Almost £40mn raised by end of BBC Children in Need’s 2024 appeal night
Melanie May | 18 November 2024 | News
This year’s BBC Children in Need had raised almost £40 million by the end of Friday’s live programme, the BBC has announced.
This is above last year’s appeal night total of £33,513,325, and the highest since 2021’s £39,389,048.
Contributing to this year’s total of £39,210,850 are numerous big donations from businesses, with some of the largest including £3.16mn from Asda, £3.15mn from Omaze, £1.5mn from McDonald’s, £1mn from Enterprise, and £1mn from Greggs.
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One of the biggest draws for donations was Paddy McGuinness’s Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge, which has so far raised over £8.8mn for BBC Children in Need.
This year’s official BBC Children in Need single, which is also raising funds, was a new version from Girls Aloud of ‘I’ll Stand By You’ with Sarah Harding, who died in 2021, featuring on lead vocals throughout. The vocals for I’ll Stand By You – Sarah’s Version were discovered in the Girls Aloud vault while the band were pulling together archive material for their sell-out The Girls Aloud Show arena tour earlier this year.
Friday night’s show was presented by Ade Adepitan, Chris Ramsey and Rochelle Humes, as well as Vernon Kay, Mel Giedroyc and Lenny Rush. It included a preview of the Doctor Who Christmas special, a sketch from the on-screen family of sitcom Outnumbered, and celebrity support from stars including Graham Norton, Kylie Minogue and Gary Oldman – as well as Girls Aloud.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.