About the Sandford St Martin Awards
The Sandford St Martin Awards are the UK’s most prestigious broadcast awards for radio, TV and online programmes and content that explore religious, spiritual or ethical themes.
Established in 1978, they are the only awards in the UK that specifically seek out the best content that supports religious literacy across communities or promotes a better understanding of how people identify or define their place in the world, and that welcome entries about any and all faiths – or none.
Every year we receive hundreds of entries from producers and content makers working in news, current affairs, factual, the arts, music, drama and comedy – as well as from teams producing specifically ‘religious’ commissions. What they have in common is their commitment to excellence and their willingness to engage with what people believe.
To be eligible for the Awards, entries must be broadcast content made by a UK or ROI based broadcasting organisation or production house, and have been first publicly broadcast, screened or published to a UK audience during the previous calendar year.
The 2024 Awards competition is now open for entries. Full details about the categories, criteria and how to enter can be found here .
Traditionally hosted every June at Lambeth Palace, the Trust in recent years has been taking its awards ceremony on the road. In 2022 the event was hosted in the heart of East London’s Spitalfields; in 2023 we travelled to Manchester and 2024’s award ceremony will be held at Southwark Cathedral.
Follow us on social media to find out more, or sign up for our newsletter and updates about our forthcoming events.
In the meantime, if you need inspiration, then you can review our archive of our winners, watch Jimmy McGovern or Stormzy receive their awards, or you can listen to any of our keynote addresses by Neil MacGregor, Joan Bakewell, Lyse Doucet or the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
2023 Award Winners and shortlisted programmes
On the evening of 21st June 2023 broadcasters, journalists, content-makers and representatives from some of the UK’s different faith communities gathered in Manchester’s magnificent Whitworth Hall to celebrate the very best broadcasting about religion, ethics or spirituality. As the Trust’s Chair, Dr Tony Stoller, noted in his welcome for this year’s awards ceremony:
“This year’s entries represent the highest number of new entrants and new broadcast platforms ever received, suggesting there is still a great appetite for making and consuming content which engages with religious and ethical themes”
You can find out more about this year’s winners and finalists and watch the overture from the ceremony and interviews with this year’s winners here. Or check out our social media using #sandford2023
Awards archive
After more than four decades in the business, the Sandford St Martin Trust holds a unique record of recognising and celebrating the best broadcasting about religion, ethics and morality from across the UK. Our winners include some of the best programmes broadcast in the UK and come from all different genres – as well as “traditional” religious programming. You can read more about them in our Awards Archive.