WPR AWARDS 2024
The end of the year is in sight, which can only mean one thing – the judges have been secluded in a secret location for months as they’ve pored over the nomination papers*, and we’ve finally come up with a list of winners (and losers). Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the WPR Awards 2024!
*Full disclosure – there is no judging process, there are no nomination papers, and I am the only judge. All opinions my own!
SELFIE OF THE YEAR
There’s only one winner. Back in February, the Northern Ireland first and deputy ministers, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly, one Catholic and one Protestant, attended the UEFA Women’s Nations League play-off match between Northern Ireland and Montenegro. The heartwarming selfie they spontaneously snapped with three young girls spoke volumes about how sport can reach across the sectarian divide and unite communities.
IMAGE OF THE YEAR
When adventure and sports photographer Jerome Brouillet snapped his shot of Brazil’s Gabriel Medina seemingly floating in the clouds above the waves, he must have known he had captured an iconic image. Photographers heaped praise on the shot, social media went berserk, surfers were astonished, and those of us who struggle to body-board in four feet of water with a small swell were left in wonder.
PR COCK-UP OF THE YEAR
In a textbook move from the book ‘How to Lose a General Election’ our hapless former PM, Rishi Sunak, forsook the opportunity to be photographed with world leaders, including the President of the United States, at the D-Day commemorations in Normandy to skip back to London for pre-record TV interview that wasn’t due to go out for another five days.
The veterans were angry, the scorn was deafening from the across the political spectrum, the apology hamfisted and the memes brutal – epitomised by a memorable comparison between the PM and our greatest leader in a post on X which captured what everyone was thinking.
Lest we forget, come July 4. #toriesaredone #sunak #apology #vote pic.twitter.com/hk7WJnIYSx
— Ben Golik (@bengolik) June 7, 2024
WORST PUBLIC INQUIRY APPEARANCE
If, like me, you get to the end of the working day and wonder, “which public inquiry into major institutional failure shall I catch up on this evening?”, then 2024 has been a bumper year for you. The COVID Inquiry is ongoing, but another investigation was catapulted into the public consciousness this year when ITV highlighted the plight of sub-postmasters in Mr Bates and the Post Office, which subsequently made the testimony of the organisation’s CEO must-see viewing. At the officially named Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, what followed was a masterpiece in obfuscation, forgetfulness (“I’m sorry I don’t recall”) and passing the buck. Worst public inquiry appearance of 2024 was, of course, Paula Vennells.
BEST PUBLIC INQUIRY APPEARANCE
One of the joys of public inquiry watching (it’s a minority pastime I admit) has been the occasional panning to the audience and the audible intakes of breath at some of the answers or non-answers from those being cross-examined.
Whoever put sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton front and centre during Paula Vennells’ testimony played a blinder. Hell hath no fury like an innocent woman accused of embezzlement.
EXIT OF THE YEAR
It’s been a year of exits, from Joe Biden and Gareth Southgate to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Sue Gray, but one farewell trumped all others. They say you should always leave them wanting more and Jurgen Klopp timed his exit to perfection.
There was singing, tears, speeches and the obligatory chest thumping to all four corners of the ground. It was so good that Sky Sports kept cutting away from Manchester City’s title celebrations and Wolves fans stayed behind to soak it all in. It was an outpouring of respect, gratitude and, frankly, love, and it was a privilege to be there.
PRIZE PRAT OF THE YEAR
Referee-bashing is becoming a national sport, but the judges have been increasingly concerned about the impact on the grassroots game. It is incumbent upon all of us – fans, parents, coaches, players, pundits and referees – to take the heat out of this situation.
The rot comes from the top, so it is important that our most prominent referees act with the utmost integrity and avoid any hint of bias. Step forward, David Coote, who allegedly failed to rise to the occasion with an expletive-laden rant about coaches and players while being filmed on a smartphone at 4am.
David is now officially our prize prat of the year.
EMBARRASSING EMAIL OF THE YEAR
There’s no contest for this one. When Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent her questions to Boris Johnson ahead of his primetime BBC1 interview the conspiracy theorists had a field day. Those of us who prefer planet Earth would just like some answers to the key questions, like what was the BBC thinking allowing BoJo to flog his new book at 7pm on BBC1 and would they have called it off if they hadn’t been rumbled on social media?
BEST SCHADENFREUDE MOMENT
Kwasi Kwarteng’s bonkers budget seems a thousand years ago now, but the good people of South-West Norfolk clearly have long memories. Despite a whopping 26,000 majority, our former Prime Minister Liz Truss was thrown out at the general election. She then failed to rise to the occasion, refusing to leave her Range Rover, keeping the other candidates waiting and foregoing the traditional concession speech. One suspects that a Portillo-esque rebranding as a national treasure with her own BBC show is not on the cards.
COMMUNICATORS OF THE YEAR
As England laboured in Euro 2024, our football pundits stepped manfully, and womanfully, into the breach.
From Cesc Fabregas’ Iberian charm to Alex Scott’s insightful analysis, Thomas Frank’s Germanic pragmatism and Gary Neville’s scorn, we were entertained off the pitch, even when the action on it was like watching paint dry. Some of us even found ourselves agreeing with Wayne Rooney for the first time in our lives.
Best of all though was Gary Lineker, jumping off his stool to demonstrate – at the age of 64 – the sort of movement that evaded Harry Kane for the entire tournament. Our communicators of the year are the Euro 2024 football pundits.
VILLAINS OF THE YEAR
You know a football club is losing the plot when its fanbase is celebrating the hiring of the UK’s most expensive QC to fight its corner. With 115 financial charges hanging over them, 2024 was the year when Manchester City went on the offensive, hiring Lord Pannick (£5,000 an hour reportedly) and counter-suing the Premier League, who are themselves spending £20 million plus a year on legal fees, as we all await a decision.
What’s causing the hold-up? Frankly, the judges suspect that after docking Everton 10 points, charging Leicester, and finding Nottingham Forest guilty, the optics of letting City off while finding smaller clubs guilty is terrible.
We all need to move on from this now, but for dragging it out so long our joint villains of the year are The Premier League and Manchester City.
PERSON OF THE YEAR
2024 has not been an easy year with a stagnant economy, inflation, high interest rates, continuing war in Europe and a pervading sense of anxiety. And then the summer brought a ray of joy that consumed the whole land as a woman from Nashville, Tennessee landed with The Eras Tour.
You know you’re witnessing a cultural landmark moment when you’re in a Liverpool pub with four other middle-aged blokes who collectively agree that ‘the whole city’s buzzing’.
And it wasn’t just Merseyside. Coined Swiftonomics, the nine shows around the UK gave an estimated £1 billion boost to GDP. Some of us began to wonder whether the secret to getting the UK economy growing again might just be the mass buying of concert tickets, cowboy boots and pink Stetson hats? Frankly, it’s worth a go – we’ve tried everything else!
Our person of the year 2024 is Taylor Swift.
The author: Tom Leatherbarrow is a director at WPR, specialising in strategies and content marketing for B2B audiences.
WPR is an award-winning PR agency, based in Birmingham, renowned for getting the world talking about the brilliant brands we work with. We specialise in consumer PR, across sectors including food and drink, retail and leisure; B2B PR, where we work with companies spanning manufacturing, construction and HVAC industries; and social media.
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