Sport Relief 2016 raises record £72.5m

30 Sep 2016 News

Kevin Cahill was chief executive of Comic Relief for 19 years

Comic Relief has announced that its biennial fundraising event, Sport Relief, raised a record £72.5m, on the day that its chief executive Kevin Cahill departs the charity.

Sport Relief weekend took place in March this year, but the final total was only announced yesterday, alongside some thoughts from Cahill as he leaves Comic Relief after 23 years. Sport Relief had raised £55m on the evening of its televised appeal, which was also a record-breaking total for the fundraising event.  

He said of this year’s record breaking total: “At an organisational level, this year’s Sport Relief has raised a record breaking £72.5 million which is clear evidence that people are engaged and do care. The Olympics and Paralympics in recent weeks are both shining examples of human endeavour and people rising to the challenge. Team GB and Paralympics GB have done us proud, as have athletes from across the world for their own home nations. 

“The success of such events shows just how much can be achieved when people come together to pursue a common goal. Here at Comic Relief we feel proud of the success of Sport Relief and can say with absolute conviction that the money raised will now help transform the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people at home and across the world – be it children living on the streets of Africa’s biggest cities or young people in the UK who self-harm or are abused in their own homes. The British public have once again extended the hand of friendship to strangers whose lives are beyond difficult and who they will never meet but still want to help.”

Highlights from this year’s fundraising campaign included comedian Eddie Izzard running 27 marathons in 27 days. Radio DJ Greg James raised more than £1m by completing a triathlon a day for five consecutive days, across five different UK cities.

‘It is the right time to hand leadership to someone else’

On his departure from the charity, Cahill said: “Leaving Comic Relief after 25 years is going to be hard but it is the right time to hand its leadership to someone else. And, I will be stepping down believing that human capital is the most powerful asset we have if we want to see a fairer, more just world. When all else fails it is people that will make it happen.

“It will not be easy, but knowing what we have achieved together over that time – and what we can continue to achieve in the future – makes me incredibly proud and gives me faith that there is much that we can be positive about, even in the most difficult of years. Thank you.”

More on