Submissions open for Sandford St Martin Awards 2025 (UK)

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. 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 they 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.

Categories

• For 2025 there are four categories:
  • Journalism Award:
    • For broadcast journalism featuring a clear and articulate religious dimension – one either intrinsic to the story or issue itself, or explored through the contributors included.
    • Submissions can include broadcast coverage of breaking news or news events, original investigative or analytical journalism. Judges will be looking for fresh insights into how religion has affected political, social or economic events or decisions.
  • Radio / Audio Award:
    • For audio-based broadcast media content exploring themes of interest to both religious communities and a general audience.
    • In addition to traditional religious broadcasting or programmes that directly explore religion, entries in this category can include less traditional content about belief. For example, content which explores how belief impacts experience including how people understand their identity, place or purpose in the world, how it informs the codes they live by, the decisions they make, their actions or how they engage with others or others engage with them is all eligible.
  • Television / Video Award:
    • For visual broadcast media content exploring themes of interest to both religious communities and a general audience.
    • In addition to traditional religious broadcasting or programmes that directly explore religion, entries in this category can include less traditional content about belief. For example, content which explores how belief impacts experience including how people understand their identity, place or purpose in the world, how it informs the codes they live by, the decisions they make, their actions or how they engage with others or others engage with them is all eligible.
  • Young Audience Award:
    • For broadcast content appealing to audiences under the age of 18 and which enables better understanding of religion or belief and/or helps young people explore current moral or ethical issues.
    • Your total number of entries in this category should not exceed five.

Prize Information

• Winners will receive their prizes at a gala awards ceremony at Lambeth Palace in June 2025.

Eligibility Criteria

• All entries must have been broadcast for the first time between 1 January and 31 December 2024 and should be sent to them ‘as transmitted’. Please do not submit compilations.
• Entries will be accepted from UK or ROI-based broadcast or production organisations, news providers and freelance or independent content-producers. Entries must have been publicly available to a general UK audience.
• All entries and programme files must be completed.
• This deadline is final, and late entries are barred automatically.
• Non-English content must be either dubbed or subtitled in English. Please note, if your entry is shortlisted for an award, they will require a HD (video) or WAV (audio) copy of your entry before you can progress to the final judging stage.
• To help the Sandford St Martin Trust in its running of the Awards, please ensure any copyright materials (audio, video, text or images) have been approved for use by the Trust in the awards’ judging, presentation and promotion of the Trust’s work by the copyright owner or an exclusive licensee. If it is difficult for your entry to meet that requirement, please email them to review the specifics of your situation.
• There is no entry fee.

For more information, visit Sandford St Martin Trust.