First BBC Wild Night In raises over £500,000
Howard Lake | 21 June 2010 | News
Last night’s two-hour Wild Night In telethon on BBC2 has raised £500,000 for the BBC Wildlife Fund. It was the first time that the telethon had been attempted, and it was broadcast following the three-week run of the popular Springwatch series. Indeed, the fundraising night was hosted at London Zoo by Springwatch presenters Chris Packham and Kate Humble.
The evening began with an appeal by Sir David Attenborough. After explaining the threats faced to flora and fauna around the world, he said: “Something can be done, something must be done, and the time to do it is now”.
It followed with a format familiar from other BBC-broadcast telethons including celebrity guests, live interviews, outside broadcasts, education and fundraising films, and a live audience, together with regular appeals to donate and updates on the total.
The campaign also has an official single: Sunchyme 2010 by Dario G will help raise funds for the BBC Wildlife Fund appeal this year. Each sale of the single will generate 40p or more for the Fund.
Unfortunately the evening was hit just after halfway through by a break in transmission for several minutes. Nevertheless, the final total at the end of the programme was over £500,000. Phone and text donation lines will remain open to 20 August 2010.
www.bbc.co.uk/wild
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.