Contributors to National Ceremony 2026

Information on the contributors joining us for the UK National Ceremony held on Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday 27 January.

Ceremony Host – Clive Myrie is a journalist, newsreader and presenter for the BBC. A BAFTA-nominated journalist, he has been at the forefront of current affairs, broadcasting and documentary-making since the 1990s. Over the past two decades, Clive has reported on many of the world’s most significant news events and is highly experienced in politics and global affairs. He is also the presenter of BBC quiz show Mastermind. 

Sir Sajid Javid was appointed Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust in 2025. He has served in senior roles in Government, including as Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Leonie Elliott is an actress, best known for her role as Lucille Anderson in the BBC series Call the Midwife, where she appeared from 2018 to 2023.

Henny Franks is a Holocaust survivor who escaped Nazi persecution as a child. She was born in Cologne, Germany, in June 1923. Her father, Jacob Grünbaum, was murdered in Sobibor. Henny escaped to England via the Kindertransport with her younger sister, and their mother joined them in London after the war. Henny Franks is 102 years old.

Dr Agnes Kaposi MBE is a Holocaust survivor, engineer and author. When the Holocaust reached Hungary, she witnessed events first-hand. As a young girl, she survived the Debrecen ghetto and was forced to work as a child labourer in camps in Austria. She lost half her family in the Holocaust. In 2021, Dr Kaposi was awarded an MBE for services to Holocaust education and awareness by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

Peter Lantos BEM is a Holocaust survivor and author. In 1944, as a young child, he was deported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where his father died of starvation. Peter survived alongside his mother. He came to England in 1968 and did not return to his native Hungary until the end of Communism in 1989. 

Matt Lucas is an actor, comedian, presenter and writer, and one of the most recognisable personalities in British television.  He is best known for his work alongside David Walliams, co-creating the three-time BAFTA winning, BBC comedy Little Britain.  Matt has starred in numerous critically acclaimed projects, including Alice in Wonderland, Paddington and Dr Who.

David Balog is a vocalist with ZOR, a Roma music band from Scotland, and a youth worker with the Ando Glaso Roma Festival. Founded in 2017, Ando Glaso- meaning “In Tune” in Romanes—celebrates Roma culture on its own terms and supports Roma cultural practitioners and artists in Scotland and beyond. 

Brady Isaacs Pearce is an actress and singer.  Brady has been in the musical theatre industry for over 10 years and is currently a member of the cast of Fiddler on the Roof for its UK tour. Brady attended the world-famous Brit School, a leading performing and creative arts school, from the age of 16. 

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis KBE is the 11th Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Installed in 2013, he serves as a leading representative of the Jewish community to government and other faith communities.  In 2023, The Chief Rabbi received a Knighthood for his service to the Jewish community, interfaith relations and education.

Jonny Turgel has served as chazan at Stanmore Synagogue since 2011.  He has trained and studied under several accomplished chazzanim and leading vocal coaches, both in the UK and internationally, developing a distinctive style that resonates with contemporary audiences.  He is the grandson of Gena and Norman Turgel. His grandmother, Gena, survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen. When Bergen-Belsen was liberated on 15 April 1945 by the British Army, Norman Turgel was among the liberators; the couple married six months later. 

The Right Reverent & Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally, DBE, PC, The Lord Bishop of London, Archbishop-elect, has held this office since 2018 and was the first woman appointed to the role. In October 2025, she was named the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England. She is expected to take office in March 2026. 

Rabbi Daniel Walker has served as Rabbi of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation since 2008. He is co-chair of the community and interfaith committees of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region. Rabbi Walker became a symbol of courage during the Yom Kippur 2025 terrorist attack on his synagogue, when he held the doors shut to protect his congregants. Two community members were tragically killed. He has since vowed not to let hatred prevail and continues to lead and support his community. 

Joseph Knowles is an Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Next Gen Ambassador.  Our Next Gen Ambassador programme empowers young people aged 18–25 to become leaders committed to building a future free from identity-based hatred and persecution. 

Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE has been the Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust since February 2012. She has overseen the growth and impact of Holocaust Memorial Day around the country.

The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP was appointed Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in September 2025. He was previously Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from July 2024 – September 2025.

Tabitha Steemson is the grand daughter of Holocaust survivor Agnes Kaposis.

Louisa Clein is an actress best known for her role as Charlie Deed in the BBC series Judge John Deed (2001–2007). Her television credits also include Holby City, Doctors, Casualty, New Tricks and Midsomer Murders. Louisa is the daughter of Holocaust survivor Channah Clein and the sister of cellist Natalie Clein. She appeared alongside her sister in the 2019 BBC documentary My Family, The Holocaust and Me with Rob Rinder. In 2022, Louisa took part in the BBC programme Pilgrimage, representing the Jewish community. 

Jack Liebeck is a British/German violinist, director and festival director.  Jack is the Royal Academy of Music’s first Émile Sauret Professor of Violin and Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

Joshua Fisher is a professor of violin and an international soloist, orchestral and chamber musician.

Electric Umbrella is a charity founded by musician Tom Billington and art therapist Mel Boda. It was established in response to the lack of opportunities for learning disabled people to perform on stage. Through inclusive music-making, Electric Umbrella creates extraordinary musical experiences that challenge perceptions and empower learning disabled people. 

The Candle-lighters were:  

Eva Clarke BEM is a Holocaust survivor who was born on 29 April 1945, just outside the gates of Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Her birth came one day after the Nazis ran out of gas for the chambers and less than a week before the camp was liberated by the US Army. 

Alfred Garwood MBE is a Holocaust survivor who was hidden as a child during the Holocaust. Born Alfred Garfinkle in a Nazi ghetto, he was imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and later placed on a train destined for Theresienstadt, before being liberated by the Red Army. 

Martin Stern MBE is a Holocaust survivor. Martin survived camps at both Westerbork and Theresienstadt.

Mala Tribich MBE is a Holocaust survivor.  Mala and her family were forced into the Piotrkow Trybunalski ghetto – the first Nazi ghetto established in Poland.

Sokphal Din BEM is a survivor of the genocide in Cambodia.  Forced out of his home by the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, Sokphal endured hard labour in the Killing Fields and eventually escaped to Thai refugee camps where he lived for seven years.

Antoinette Mutabazi is a child survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. She endured a harrowing 90-day period, hiding from the killers who murdered her mother, two young brothers, and dozens of other relatives.

Isam Agieb is a survivor from Darfur.

Sabit Jacupovic is a survivor from Bosnia.  Sabit had been imprisoned for 120 days in two different Bosnian concentration camps, one of which was the notorious Omarska camp.

David Balog (see above)

Joseph Knowles (see above)

Louisa Clein (see above)

 

Thank you for joining us for Holocaust Memorial Day 2026.