Fire Fight Australia Raises $9.5M For Bushfire Relief
ConcertsWorld
February 17, 2020
Olivia Perreault 0
Fire Fight Australia, a benefit concert which took place last night to raise funds for the ongoing bushfires in the country, has raised more than $9.5 million.
The concert, which took over the ANZ Stadium in Sydney’s Olympic Park, lasted for nine and a half hours, featuring performances from both international and Australian stars and hosted by comedian Celeste Barber. Music fans had the chance to see Queen and Adam Lambert, as well as Olivia Newton-John, Alice Cooper, and DK Lang.
All concert profits will go toward key organizations providing rescue, relief and recovery, rehabilitation, and rebuilding within Australia, including rural and regional fire and rescue services, Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, RSPCA Bushfire Appeal, and The BizRebuild Program. All donations made through firefightaustralia.com will go directly toward the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal’s FIRE FIGHT FUND to ensure that community groups can access support through their recovery journey.
“What a day and what a night it has been,” Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG, said in a press release. “Our huge thanks are owed to the 23 artists and bands and to the many companies and people who donated their time and services to make FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA happen. It has been an enormous effort from the music industry to pull this concert together in five weeks and we are just so proud of what has been achieved through our collective effort.
“Thank you too to the fans, whose generosity in buying tickets, merchandise, food and drink and donating through firefightaustralia.com has helped FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA raise $9.5 million so far to support Australia’s short, medium and long-term recovery from the bushfires. Fans and everybody involved can rest assured that we will provide a full breakdown of the final amounts raised as soon as possible.”
The show was also broadcasted on the Seven Network and on Foxtel, who partnered with TEG to bring the full, live concert to all Australians. More donations are expected when the show is televised in both the United States and united Kingdom over the next few days. Since broadcasts will run through mid-May, the organization will continue to accept donations until then. After the final broadcast, they will calculate final fundraising totals.
Bushfires have plagued the country over the last few months, killing at least 28 humans and over one billion animals and burning more than 15 million acres as a part of Australia’s worst fire seasons in history. Artists have also reached out to offer funds to benefit the victims, including Pink, Elton John, and Metallica. Fire Fight Australia received overwhelming interest after the show was announced, with over 65,000 tickets sold in under five hours.