Look To The Stars News: Sport Relief

Sport Relief Brings In The Charity Cash

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:30:00 -0000

Britain has just hosted a weekend of sport and entertainment to benefit Sport Relief's work helping vulnerable people – and a whole bunch of celebrities were involved.

The weekend kicked off with the Sport Relief TV Extravaganza on BBC One and Two on Friday night, hosted by Richard Hammond, Davina McCall and others. The show raised an unbelievable £31.6 million for charity, and featured appearances by Annie Lennox, Robbie Williams, Emma Bunton, Cheryl Cole, Andy Murray, Kylie Minogue and many others. David Beckham even got warm and cosy in the bath with comedian James Corden in a special comedy sketch filmed especially for the event.

Michael Parkinson also took part in an episode of Ashes to Ashes, and there were special charity episodes of TV shows such as Masterchef.

On Sunday, 165,000 people came out in 16 cities around Britian to take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile event, completing the mile-long course on foot, pogosticks and spacehoppers! Celebrities such as Eddie Izzard, Jodie Kidd, Vic Reeves and others took part in the event.

Find out more at the Sport Relief website.

Sport Relief To Hit British TV This Friday

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Sport Relief is back… and British TV viewers will be able to enjoy a weekend of entertainment for charity starting on Friday, March 19.

BBC One and Two will host a special broadcast that brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in the UK and the world’s poorest countries.

The show will include a special performance by Annie Lennox, as well as comedy sketches featuring David Beckham, Jenson Button, Andy Murray and more. Hosted by Richard Hammond, Davina McCall, Christine Bleakley and others, the Friday night extravaganza will feature special editions of shows such as Top Gear and Masterchef.

The show kicks off at 7pm, and more info can be found here.

Robbie Williams Donates Song To Charity

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British singer Robbie Williams is to donate his next single to Sport Relief.

Morning Sun has been chosen as the official song for the charity’s 2010 campaign, and will be released on March 8 in the UK.

“I am very happy to donate my time to help Sport Relief and I thank my co-writers for doing the same,” he said. “Please join us in helping this very worthwhile cause.”

The singer joins David and Victoria Beckham in supporting the campaign.

Sport Relief is a fundraising initiative between Comic Relief and the BBC. Money raised goes towards a number of relief programs in the UK and around the world.

Beckhams Design T-Shirts For Sport Relief Charity Campaign

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:30:00 -0000

David and Victoria Beckham are spearheading this year’s Sport Relief campaign.

The whole Beckham family have created a series of one-off designs with the hope of inspiring the nation to rise to the challenge for Sport Relief 2010– and they’re about to fly off the shelves at Sainsbury’s and TK Maxx where they’re now exclusively on sale.
As part of the series of T-shirts, David took a distinctive self portrait showcasing his renowned football skills. Even Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz joined in the creative process, armed with spray cans and a blank canvas, to create a unique one off Beckham family collaboration.

Speaking about his family’s involvement in the campaign, football Legend David Beckham said: “‘Victoria and I are excited to be involved with Sport Relief again this year. Our family had a great time designing the T-shirt range and we hope it will raise much needed funds for many important causes. The most important thing is that the money raised will make a genuine difference to people’s lives.”

The T-shirts are all made with 100% Fairtrade Certified cotton and all net profits from the sale of the t-shirt range will go towards helping people living unimaginably tough lives both across the UK and the world’s poorest countries.

Also taking part in this year’s campaign will be David Walliams, who will cycle the length of the UK, The One Show’s Christine Bleakley, who will be water-skiing across the English Channel, and Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton, who will attempt to become the first woman to sail the Amazon river in a kayak. James Corden will host a BBC TV special on March 19, and other stars involved in the campaign include Jenson Button and Fearne Cotton.

To find out more, visit the Sport Relief website.

David Beckham To Get Oiled Up For Charity

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Comedian James Corden is about to get up close and personal with David Beckham.

Corden – in character as Gavin And Stacey’s Smithy – will give the soccer icon a massage for charity. And Beckham will return the favor afterwards – in a sketch to be broadcast in March on BBC One’s Sport Relief.

