Girls Aloud run charity 5k in honour of late bandmate Sarah Harding

The surviving members of pop group Girls Aloud have taken part in a charity five kilometre run, in honour of their late bandmate Sarah Harding.

• READ MORE: Sarah Harding 1981-2021: The rockstar of Girls Aloud who transcended pop’s confines

Participating in the Race For Life For Sarah event on Sunday (July 24), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud ran the 5 kilometres across London’s Hyde Park, while bandmate Kimberley Walsh joined virtually.

The event was held to raise money for cancer research and celebrate the life of Harding, who died in September of last year after revealing in 2020 that she had been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.

Speaking at the Cancer Research UK-organised event, which was watched on by over 1,000 attendees, Cheryl commended the fan turnout before commenting on the lingering grief in the wake of Harding’s death at 39 years-old. “[It] doesn’t feel like she’s gone at all,” the singer said, “I’ve never experienced or anticipated this grief…I still can’t quite believe it’s real.”

Sharing a similar sentiment, Coyle told press at the event that she “was completely in denial right up until the day [Harding] passed.”

Taking to Instagram yesterday (July 25), Coyle further paid tribute to her former bandmate, telling followers that “Sarah would have loved this day & loved seeing you all coming together for such a great cause.”

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A post shared by Nadine Coyle (@nadinecoyle)

Harding first revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in August 2020, revealing in an Instagram post that the disease had also spread to other parts of her body. Around that time, she released the charity single ‘Wear It Like A Crown’, whose proceeds went towards cancer prevention research.

The charity 5k joins additional event tributes scheduled in memory of Harding. In April of this year, Coyle confirmed that Girls Aloud would reunite for a one-off fundraiser gig in Harding’s name, some ten years after the group’s disbandment in 2013.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Girls Aloud’s inception, having formed in the 2002 season of the reality competition series Popstars: The Rivals.

Alongside an outpouring of tributes – including from producers Pete Waterman and Brian Higgins – NME’s Nick Levine remembered Harding’s “infectious spirit and spunky honesty.

“She will be remembered as a vibrant and feisty performer who really relished being in a group that transcended what was expected of them,” Levine wrote.

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