Olivia Dean Swaps the O2 for Hackney Church — One Night, a Prize Draw, and a Women’s Charity

Olivia Dean will play an intimate one-night show at Hackney Church in London on Wednesday, November 18, in aid of the East London charity You Make It — and there will be no general sale. Standing tickets for the evening, titled “Love, You Make It,” are available only through a prize draw on Crowdfunder, with entries starting at £10 for the chance to win a pair, Official Charts reported.

The draw offers 600 pairs of tickets in two stages, the Crowdfunder campaign page says. An Early Access Draw covers 300 pairs, drawn from every entry made in the first 24 hours, from 6pm on Monday, October 19; entries made in that window also roll into the Main Draw for the remaining 300 pairs if they do not win early. The draw stays open until 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday, November 3, is open to residents of the UK, EU and EEA aged 18 and over, and all of the proceeds go to You Make It, the campaign page says. A limited number of accessible tickets will be made available to winners with specific access requirements, Official Charts said.

The night itself will combine conversation and spoken word with a stripped-back performance from Dean, the campaign page says.

You Make It, based in East London, is marking its 15th anniversary. The charity supports young, working-class Black and Brown women into careers, running a 16-week programme that includes one-to-one mentoring and therapy, work experience in the fields the women want, and group learning; more than 700 women have completed the programme since 2011, the charity and the campaign page say.

In the announcement, Dean said: “Black and Brown women deserve to have their voices heard and their talents appreciated across our creative industries. We are magical and powerful! YMI’s presence and their support of the women that need it is essential and I’m so happy I can be a part of this evening that can help continue the important work they do,” Official Charts reported.

Asma Shah, the founder and chief executive of You Make It, said: “At its core, You Make It is about love, community and solidarity, at a time when there isn’t enough love shown in the world.” Funders, she added, “are saying no to almost everything,” and Dean, her manager Emily and their team “have given us a lifeline that we needed to continue this work,” Official Charts reported.

The show’s title carries the charity’s name and the theme of Dean’s album: the campaign page notes that “The Art of Loving” was inspired by bell hooks’s book “All About Love,” which treats love as something learned and practised. One graduate quoted by the charity said the programme had “taught me how to love.”

The announcement follows six nights at London’s O2 arena on Dean’s Art of Loving Tour, Official Charts said. “The Art of Loving,” her third studio album, has spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart since its release last November, and stands at No. 4 on this week’s chart, Official Charts said.

The two publications counting her biggest hit do not agree on its size. “Rein Me In,” Dean’s duet with Sam Fender, recently made chart history, Official Charts reported, becoming the longest-running No. 1 single ever, with 23 weeks now spent at the top. A chart tally in Forbes counted the same song differently: nine weeks at No. 1, accumulated across three separate runs at the summit. Both counts are printed here as reported.

Sources: Official Charts; Crowdfunder; You Make It; Contact Music; Forbes.