Girls Aloud are set to reunite later this week on Saturday October 8 as they throw a charity gala requested by and in memory of their late bandmate Sarah Harding.
The singer tragically died on 5 September 2021 aged 39 after a battle with cancer and bandmate Kimberley Walsh, 40, revealed that one of Sarah's dying wishes was for the rest of the band, including Cheryl, Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle, to put on a charity gala to raise money.
The money raised will go towards funding a study, headed by Sarah’s oncologist, focusing on why so many women are suffering from the disease at such a young age.
Speaking to The Sun, Kimberley said that Girls Aloud have vowed not to sing together at the event, which they have been working on for over a year, saying: "It doesn’t feel right without her.
"We miss her so much. It’s just so hard to get your head around it — to realise that she’s gone."
She added: "Before Sarah died, we chatted to her and she told us she wanted us to raise as much money as we could for charity."
The Primrose Ball will be held at The Londoner hotel in central London on October 8, with many special guests due to make an appearance.
Olly Alexander is set to perform, and there is set to be a live auction which includes an original canvas depicting the pop star by artistic duo the Connor Brothers.
The Girls Aloud group are hoping the charity gala will raise funds for the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Cancer Research UK, as part of the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal.
Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola will host the event, with Fearne Cotton presenting and broadcaster Johnny Gould hosting the auction.
Among the performers honouring Sarah and raising money for charity will be Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson and The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, along with Years & Years singer Alexander.
The Primrose Ball has been organised at the request of Harding and named after her lyrics from their hit song The Promise where she sings “here I am walking Primrose”.
The former Girls Aloud members confirmed the news in a heartfelt statement: “We are so grateful to The Londoner for hosting the Primrose Ball at their wonderful hotel.
“Charles Oak, hotel director of The Londoner, and Sarah had a very special bond and holding her gala evening there will make the night even more special.
“Our hope is to raise a huge amount of money that will hopefully prevent other people finding themselves in the same terrifying situation Sarah found herself in.”
This will not be the first action the group have taken to pay tribute to Sarah. In July, the singers took part in a 5k charity run, titled Race For Life For Sarah, to celebrate Harding’s life and raise money for breast cancer.
The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal aims to fund research to identify new ways to predict which young women, with no family history of breast cancer, are likely to develop the disease, ensuring people can be identified earlier when treatment is more likely to be successful.
READ MORE:
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