$11.1 million raised and distributed from Fire Fight Australia benefit concert

More than $11 million raised from the Fire Fight Australia charity concert have been directed to hundreds of aid projects, touring company TEG has confirmed.

The proceeds were handed out to organisations focused on rescue, relief, recovery, rehabilitation and rebuilding services. These included regional fire and rescue organisations, the RSPCA Bushfire Appeal, Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.

“It’s hard to believe that Fire Fight Australia was just a year ago, given all that has happened to our industry, let alone the world, since. We are proud that the money raised through the concert has made a positive difference to communities that are still recovering from the devastating bushfires of 2019/20,” TEG CEO Geoff Jones said in a statement.

“Our thanks again to the 23 artists and bands and to over 1,500 suppliers and volunteers that helped ensure we were able to achieve that amazing result by providing services at cost or free of charge. It was an enormous effort from the music industry to pull the concert together in five weeks and we are proud of what we achieved through our collective effort.”

More than 1 million people tuned into the concert, which was aired on Seven and Foxtel, while 75,000 attended the event in-person in Sydney. The 10-hour concert featured performances from Queen and Adam Lambert, Alice Cooper, Guy Sebastian, John Farnham, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Tina Arena, k. d lang, Peking Duk, ICEHOUSE, Olivia Newton-John, Delta Goodrem and more.

The news comes a day after the Sony Foundation announced just under $770,000 has been distributed to charities and other organisations that will support young people affected by the bushfires. The funds were mostly raised from the sales of its Artists Unite for Fire Fight charity album.