TODAY on Blue Monday, dubbed the most depressing day of the year, UK for UNHCR announces Bridge Over Troubled Water as the winner of the nationwide vote for Britain’s favourite #Hope Hit.

Over 1000 people from across the country nominated songs to show their solidarity with refugees around the world this winter.

With 10 per cent of the public vote Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water has been voted as the UK’s number one #HopeHit ― as part of UK for UNHCR’s ‘Hope on Repeat’ campaign, raising awareness of the hardships facing refugees across the globe this winter.

Since November, the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner has invited people to nominate their #HopeHits - the tunes that connect us and warm our hearts as the weather gets cold. The 1970 chart topper, penned by Paul Simon, held off stiff competition from Stand By Me by Ben E King with 5.7 per cent of the vote and Imagine by John Lennon with 5.3 per cent.

UK for UNHCR’s winter campaign ― Hope on Repeat ― aims to highlight the experiences of refugees around the world, with a specific focus on families from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine who will spend the winter forcibly displaced from their homes.

Music is widely seen as a universal language and a sign of solidarity. UK for UNHCR has worked with Royal College of Music academic, Norbert Meyn, to explore how music drives connection and empathy ― while a UK for UNHCR survey* shows that 73 per cent of us believe that music unites people.

Hope on Repeat guest, Bosnian public speaker and researcher, Smajo OBE, said, “I was welcomed with open arms to the UK and Newcastle in 1994. At first, I felt out of place. But one song changed everything. My classmates and teacher sang it in Bosnian to make me feel at home.”

The Hope on Repeat campaign also features a series of five podcasts hosted by British poet, Sophia Thakur, that share the incredible stories of people forced to flee their homes ― named The Guardian’s podcast of the week. The Hope on Repeat podcast is available from unrefugees.org.uk/hope

Hope on Repeat guest, Ukrainian film director and producer, Mariia, said, “No matter the language, music has the power to make people feel something. It conveys the basic emotions of humanity.”

Visit unrefugees.org.uk/hope to find out what Mariia and Smajo's Hope Hits are and the stories behind them, and how you can support refugees this winter.