“The sketch is hilarious, they couldn’t be more different – the pair of them massaging each other will be a sight to behold,” a source told The Sun.

This is the second time Corden and Beckham have appeared together, last year they were featured in a Comic Relief skit where Smithy gate-crashed an England football team meeting and gave the players a pep talk.

Corden is also filming sketches with other sport celebrities such as Formula 1 champ Jenson Button, cricketer Andrew Flintoff, tennis ace Andy Murray and diver Tom Dale.

Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world’s poorest countries.

Little Britain Star To Get On His Bike For Charity

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British comedian David Walliams is planning to cycle the length of the UK for charity.

The Little Britain star is well known for his charity stunts – in 2006 he swam the English Channel, and in 2008 he swam the Strait of Gibralter. Both swims were to raise money for Comic Relief and Sport Relief – as is his planned cycle ride.

The actor will be joined on his 875-mile trip from John O’Groats to Land’s End – to take place in March – by Jimmy Carr and Miranda Hart, as well as TV hosts Fearne Cotton and Davina McCall.

Money raised goes towards a number of relief programs in the UK and around the world.

Eddie Izzard Encourages Good Health And Fitness

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British actor/comedian Eddie Izzard is using his recent award for the 43 marathons he ran for charity earlier this year to encourage people in the UK get fitter.

The star was presented with a special award at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year event on Sunday, December 13, for his effort, which saw him run 1,100 miles in 51 days for Sport Relief. The run raised over US$300,000 for the charity, which is part of Comic Relief.

And now the star is urging the people of the UK to follow his lead and get fitter.

“We’ve got the Olympics less than a thousand days ahead and I want to encourage people to take something they used to do when they were a kid and start doing it again,” he said. “We’re all living to about 100 now – unless you want the last 30 years of your life to be going really downhill, get healthy, get fit. Then we can encourage our athletes going into the Olympics to be able to have the fittest country [supporting them],”

The star acknowledges that keeping fit is not easy, but insists that it would be a good idea – especially as Britain’s obesity and diabetes problem gets worse. One in five primary school children in the country are now classed as overweight, and 67,000 deaths in the UK every year can be linked to weight problems.

“I’m no athlete,” Izzard said while accepting his award. “Not like everybody here tonight. It was really tough. Everything was painful. People asked me if I enjoyed the running but I enjoyed the stopping! I staggered, I ran and I crawled.”

Eddie Izzard Completes 43 Marathons For Charity

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British comedian and actor Eddie Izzard has completed his massive charity marathon challenge.

The actor set out in August to run 1000 miles and raise money for Sport Relief – a part of Comic Relief – and the 47-year-old finished his odyssey across Britain on Tuesday when he crossed the finish line at London’s Trafalgar Square.

“I feel dead!” he said as the London rain fell around him.

The challenge saw Izzard run 43 marathons in 52 days, a feat that Comic Relief founder Richard Curtis described as “amazing.”

“What I so admire is the length of it,” said Curtis. “He’s been doing it for so long, every single day. [These celebrities] are really putting themselves on the line for these issues. People in schools and at home think ‘Well, if Eddie can do that, then I can certainly do something to raise money and help people’.”

Double Donations For Eddie Izzard's Epic Charity Run

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:35:00 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Comedian Eddie Izzard is running over 1000 miles around the UK for charity, and an anonymous donor is helping every last mile count double.

Eddie’s running his 39th almost-consecutive marathon today in support of Sport Relief, and with only five more marathons remaining before he reaches his destination in London on Tuesday 15th September, a donor has promised to match up to £43,000 ($71,000) in donations made by midnight on Sunday 20th September.

In exhausted breaks between his full days of running, Izzard has been sharing via twitter how significant even a small donation can be:

“£6 ($10) could pay for enough school books for a whole year for an 8-year-old street child in Bangladesh.”

“£15 ($25) could provide essential drugs so 20 Ugandan children with malaria survive until they reach hospital.”

“£10 ($16) could pay for an hour’s counselling for an older person who has been abused.”

Sport Relief is a fundraising initiative for the UK Comic Relief campaign, harnessing the power and passion of sport to change lives for the better.

