Mecca Bingo Names Caller of the Year 2024
Horton, who has worked as a caller at Mecca’s Brierley Hill, Dudley location for 17 years, impressed the judges with her exceptional calling skills and unique talent for line dancing—a skill Mecca Bingo has now introduced through dedicated classes.
Mecca Bingo has announced Kelly Horton, 46, as the winner of its prestigious Caller of the Year 2024 competition. Horton, who has worked as a caller at Mecca’s Brierley Hill, Dudley location for 17 years, impressed the judges with her exceptional calling skills and unique talent for line dancing—a skill Mecca Bingo has now introduced through dedicated classes.
The Caller of the Year competition saw participants from Mecca Bingo locations across the UK compete in regional heats. Six finalists were selected to face off at the Mecca Bingo Wednesbury venue, where they were judged on personality, stage presence, audience engagement, and other criteria.
Horton will now move on to represent Mecca Bingo in the UK's National Bingo Game Caller of the Year competition, where she’ll compete against callers from other operators, independents, and holiday parks. The national event will take place in November in Wakefield, in front of both fans and a panel of judges.
Reflecting on her win, Horton said: “I’ve worked at Mecca Bingo for a really long time (17 years), so it differs every day! I love the spread of different people I get to meet and chat to every day. But, above all, it’s such a great feeling when you call out winning numbers for big wins – especially when it helps them pay for big life events like a hen party or moving house...
“Having competed at Wednesbury against some of the best of the best, it’s a real honour to be heading to Wakefield to represent Mecca in the industry’s National Bingo Game Caller of the Year competition. I hope I’ve done Brierley Hill proud and can’t wait to celebrate with our customers.”
Mecca Bingo’s Managing Director, Andy Crump, praised the crucial role of bingo callers in creating memorable experiences for players:
“Our bingo callers have a hugely important role to play in delivering brilliant entertainment experiences for our customers. They create the atmosphere for every game, make sure that every customer is engaged, announce all our lucky winners, and most definitely help to create exciting memories for all our players.
"In addition to clear voices and top calling skills, the judging panel was looking for big personality and talent for our Bingo Caller of the Year. We found that in Kelly, and we’ll be backing her all the way when she represents Mecca at the National Bingo Game Caller of the Year competition in November.”
