Dame Joanna Lumley reads at the 25th candlelit Christmas concert for Kids for Kids, the charity that adopts remote villages in Darfur, at St Peter’s Eaton Square.
Dame Joanna Lumley, the charity’s patron, reads at the Kids for Kids Magical Candlelit Christmas Concert at St Peter’s Eaton Square in Belgravia on Thursday 3 December 2026. It is the 25th concert, in the charity’s 25th year.
Patricia Parker launched Kids for Kids in Khartoum in 2001, after visiting her son, a diplomat at the embassy there. North of El Fasher she met Ibrahim, a nine-year-old walking seven hours across the desert to fetch water for his family.
The charity now adopts remote villages in Darfur and trains villagers to run their own projects. Goat loans, handpumps, healthcare, schooling and trees are part of each village’s programme.
Every penny of profit from the evening buys emergency food and aid for children in Darfur, where violence has raged for more than three years. The 2025 concert raised over £26,000.
Lord Cope of Berkeley and Julie Etchingham join as guest readers. The Junior and Senior Choirs of Queen’s Gate School sing the carols, with the soprano Bibi Heal, the harpist Les Magee and Thames Fanfare Brass.
Stephen Barlow accompanies the soloist, and Ian Curror, former Director of Music at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, plays the organ.