Cate Blanchett and Paul Mescal among stars making powerful statement at Baftas in support of refugees

Cate Blanchett and Paul Mescal were among the stars who showed support for refugees last night (Picture: Getty)

Cate Blanchett was just one of the stars who sported a blue ribbon in support of refugees at last night’s Baftas.

The annual awards ceremony is often a place for powerful political statements, and Sunday night’s show at the Royal Festival Hall in London was no different.

A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ambassador, it’s no surprise Cate, 53, showed solidarity with those around the world who have fled their home countries, and during the event she noted film is the ‘connective tissue’ that can unite us all.

The film giant, who won the Bafta for best actress for her role in Tár, said: ‘What I love about film is the way it draws us into compelling human themes to uncover the connective tissue that binds us all.

‘Whenever I have met refugees – in places such as Lebanon, Jordan or Bangladesh, here in the UK, or back home in Australia – what has struck me has not been their “otherness” but how many things we share in common.’

Other celebrities who wore the blue ribbon in solidarity with refugees included Living’s Bill Nighy, The Banshees of Inisherin’s Colin Farrell, and Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Michelle Yeoh.

This comes as the UNHCR counts 32.5million refugees worldwide, with the group currently only making up 0.5% of the UK population. 

Cate Blanchett took home the best leading actress award (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Colin Farrell lost out on the best leading actor award for his role in The Banshees Of Inisherin (Picture: Getty Images)

Bill Nighy also missed out on the best leading actor award to Austin Butler (Picture: Marechal Aurore/ABACA/Shutterstock/Rex)

Paul Mescal was also nominated for best leading actor for his role as a father in Aftersun (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini also wore the accessory, and called for ‘peace’ in the world as she paid tribute to those in her home country of Syria, which along with Turkey has been devastated by the Kahramanmaras earthquake. 

The disaster has so far claimed 46,000 lives, making it the deadliest worldwide since the Haiti earthquake in 2010.

She said: ‘It’s really incredible to see so many artists wear a blue ribbon tonight in solidarity with refugees and displaced people around the world. Especially right now after the recent earthquakes in Turkey and my home country of Syria.

‘My people – and so many others – are hurting. They need our support. We all need peace.’

Michelle Yeoh missed out on the leading actress title for her part in Everything Everywhere All At Once to Cate Blanchett (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Olympic Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini attended the ceremony (Picture: Marechal Aurore/ABACA/Shutterstock)

Former Bafta rising star Gugu Mbatha-Raw also turned up in the blue ribbon (Picture: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Meanwhile, Loki star Gugu Mbatha-Raw described the ribbon as a ‘symbol of solidarity’ to those who have had to flee their home countries because of conflict.

She said: ‘This ribbon is a symbol of our solidarity to all those who have been forced to flee their homes whoever they are and wherever they have come from.’

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Other stars to nab Baftas last night were Elvis’ Austin Butler, who won the best actor award, and Sex Education’s Emma Mackey took home the rising star accolade. 

Netflix’s World War I epic All Quiet On The Western Front, directed by Edward Berger, took home a whopping seven awards, and won the prestigious best film category as well as best director.

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The blue ribbons were out in force.