Judging of the 'Rural Oscars' continues as the Alliance edges closer to crowning the 2020/21 winners

The Countryside Alliance Awards, a nationally recognised ceremony which highlights outstanding businesses in the countryside, have officially continued after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The judging stage of the awards, known to some as the 'Rural Oscars' has now started but in a different format to the one our finalists – and judges – are used to. Whereas representatives of the Countryside Alliance would normally visit each finalist in person to judge the business, we have had to do things a little differently this year in order to comply with the restrictions on domestic travel. The judging phase of the awards is currently being held virtually and is being run by Sarah Lee, Director of the Countryside Alliance Awards.

Sarah said: "We were incredibly sad to have to postpone judging last year, but it was necessary. There were so many excellent rural businesses nominated by tens of thousands of people from across the countryside. We are pleased to say that those businesses shortlisted for awards last year, will have the opportunity to win this year."

If you would like a reminder of which businesses made it to be regional finalists – and to see if there are any in your area – you can check using our interactive map, here. With the difficulties of the past year, it is more important than ever that we support those local businesses in our area. Many of them have adapted the way they operate during the pandemic, and not only to stay afloat, but to help their local communities and ensure they feel safe when shopping with them or using their services.

In honour of this, we have launched a new campaign that will run alongside the Countryside Alliance Awards, called Rural Heroes. Using this campaign, we want to showcase those individuals, small community groups, and businesses who have gone the extra mile to make the past year more bearable for the rest of us. Whether they delivered our shopping, organised food parcels for our most vulnerable, sewed facemasks for those on the front line, kept our community together with socially distanced street workouts or quizzes, or just simply put a smile on our faces, these are the people we want to thank for their efforts to keep us all going. You can find out more about our Rural Heroes campaign, and nominate one, here.