Catch up on the best bits from the 2023/24 competition's final

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Catch up on the highlights from the 500 Words final.

The 500 Words 2023/24 grand final

Her Majesty The Queen, the 50 finalists along with 500 Words official judges and hosts pose for a picture on the stage. — Image caption,
50 finalists were invited to the star-studded event, hosted in the Buckingham Palace ballroom by Her Majesty The Queen.

The competition's final took place at Buckingham Palace earlier this year, where 50 finalists were invited by Her Majesty The Queen, to celebrate the stories and find out who the winners were in both categories.

Each winner was announced by a celebrity guest reader, these were; Tom Hiddleston, Oti Mabuse, Olivia Dean, Luke Evans, Alisha Weir and Hugh Bonneville.

The star-studded event was hosted by comedian Romesh Ranganathan. Also in attendance were our official judges, Malorie Blackman, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon and Sir Lenny Henry.

Speaking at the final, Her Majesty The Queen said: “In the three years that we have been without this wonderful competition, I think we have realised how much we have missed it.”

The winners were revealed in a special programme with The One Show on World Book Day, 7 March. You can watch the programme on �鶹Լ�� iPlayer, or alternatively, watch the celebrity guests read the winning stories here.

From magical performances, to enticing stories, read aloud for the very first time, here is everything you need to know about the 500 Words 2023 grand final.

Some very special guests

Sir Lenny Henry meets Her Majesty The Queen — Image caption,
Sir Lenny Henry greets Her Majesty The Queen.

After selecting the winners in judging session that was also hosted by Buckingham Palace, our celebrity judges were there to watch the winners collect their awards. Our judges even got the chance to meet the writers behind the stories they loved so much.

The 500 Words competition offers the chance for more than just finalists to attend the final. Following a random draw, three volunteer judges were invited to the final as a random draw, as well as a story writer and their parent.

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From left to right, Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon and Frank Cottrell-Boyce meet Her Majesty The Queen.

Introducing our winners

The gold, silver and bronze winners of both categories had their stories read by our celebrity guest readers.

The six winners won lots of prizes, which include books for themselves and their schools and original artwork of their story from some of the UK's best children’s book illustrators.

Swipe through the gallery below to reveal the winners. You can watch their celebrity readings here, or you can listen to the top 50 finalists here.

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The gold winner for the 5-7 age group is Evan from London. His story, Message in a Bottle was read by singer Olivia Dean. Evan said: “I like writing descriptions, letters and diaries.”
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The silver winner for the 5-7 age group is Clara from Leicestershire. Her story, Pony With a Coat on – Solving Crimes was read by Matilda star, Alisha Weir.
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The bronze winner for the 5-7 age group was Henry from Oxfordshire. His story The Alien and the Purple Planet was read by Strictly star, Oti Mabuse.
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The gold winner for the 8-11 age group is Olive from London. Her story, Cellmate, was read by Loki actor, Tom Hiddleston. Olive said: “It came from the depths of my brain, I never knew what was down there, now I do!”
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The silver winner for the 8-11 age group was Spencer from Glasgow. His story, The Scottish Gangsta, was read by Paddington Bear actor, Hugh Bonneville.
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The bronze winner for the 8-11 age group was Aaron from Oxfordshire. His story, A Very Important Lesson, was read by The Beauty and the Beast actor, Luke Evans.

Magical performances

The audience were blown away by an opening performance from dancer Skylar, who was also joined by the talented Capital Choir. Together, they performed a special rendition of ‘Pure Imagination’ from ‘Wonka’, courtesy of Warner Bros.

Later, the cast of Matilda the Musical took to the stage and performed ‘When I Grow Up’ from the hit West End show.

The Capital Choir sing in the background, as Skylar leads a group of dancers. — Image caption,
Skylar (leading a group of dancers in a blue dress) opened up the final alongside the Capital Choir with a special performance of 'Pure Imagination' from the film 'Wonka'.