Red Nose Day

Red Nose Day is March 19, so get your red nose ready! Originating in England in 1988, this unique holiday has grown to become one of the UK's biggest fundraising events. Comic Relief is a British charity that raises money for underprivileged individuals in Africa and the United Kingdom. Comic Relief is sponsoring the day. Every two years, on the second or third Friday in March, is Red Nose Day. Over £1 billion has been raised by the event in the last 30 years. The day includes events across the nation, a telethon, and TV specials.

History of Red Nose Day

From a camp for refugees in Sudan, Comic Relief made its live debut on Christmas Day 1985 on Noel Edmonds' Late, Late Breakfast Show on BBC1. Charity worker Jane Tewson came up with the idea for Comic Relief, which she launched under the operational name of Charity Projects, a charity that is registered in Scotland and England.

First-ever live fundraising event "Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Live" took place at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London on April 4, 5, and 6, 1986, with popular alternative comedians and pop stars (such as Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, Kate Bush, and Cliff Richard performing. Cliff Richard and his band live performance of their charity song "Living Doll" was included in an audio recording that was released on WEA.

Red Nose Day is Comic Relief's high point. Lenny Henry traveled to Ethiopia on February 8, 1988, to participate in the inaugural Red Nose Day telethon. More than 150 comedians and celebrities took part. In addition to drawing 30 million television viewers to BBC1, the event raised £15 million.[Reference required] Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry are still involved in the Red Nose Day telethon today, helping to raise money for several charities that fight global poverty and assist underprivileged children.

"We believe that investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and disadvantage" is how the organization hopes to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people."

The "Golden Pound Principle," which states that every single given pound (£) is spent on humanitarian causes, is one of the guiding principles of working at Comic Relief. Corporate sponsors pay all operating expenses, including staff wages and interest on funds that are held in reserve before being disbursed.

At the moment, British Airways, TK Maxx, BT, and the BBC are its principal backers [when?]. Red Nose Day live TV is produced by the BBC, phone service is provided by BT, and goods is sold by TK Maxx in support of the charity.

Red Noses were sold by Sainsbury's in their petrol stations, local stores, and supermarkets until 2022.

Aiming to bring the athletic community together for a night of sport, entertainment, and fundraising on BBC One, Comic Relief and BBC Sport partnered to launch Sport Relief in 2002. Sport Relief was a biennial fundraising initiative that purposefully switched years with Comic Relief's main event, Red Nose Day. Sport Relief takes place in even-numbered years, and Red Nose Day in odd-numbered years.

Comic Relief established a website in 2009 advocating for the "Robin Hood" tax, a financial transaction tax.

over the Red Nose Day telethon on March 14, 2015, it was declared that over Comic Relief's 30-year existence, the combined amount raised through Red Nose Day and Sport Relief appeals had surpassed £1 billion (£1,047,083,706).

It was stated in 2021 that Red Nose Day would become a yearly occasion and that Sport Relief telethons would cease in 2022. Red Nose Day appeal shows moved to the old Sport Relief studio at Dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford starting the same year.