Breakthrough T1D 40th Anniversary Ball

Join us in the heart of Edinburgh for a powerful evening celebrating 40 years of progress in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.

This black‑tie event, hosted by acclaimed actress Nina Wadia OBE, will honour the incredible advances made possible by our community and to commit to what comes next.

Invite your friends, family, colleagues, or clients to an evening of purpose and impact, featuring:

• Sparkling welcome reception
• Three-course gourmet dinner with fine wine
• Exclusive raffle, silent auction, and live auction with extraordinary prizes
• Inspiring stories from the T1D community
• Live entertainment and dancing to close the night

Over the past four decades, we’ve transformed life with T1D. But for millions, life with T1D is still relentless: finger pricks, injections, hypos, midnight alarms, and 180 health decisions every day.

This evening is a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come, to acknowledge the daily reality of T1D, and to reaffirm our promise:

We won’t stop until we find a cure.

Buy a table

Why this night matters

For 40 years your support has helped us:

• Bring hybrid closed loop systems to thousands
• Back trials restoring insulin production in people with T1D
• Define a clear path to a cure:

1. Stop the immune attack and prevent onset
2. Restore beta cells and produce lifesaving insulin again

Now, your leadership is more vital than ever. This evening is your opportunity to help finish what we started.

You can make the next breakthrough happen.

Meet Your Host – Nina Wadia OBE

Nina Wadia is an actress who has starred in many hit TV shows, including Goodness Gracious Me, EastEnders, Still Open All Hours and BBC One’s Death in Paradise.

In September 2017, her son Aidan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged 10 – something Nina admits she found harder to cope with than he did. As she explains:

“There is no one braver in my life than my son. It is really tough to live with type 1, and the diagnosis was a terrible shock, but it is not the end of the world. Aidan has helped me to see that. A doctor told us we can still expect our son to have a great life, due to all the medical technology there now is to help. I am incredibly grateful for the research that Breakthrough T1D funds towards this.”

Event details

Venue: The Balmoral Hotel, 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EQ. See on map.

Date: Saturday 16 May 2026

Time: 6pm

Dress code: Black tie