The Best of British event followed the adoption of a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly recognising sickle cell disorder (SCD) as a global public health problem.

SCD is a genetic disease that affects the red blood cells of people with the condition. It can cause bouts of extreme pain, permanent damage to body organs and in some cases, it can even be fatal.The shocking statistics illustrate the severity of SCD. Around 240,000 people have the sickle cell trait. Approximately 13,000 people have a SCD. Furthermore, over 300 babies with SCD are born every year.

It is a disorder that mostly, though not exclusively affects people from Africa and the Carribean – a nation which is in desperate need of donations.

With this cause in mind and a star-studded bill, the night was bound to be a resounding success. The event kicked off with spoken word from poet James Massiah and soulful vocals by Sewuese (a young up and coming R&B British artist). With pertinent and thought-provoking lyrics about love and justice James captured the audience’s attention and the essence of the night.

Donae’o ensured that nobody was left sitting down when he performed his smash hit single Party Hard and urged his captive audience to remember why they were there. Next was Ctrl.Alt.Shift ambassador MPHO’s turn to take centre stage. With her beautiful voice and provocative lyrics, she had the audience singing along in no time. Hip hop artist Tinie Tempah, who's recently signed a record deal with EMI, also worked the crowd. The crowd cheered uproariously when he chanted, "If you know you’ve come here to support a good cause, make some noise".

Zeeshan Asghar, a representative from The National Blood Service, reminded us what this good cause was. Under 1% of blood donations in the UK are given by people of black African or Caribbean origin. As SCD mainly affects people from Africa and the Caribbean, it is imperative that people from these ethnic groups donate blood so that SCD sufferers can be treated.

With music as big as his 6ft 10in stature, XO Man was next to take the stage. Other performers of the night included Kid British, Princess Nyah, Mz Bratt and double Brit winner Miss Dynamite, who ended the night with a bang.

During the event I caught up with XO Man and James Massiah who both have friends and family affected by SCD. During an interview, Mpho maintained that there isn’t enough "general awareness" and XO Man summed up the underlying problem – the mentality that, "unless you’ve got it, you’re not really affected by it," and expressed that this attitude wasn’t right.

With show-stopping performances and inspiring talks, Best of British ensured that we partied hard, laughed, listened, but most importantly, learnt a lot.

All proceeds from this event went to the Sickle Cell Society.

To find out how, and where to give blood, please visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.

Words: Emine Sinmaz

Photos: Natasha Jarett