Fire Fight Australia organisers put the amount of money raised so far by the massive bushfire benefit concert at $9.5million, they announced late on Sunday (February 16).
Promoters TEG Dainty and TEG Live announced the figure in a press release, noting that more donations are expected, especially as the show is televised in the US and UK in the coming weeks.
The sold-out, daylong event saw 75,000 fans crowd into Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on February 16. A slate of international and Aussie artists played for 9.5 hours in total.
TEG note that $9.5million is not a final number, as international broadcasts of Fire Fight Australia will run until mid-May, and they intend to collect donations from accompanying calls to action up until then.
In the press release, TEG note they have engaged Deloitte to review the numbers and provide a “post event report detailing revenues, expenses and confirmation of the final donations to the various charities”.
The money was raised in a variety of ways, including tickets to Fire Fight Australia, direct donations via the official Fire Fight Australia website, merchandise (including an official Fire Fight Australia t-shirt), and F&B purchases at ANZ Stadium.
It will be donated to a number of charities, including Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, RSPCA Bushfire Appeal, The BizRebuild program, and the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal’s Fire Fight Fund.
International artists who performed at Fire Fight Australia include Canadian artist k.d. lang, who performed a moving rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, plus Queen and Adam Lambert, who played the band’s iconic 1985 Live Aid setlist “for the first time in [the band’s] history”.
Aussie artists who played the concert included John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, Daryl Braithwaite, Hilltop Hoods, Icehouse, Amy Shark, Baker Boy, Peking Duk and many more.
The event was hosted by Aussie comedian Celeste Barber, who raised more than $50million for bushfire relief with a social media fundraiser of her own.