UNICEF launches global fundraising appeal at Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony
Howard Lake | 25 July 2014 | News
UNICEF launched a global fundraising campaign during the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on Wednesday.
Spectators, athletes and an estimated one billion viewers from across the Commonwealth were all invited to Put Children First by making a donation via a text number or web address. With the establishment of the Children of the Commonwealth Fund by UNICEF, the aim is to create a Games legacy for children in every country in the Commonwealth.
The Ceremony featured a number of sports stars and celebrities in videos demonstrating the need for UNICEF’s work, and making a prominent ask during the event. These included Sir Chris Hoy, Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Alex Ferguson and Keeley Hawes. Over the past three months they had been visiting different regions of the Commonwealth to witness the impact of UNICEF’s work, and these visits were shared in videos during the opening ceremony.
During the opening ceremony, Sir Chris Hoy and actor James McAvoy both invited the audience in the stadium and viewing around the world to make a donation by mobile phone or online. The Put Children First Appeal appeared with details on the screen as they did, and the audience were encouraged to use the #PutChildrenFirst hashtag to promote it online.
The appeal has raised £3.5 million. More than 500,000 people in the UK donated by text within an hour.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR_jxK2Jhls[/youtube]
Glasgow 2014, Chief Executive, David Grevemberg, said:
“This is a ground-breaking and profoundly important opportunity for the people of the Commonwealth to come together to put their children first and improve lives. Glasgow 2014 has had so many firsts in terms of Games and again we are making history, we are changing the conversation. We are taking an Opening Ceremony and elevating it into something which will not just be experienced by people but will leave a lasting legacy for the young people of Scotland and across the Commonwealth.”
What an atmosphere!! Just amazing! pic.twitter.com/Fmr1IyJNMm
— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) July 23, 2014
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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.