Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam has been presented Magnificent Performing Arts Award at the annual 21st Century Icon Awards in London last week.
The gala awards ceremony saw a host of winners from different walks of life. Nigam was among dynamic entrepreneurs and successful individuals chosen from hundreds of nominations from around the world.
In his acceptance speech ahead of the ceremony as he was engaged with his UK concert tour at the time, Nigam said he is truly humbled to be chosen for the award and it means a lot to him to be chosen for the honor among nominations from 22 different countries.
The 21st Century Icon Awards are the invention of UK-based Indian-origin entrepreneurs Tarun Ghulati and Preeti Rana, co-founders of Squared Watermelon Ltd. The 2019 version of the awards attracted more than 700 nominations which were narrowed down to 44 finalists.
The panel of judges included personalities across varied fields, such as British Indian peer Baroness Sandip Verma, Ibukun Adebayo from London Stock Exchange’s International Markets Unit and former British Olympic champion Denise Lewis, who met at the London Stock Exchange last month to decide on the final 18 winners.
The organizers of the annual event, Ghulati, and Rana, in a joint statement, said the next generation of leaders and businesses are truly inspiring and we are absolutely thrilled to be a part of their journey and continued success.
Among some of the other winners at the awards ceremony included Kalli Purie, Vice-Chairperson of India Today Group who won the Outstanding Media and Entertainment Award; Charlotte Crosswell, the Chief Executive Officer of Innovate Finance UK, who won the Specialist Professional Award; Asha De Vos, Marine Biologist, Ocean Educator and Pioneer Blue Whale Research within the Indian Ocean, who won the Inspirational Icon Award; and Rachael Burford, Rugby Player and Founder of Burford Academy UK, who won the Competitive Sports Award.
