not bring your own drinks or arrive drunk. If you are intoxicated, you will be asked to leave the event and escorted back to the hotel.

At the under 18s shows, alcohol will be available to purchase for adult guests only. However, we ask that guests drink responsibly as they are accountable for the child they are accompanying. Young people under 18 will not be allowed to drink and, if any guests provide them with drinks or we suspect someone under 18 is under the influence of alcohol, they will immediately be asked to leave the event.

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.