Chancellor Rishi Sunak pays homage to beauty at start of British Beauty Week

British Beauty Week has opened in London’s Covent Garden with a visit from Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who thanked the UK’s beauty industry for the “essential” role it had played during the pandemic.

Speaking at the opening of the five-day event in London’s Covent Garden, Sunak said: “The pandemic has brought home that the services you all provide are essential services, something we recognised in government when we re-opened beauty much earlier than many other businesses.

“What you all give people is something that is impossible to measure in all the spreadsheets that I see: confidence, self esteem and a sense of well-being.

“Thank you for everything you have done to keep going over the last year.”

Sunak’s visit kicked off a packed schedule of events set to run over the next five days in a showcase of the British beauty industry’s value, talent and innovation.

Hosted by the British Beauty Council in partnership with No7 Beauty Company and Hearst UK, the event is set to run from September 8 to 12.