Income down as charity pledges no more white saviours

Last Friday’s Sport Relief raised its lowest total on its launch night in a decade.

It raised £38m on the night - £17m less than was raised by Sports Relief in 2016, when it raised £55m on the night.

A spokesman for the charity said the organisation wouldn’t speculate as to why the amount was down but said the organisation was expecting the total figure to pass £40m in the coming days.

Liz Warner, chief executive of Comic Relief, said: “We are as ever humbled by the generosity of the British public, and want to thank every single person who supported Sport Relief this year. We will spend the money with our partners here in the UK and around the world to help people tackle some of the toughest circumstances imaginable.

“I also want to say thank you to the brave people who took on challenges this year, not only for putting their bodies on the line but also for putting so much of their personal experience of mental and maternal health out there.

“The inspiring way the public has responded by sharing their own stories and throwing their support behind the challenges makes us determined to do even more to make sure the purpose is front and centre in all we do.”

Sport Relief also announced on Friday that it would no longer be using white saviour appeals from celebrities, after a clip featuring Ed Sheeran visiting street children in Liberia for Red Nose Day 2017 was awarded the most offensive charity video at the Radi-Aid Awards.