Belgian tsunami telethonshoping to raise millions

14 January 2005

BRUSSELS – Private and public TV stations in Belgium have joined forces to run telethons in aid of the communities devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunamis.

The French-speaking public station RTBF has teamed up with private company RTL-TVI to run a special two-hour programme to raise funds. It is only the second time in history that the stations will cooperate in this way.

They did the same in 1999 to help the victims of war-torn Kosovo.

“From the start, I had two convictions: that we had to do something and that we had to do something together to have a maximum impact,” said RTBF’s head Alain Gerlache. “The cooperation has been first-rate at every level.”

More than 150,000 people were killed in the tidal waves, including six Belgians. On Friday, eight Belgians were still officially missing in South-east Asia, but six more had been found safe since Thursday.

The telethon called Solidarity Asia, which will run on TV and radio, kicks off at 8.15pm on Friday and will include appearances from the Belgian singer Adamo, as well as the Monnaie choir.

It will be broadcast live from RTBF’s biggest studio, with 200 people taking part. Some 70 entertainers and presenters from both stations will be linked up to the call centre where 40 telephone lines will receive the donations of viewers at home.

All the money raised will go to the Tsunami 12-12 relief fund, an appeal run by a network of charities.

Flemish channels VTM, TV1 and VT4 are also putting out a Dutch language telethon on Friday evening to generate funds.

More information

People living in Belgium can make a donation to help tsunami victims via the following website:

http://www.1212.be

Subject: Belgian news