Forty-eight military children, who together form the Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir, have made it through to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) 2022, with their heart-warming and equally, heartstring-tugging song, ‘Welcome Home’.
The children, all aged between 7 and 18 represent military families from the Navy, Army and RAF across the whole of the UK, from Plymouth to Lossiemouth in Scotland.
The choir, which was first formed in June 2021, is supported by the charity ‘Never Such Innocence’ (NSI), which aims to give children and young people across the world a voice on conflict through the creative arts, including song.
The original lyrics for the song were written by two of the choir’s members, Lewis and Emily, whose parents serve in the Royal Navy.
Lewis and Emily had wanted to create a song that all military children around the world could sing, a song that would tell their story, unite and connect them through their shared experiences.
The song lets us into their world, tell us what it means to be a military child with a parent out on deployment in a conflict zone, and allows us to feel the overwhelming joy they experience when that parent returns home safely.
NSI song-writing practitioner, Bethzienna Williams helped the children to bring their idea to life, and make their dream a beautiful reality.
The song was awarded First Place in the 2021 NSI international competition, which received entries from 99 countries.
Te choir first performed this song live at the 2021-Armed Forces Day before going on to enter Britain’s Got Talent show earlier this year.
The BGT Semi-Finals
The semi-finals will run from Monday, 30th May and continue nightly throughout the week to Friday, 3rd June.
The Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir will be performing on Tuesday, 31st May. The show starts at 08:00 pm on ITV, and there is a BIG surprise in store for everyone who tunes in.
Who gets to go through to the finals of each semi-final round, will be decided on the night. The top voted act by the public will go straight through to the final while the judges will pick the second act.
Viewers can vote either via their landline or via text on their mobile phone – standard network charges apply. Alternatively, you can download the BGT App from the Apple App Store, and vote for free.
Want to hear more?
Here you can not only listen to the children singing, but you can also find out more about the project, and of course, get involved.
And finally
From everyone at the MCN, we wish this amazing choir all the very best of luck. No matter what the outcome, they are all winners, and should be very proud of their achievements. They’ve given military children a voice and put them firmly on the map. We salute you!
The children will also be performing at the 2022 Trooping the Colour ceremony, which will be held on Thursday 2nd June 2022, as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.