Scotland's Kiltwalk performed admirably among the UK-wide events

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life has topped the list of the highest grossing mass charity participation events.

The latest Massive Top 25 report details the biggest charity-run events of 2023. 

It shows that the amount raised by the largest 25 events rose by 16% to £132 million compared to the previous 12 months.

This reflects the mass fundraising sector returning to normality following the shocks of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.

While many in-person events returned to pre-pandemic levels, some exceeded them. 

These included Macmillan Cancer Support’s Mighty Hikes Series.

Scotland's Kiltwalk performed admirably among the UK-wide events, coming in a seventh, and raising £5.2m.

Race for Life grossed the highest amount at £31.3m, almost £13m more than the event in second place, the Macmillan Coffee Morning. 

Meanwhile, almost a third of the events in the top 25 were run by CRUK.

While things are stabilising post-Covid, there may have been fears that the cost of living crisis would affect mass events.

The report, which has been produced annually since 2013, reflects this by noting that higher event delivery costs “have been a knock to the sector”.

However, the Covid bounceback has seen the volume of people taking part in the top 25 events growing significantly to 900,000 in 2023. 

Correspondingly, there was a drop in participation in virtual and online events.

The fastest-growing event was Breast Cancer Now's Afternoon Tea, which raised £1.4m in 2023, 66% more than the previous year. 

This represents a “massive resurgence”, according to John Tasker, partner at Massive.

He said: “Despite economic pressures, we saw significant growth in participation numbers across the top 25 events with more than 900,000 people taking part.

“The attraction of accessible in-person events and social activities appears to be as strong as ever. There was a strong performance from almost all walking challenges in the top 25 this year, in contrast to Facebook and virtual challenge events which dropped for a second year.”

The top 10 grossing events in 2023

1. £31.3m Race for Life (Cancer Research UK - CRUK)

2. £18.1m Macmillan Coffee Morning (Macmillan Cancer Support)

3. £15.8m Movember (Movember)

4. £12.1m Mighty Hike Series (Macmillan)

5. £7.1m Skipping Challenge (CRUK)

6. £6.2m Shine (CRUK)

7. £5.2m The Kiltwalk Walk (The Kiltwalk)

8. £4.1m Trek26 (Alzheimer's Society)

9. £4.1m Walk 100 Miles (CRUK)

10. £3m Christmas Jumper Day (Save the Children UK)