Nicola Coughlan, Paapa Essiedu and More Join Celebrity Auction to Raise Money for Students in Gaza
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Phoenix Space organized a celebrity auction beginning July 27 and running 10 days, prompted by the UK government's plan to help Gaza students study in Britain only if they secure fully-funded scholarships.
- Nicola Coughlan and Siobhán McSweeney donated a signed behind-the-scenes photo from "Derry Girls," while Paapa Essiedu is auctioning his personal copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," saying he wants the book to help "unlock the futures" of Gaza's students.
- Other donors include Brian Cox, Gary Lineker (signed Japan football shirt), Paloma Faith, Maxine Peake, Juliet Stevenson (her first poetry book), Charlotte Church (a wellness retreat spot), Harriet Walter (a Donmar Warehouse "Julius Caesar" script), Vanessa Redgrave (a necklace from "Long Day's Journey Into Night") and Janet Suzman (vintage Christian Lacroix brooch).
- Hundreds of Gaza students have received university offers for this year from University College London, Imperial and Edinburgh in subjects including artificial intelligence and cognitive neuroscience, but lack funding to attend.
- The auction was spurred by a UK government announcement offering travel and study support contingent on students raising full scholarship funding themselves, creating the gap Phoenix Space aims to close.
Why it matters: Hundreds of Gaza students already hold offers at top UK universities (UCL, Imperial, Edinburgh) but cannot enroll without full funding. By donating personal memorabilia and auctioning it online, over 20 celebrities are creating a direct fundraising channel to convert those existing offers into actual scholarships, with bidding opening July 27 for a 10-day window.
