Manchester's 24:7 Theatre Festival has been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, created by the Queen for her Golden Jubilee in 2002, the MBE for volunteer groups.
The award citation stated, "the work your group does for the community was very much admired by the independent Assessment Committee, chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis CBE and I am delighted to inform you that your group has been selected as a recipient for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) 2016."
24:7 will receive its award at an event on 4 July, but has promised to organise a Gathering in mid-July for everyone who has been involved with its festivals since 2002 to have their photograph taken with the award for a "Big 24:7 Album".