Sport Relief’s £40m will aid virus victims

THE BBC’s Sport Relief raised more than £40m by the end of its live broadcast, with organisers promising a significant portion of the cash will go to those affected by the coronavirus.

The biennial charity event took place in front of a live studio audience in Salford, in defiance of the panic caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the increasingly gloomy mood gripping the country, the starstudded Sport Relief broadcast managed to raise a total of £40,540,355.

That was more than 2018, when £38,195,278 was raised. The money goes to good causes in both the UK and abroad. A chunk will be set aside to help coronavirus victims.

The night opened with a solemn address from Gary Lineker, above, who warned we were living in “unprecedented times”. In another sombre early moment of the show, Lineker’s co-host Paddy McGuinness paid tribute to the late Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, who took her own life last month.

Flack, 40, had worked with both Sport Relief and Comic Relief. Top Gear host McGuinness said: “She will be greatly missed by us all. We send all of our love to her family.”

Rita Ora delivered the first performance of the night, with her hit How To Be Lonely. She had been set to be followed by an intergenerational choir from Wales, with elderly singers teaming up with schoolchildren.

However, it was decided the older performers would stay in Wales as a precaution against the coronavirus.

Instead, the youngsters performed on their own, delivering a poignant cover of You’ve Got A Friend In Me from the Toy Story films.