Since 1993 the Hampstead Garden Suburb music and literary festival has raised funds for The North London Hospice and East London charity Toynbee Hall

Despite being forced online due to the pandemic, the Proms at St Jude’s has now passed the milestone of raising £1 million for charity.

Founded in 1993, the annual music and literary festival in Hampstead Garden Suburb donates proceeds to the North London Hospice and Toynbee Hall, which was founded by Suburb founder Dame Henrietta Barnett more than 100 years ago now supports disadvantaged young people in East London.

Run by volunteers, the charity, which normally stages world class concerts and book talks in St Jude-on-the-Hill and The Henrietta Barnett School, ran on an online festival this year, raising an impressive £30,000.

It tipped the arts festival’s cumulative donation over the £1 million mark.

“Back in 1993 I’m sure that none of us guessed that we might ever reach such a staggering figure,” said Proms founder Susie Gregson MBE.

“What a wonderful journey of collaborative community effort it has been for the past 28 years! It’s humbling to have been able to create the magic of the festival, have heaps of fun and change lives in the process.”

Nicholas Chalmers, director of music at St Jude’s and artistic director of Nevill Holt Opera performed at this year’s online festival and has brought the opera company’s productions to Proms since 2014 says: “It’s such a wonderful community run festival I am glad to have contributed to this remarkable fundraising effort.”