Hospital staff in Norwich celebrate 200th birthday of Swedish opera star

Jenny Lind raised over ÂŁ1,200 when she performed two concerts in the city in 1849.

Author: Adam GoacherPublished 6th Oct 2020

Hospital staff in Norwich are today (6 October) celebrating the 200th birthday of a Swedish opera star whose generosity founded the East of England's first children's hospital.

Jenny Lind, known as the Swedish nightingale, was one of the most famous singers of the 19th century and performed two charity concerts in Norwich in 1849.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has released a new video celebrating Jenny Lind's birthday that you can view below:

An Infirmary for sick children on Pottergate, admitted its first inpatients on 3 April 1854, thanks to Jenny Lind who raised ÂŁ1,253 from two charity concerts in Norwich.

One hundred and sixty six years later the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital has treated over four million children and young adults from across East Anglia and beyond.