# Comic Relief’s total over 30 years passes £1 billion mark

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/16/comic-reliefs-total-over-30-years-passes-1-billion-mark/
- Published: 2015-03-16T08:59:47+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The fifteenth Red Nose Day raised £78,082,988 on Friday night, bringing the total
raised through Red Nose Day and Sport Relief over the past 30 years to over £1 billion.
The total stands at £1,047, 083,706.**

The money raised since 1985 has helped over 50 million people in the UK and across
the world’s poorest communities.

![Comic Relief cumulative total of £1 billion](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2015/03/comic-relief-cumulative-total-2015.jpg)

Comic Relief’s total fundraising passes £1 billion mark in 2015.

Richard Curtis, founder and vice chair of Comic Relief, said:

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> “This is a very strange moment for me. When a bunch of comedians got together 
> all those years ago we dreamed of raising a million or two, and never imagined
> the generosity that would be shown by the British public for so many years. Figures
> tell us that the billion pounds have helped around 50 million people in the UK
> and overseas, 50 million people whose lives have been changed or saved by the 
> generosity of people they’ve never met.
> “It’s an extraordinary thing that we do in Britain and I’m enormously proud to
> be part of it. Our thanks to every single person who has ever done their bit over
> the last 30 years – both the funny and the money.”

![£78,082,988 raised by Red Nose Day 2015](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2015/03/comic-relief-2015-total.jpg)

The record-breaking total of over £78 million raised on the night of Red Nose Day
2015.

## Comic Relief – Face the Funny

The red nose has remained the campaign’s iconic image. This year’s total includes
£11,521,278 raised by **Sainsbury’s**. As well as sales of red noses, this total
was generated through sales of other official Red Nose Day merchandise, donations
on grocery products, and from fundraising by Sainsbury’s staff across the country.

This year saw the addition of 12 Golden Noses which gave the public the opportunity
to win a once in a lifetime prize.

![Comic Relief Nose in a Bag 2015](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/
2015/03/comic-relief-red-nose-bag-2015.jpg)

Comic Relief 2015 raised funds by selling a Nose in a Bag.

During the live TV show BT handled **230,000 calls** to the donation line, peaking
at **84 donations per second**.

**TK Maxx and HomeSense raised £4,064,106** through the sale of their 2015 Red Nose
Day T-shirt range, designed by Anya Hindmarch, Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenberg,
Henry Holland and Matthew Williamson. The total was boosted by sales of their Henry
Holland designed homeware collection and special notebooks, a variety of in-store
fundraising, till donations and a charity auction.

![Comic Relief presenters and celebrities](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2015/03/comic-relief-presenters-2015.jpg)

Comic Relief 2015 presenters and celebrities.

**British Airways added £2,450,787** to the Red Nose Day total through a mixture
of on-board collections and staff fundraising. They also gave their famous 1989 ‘
Face’ advert a special lift after Darcey Bussell expertly choreographed hundreds
of BA volunteers to form the 25-metre wide face, complete

with a Red Nose.

**Dermot O’Leary raised £643,336 through his 24 hour Day of Dance**, finishing live
in the London Palladium at the start of the live show on BBC1.

![Dermot O'Leary prepares for his 24-hour danceathon for Red Nose Day 2015](https://
www.fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/dermot-o-leary-comic-relief-2015.
jpg)

Dermot O’Leary prepares for his 24-hour danceathon for Red Nose Day 2015

**Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights**, which took over Manchester Arena last month, raised**
£5,031,146.47** for Comic Relief, the most money raised by a live comedy show in
the world.

## Matched giving and funding

The UK Government is matching the money raised by UK schools for this year’s Red
Nose Day up to £10million. Comic Relief will spend this money specifically on helping
to get children across Africa into education and learning.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust granted £4 million to this year’s campaign.

 * **[Red noses and text messages](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/18/red-noses-and-text-messages/)**(
   18 March 2015)
 * **[Comic Relief to fund Tech for Good initiatives](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/04/30/comic-relief-to-fund-tech-for-good-initiatives/)**(
   30 April 2015)
 * **[NI Comic Relief deadline approaches](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/05/19/ni-comic-relief-deadline-approaches/)**(
   19 May 2015)