Aberdeen music legend Annie Lennox has given a heartfelt thanks to fans ahead of her milestone 70th birthday.
The iconic singer-songwriter, who was born and raised in the Granite City, will hit the landmark age on Christmas Day and delivered the message to fans ahead of the big day.
The Sweet Dreams singer said she has been "inundated" with messages asking if they can send her a present to celebrate her birthday. However, Annie - who is an outspoken activist - instead suggested fans to consider donating to one of the charities she supports to mark her 70th.
This included her own charity The Circle, which she founded 16 years ago to network and fundraise for women's projects around the world.
Sharing the message on social media, she said: "Dear friends Thank you SO much for the outpouring of love on my recent post about my 70th birthday on Dec 25th!
"It’s truly moving to know that our/my music has touched so many lives in so many ways and equally moving that the BBC would decide to dedicate an entire night to broadcasting a selection of these moments.
"We’ve been inundated with messages asking about sending birthday gifts! So here’s a suggestion-if you feel so inclined!!
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"Please consider giving a donation to: @thecirclengo - A charity I founded 16 years ago to support the rights of women and girls globally ( fundraising link in my bio and attached to this post) @unrwa - Agency for Palestine Refugees. The largest humanitarian organisation on the ground in Gaza (link in their bio)
"@fundakitchengaza - A free tool to help to find and fund community kitchens across Gaza (link in their bio)
"@Rescue_uk - Responding to the world’s worst crises - helping people to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. (link in their bio) @careOrg - Working alongside women, girls and their communities to save lives, overcome poverty and achieve social justice. (link in their bio)
"@HumantiProject - A grass-roots collective advocating for Collective liberation, through sharing resources and strategic actions to mount political and societal pressure to invoke meaningful change."
Annie said the donations would "literally change peoples lives", but added that her suggestion "isn’t in anyway an ‘ask'," saying she recognised that it was a "very difficult time for many people globally".
She continued: "Your donation will literally change peoples lives. I know it’s a very difficult time for many people globally so this isn’t in anyway an ‘ask,’ but if you want to send something to mark my 70th birthday this would be the BEST gift of ALL!! Sending out so much LOVE and APPRECIATION from Annie."
