Cherie Blair is set to open this year's Merseyside Women of the Year (MWOTY) awards ceremony.
The ceremony is an annual event celebrating the achievements of women from across the region, acknowledging and rewarding the business leaders, entrepreneurs, community activists and “all-round superstars who are changing and giving extra meaning to the lives of people from Merseyside and beyond.” This year has seen the awards ceremony’s largest-ever number of nominations.
The organisers invited Cherie, who was brought up in Waterloo in Sefton, to open the 2022 awards in recognition of her “unwavering passion for Merseyside and commitment to empowering women to achieve their goals, which supports the ethos and aims of the much-loved MWOTY awards.”
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For 16 years now, the barrister and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women has been the patron for MWOTY Inspirational Woman category sponsors, Community Foundation for Merseyside, donating her time to promote the importance of charitable giving that will support communities with the most need.
Cherie Blair said: “As someone both passionate about Merseyside and seeing women empowered to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals, I am tremendously excited to support the forthcoming Merseyside Women of the Year Awards. It promises to be an inspirational event and I look forward to learning more about the remarkable achievements of all the wonderful finalists.”
The awards return to the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool City Centre on Friday, July 1 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Nominations for this year’s ceremony closed at the end of last month with a total of 80 entries - the most to be received in the event’s 12-year history. Renowned for shining a spotlight on those women who do not seek the limelight or push themselves to the front, but instead work to make a difference to the people, sectors and communities they serve, their return has been hugely welcomed.
Ellie Kerr, founding director and original ‘Merseyside woman of the year’, added: “It has been a long wait for these awards and we have received so many incredible entries. Cherie is an incredible woman whose values and work align closely with MWOTY’s mission, so to have her join us to open our first in-person awards ceremony in two years is a pleasure and an honour.”
As well as celebrating women and their achievements, the event aims to “leave a legacy of amazing role models to inspire and support future generations of women in Merseyside and the Liverpool city region,” and this year's overall MWOTY will strive to do just that. The overall winner will be selected from all finalists following a public vote and being marked by the organisation’s judging panel against its criteria.
