LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s 100-year-old charity hero Captain Tom Moore and motor racing champion Lewis Hamilton have topped GQ magazine’s Men of the Year Awards.
The men’s fashion and style magazine also honoured campaigning soccer player Marcus Rashford and actress Lashana Lynch, among others, at a virtual ceremony broadcast on Thursday via GQ’s YouTube channel and hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall.
It named veteran singer, song writer and TV personality Ozzy Osbourne as winner of its lifetime achievement award.
Moore, a World War Two veteran, won the ‘Inspiration’ category after raising 32 million pounds ($43 million) for Britain’s health service and charities at the height of the coronavirus pandemic by walking laps of his garden.
Since completing his walking feat, Moore has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth, scored a No. 1 single, written a book and signed a deal to film a biopic of his life. Last month he launched a podcast series to tackle isolation among the elderly.
Hamilton, 35, the most successful grand prix racing driver of all time and the only Black driver in Formula One, won GQ’s ‘Game Changer’ award. He has used his platform to campaign for racial equality, diversity and environmental sustainability.
“Despite winning more races than anyone else across an impressive 14 seasons in Formula One, it’s Lewis Hamilton’s actions off the circuit that make him GQ’s Game Changer of the Year,” said Dylan Jones, the magazine’s editor.
Among others honoured on Thursday, ‘Captain Marvel’ star Lynch was named breakthrough actress and Irish actor Paul Mescal, who starred in ‘Normal People’, won the breakthrough actor award. British-Nigerian actor John Boyega took GQ’s ‘Icon’ award.
Manchester United player Rashford clinched the ‘Campaigner’ award for his work in helping to tackle child hunger and homelessness in Britain.
Patrick Hutchinson, a Black Lives Matter activist and personal trainer who rescued a white man during violent clashes in London in the summer, won the humanitarian award.
This was the 23rd year of the GQ Men of the Year Awards, which was organised in association with Hugo Boss.
(Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
