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Red Nose Day! What is Red Nose Day?

Cătălina Cîrnațu, 9D


Red Nose Day is a day that celebrates comedy and people doing something silly in order to raise funds for the charity Comic Relief. In response to donations and the public’s generosity, stars from the world of film, TV and comedy come together to put on special entertainment. This is normally a telethon broadcast live on Red Nose Day itself. Red Nose Day raises money and awareness to ensure children a healthy future for all children.



When did Red Nose Day start?

On 8 February 1988, Lenny Henry marked the very first Red Nose Day telethon by travelling to Ethiopia, Africa. Over 150 celebrities and comedians took part in that first telethon, which included a special of Blackadder and the characters of The Young Ones taking on University Challenge.

So, what actually happens on Red Nose Day?


Red Nose Day is about coming together to end child poverty, one nose at a time. When you buy a Red Nose, the money support programs that keep children safe and healthy.

As the big day approaches, people all over the UK, the U.S. and the other English -speaking countries involved, will buy a red nose and fundraise to raise awareness and funds to help children in need.

Red Nose Day takes place every two years in spring and it is now so well established that many people consider it to be an unofficial national holiday. For example, many schools have non-uniform days (in the UK).


The Red Nose has always been the symbol of, you guessed it, Red Nose Day! It catches your attention and makes others smile. And Comic Relief thinks laughter is the best way to bring people together to make a difference. Agree?


On the evening of Red Nose Day, a telethon takes place on the BBC television channels. It shows a selection of the events of the day, as well as lots of comic sketches and reports of how the money raised will be spent. There’s a RND Facebook page and you can follow RND on Twitter. People also upload videos of local charity events on YouTube and Facebook.


The slogan for the last Red Nose Day was ‘Do Something Funny for Money’ and the money that was collected helped to fund projects in the following areas: treating malaria, education, maternal health and mental health. The BBC Red Nose Day telethon raised £74.3 million! Money-raising events take place all over the country and many schools participate. People also donate money by post, in banks, by phone using a credit card and online.



This year’s Red Nose Day

In the UK, this year’s Red Nose Day was on March 18th. The U.S. chose a later date, May 26th.

Red Nose Day in the UK is a big event, and the challenges of this year really made it interesting.

This Red Nose Day, UK national hero and diving superstar Tom Daley took on an epic endurance challenge as he rowed, cycled, swam and ran his way from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford to his hometown of Plymouth for one hell of a homecoming.


BBC Radio 1 DJ Jordan North took on the challenge of a lifetime as he attempted to row the nation's canals between London and his hometown Burnley – all to raise money for Comic Relief this Red Nose Day.


The Red Nose and The Spoon Challenge were also back in the show. The two teams will take on an exhausting and daunting epic adventure across some of Lake District National Park’s most famous and formidable climbs, depths and challenges, as they make their way from Elterwater towards the finish line at Buttermere. The first team that makes it to the finish line with their Red Nose on a spoon wins. The winners will be crowned live on The One Show at the end of the week.


The teams had to stop their Noses from dropping to avoid time penalties and after 4 exhausting days of racing the Yellow Team were crowned the winners! Congratulations Team Yellow!


Facts about Red Nose Day:

• Comic Relief has raised over £1 billion since it was founded in 1985.

• The highest Red Nose Day total was recorded in 2011, raising £108,436, 277.

• To date, Comic Relief has funded over 17,000 projects in the UK through your donations.

• There’s been over 25 official Comic Relief singles released over the years. The best-selling one was comedian Peter Kay’s version of Tony Christie’s “Is This The Way To Amarillo?”. It sold 1.28 million copies and spent 7 weeks at Number 1 in 2005.

• It wasn’t until 2015 that America hosted its first Red Nose Day. It featured a telethon with special skits performed by celebrities like David Duchovny and Seth Myers.

Red Nose Day is a funny and easy way to raise awareness and help children in poverty all around the world. It is a great event to get people to come together and have fun, all whilst raising money for a good cause.

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