Donating online takes just a few moments, and your donation will now provide twice the help; just click here.

UK residents can also donate by simply texting EDDIE to 66609; they’ll be charged £5 plus the standard network rate, of which at least £3.37 goes to Sport Relief. Click here for more information, or donate online.

Eddie Izzard Runs For Sport Relief

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Comedian Eddie Izzard has just set out from London for a 1000-mile run to raise money for Sport Relief, which supports Comic Relief, a charity that helps vulnerable people in need both at home in the UK and abroad.

Izzard’s effort is a serious marathon challenge with comedic results, at least when reading the Press Association’s report: Running 30 miles per day, Izzard achieved a blister and bandaged leg by day two, following a damaged hamstring and shin problems during his mere four-week training period. “He is not a runner,” says Izzard’s publicist.

The pay back, however, is more than honking horns from passing fans in recognition of his daily run. It’s in getting kids with behavioural problems into team sports, child labourers in Bangladesh into school, abused children off the streets of Brazil and finding homes and care for AIDS orphans in Zambia.

Support for Izzard’s run can be made at www.eddieizzard.com, and twitterers can follow him at www.twitter.com/eddieizzard.

David Walliams Splashes Out For Charity

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:15:16 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British comedian David Walliams has completed his second epic charity swim… and swallowed some water at the same time.

“Swimming and throwing up… it shouldn’t really go together,” said the star of Little Britain. “It was really tough.”

The 36-year-old swam across the Strait of Gibraltar, from Spain to Morocco, with Olympic rower James Cracknell. The event was part of Cracknell’s 10 day “Swim To Africa” adventure, which raised money for Sport Relief.

Cracknell’s trip started from Dover on February 27, when he rowed across the English Channel in atrocious weather conditions. This was followed by cycling 1,400 miles through France and Spain.

The final leg of the trip was the 12-mile swim, and having Walliams along was a boost for Cracknell’s morale. Walliams is certainly no stranger to swimming long distances – in 2006 he swam the English Channel and raised $2 million for Sport Relief in the process.

“I can’t believe David volunteered to do that after having done the Channel,” said Cracknell. “[The swim] was horrible.”

But Walliams had his own way of dealing with the cramp-inducing swim, and hummed Elton John songs to himself to keep his mind off the sharks that seemed to circle around the pair.

“I was singing to try and get me through it,” he said. “I was singing Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word and Your Song. When you’re in the water, if you start thinking about where you are, you think ‘I want this to be over.’ But if you think about nice things like Elton John songs, it kind of passes the time. I found it really tough. About two hours in I started to get seasick. The sea was really rough and I swallowed a lot of seawater. I started feeling really nauseous and throwing up. I got really demoralized so I had to talk to myself and say ’you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to do it.”

The pair completed the swim in four and a half hours.

A Game, A Dress, And A Brawl For Charity

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:29:30 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A special surprise for Look to the Stars readers

Be sure to visit Look To The Stars tomorrow, Wednesday March 12, to read our exclusive interview with Leeza Gibbons as she tells us a little about the causes that are closest to her heart.

Between a Rock and a hard place

It’s a case of a bad boy wanting to be good with singer Kid Rock. The Devil Without A Cause looks like he is turning over a new leaf, and is returning to the Waffle House restaurant where he was arrested last year – but this time it’s for charity.

The 37-year-old was charged with battery after a brawl in Duluth, Georgia, in October. But the musician has now decided to make amends by greeting fans and signing autographs at the scene of the crime as part of a fundraiser for a local homeless shelter, Nicholas House.

“For a while now, we’ve been working with Kid Rock’s management to try and turn a negative into a positive,” said Waffle House spokesperson Pat Warner. “We’re hoping to raise some money for a worthwhile charity.”

The event will occur later today, March 11.

Tennis for charity in the desert

Another event taking place today is the fourth annual K-Swiss Desert Smash Charity Tennis and Golf event being held at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs. The event benefits the Coachella Valley chapter of Variety - The Children's Charity and features a special tennis match between 2008 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic.

Other celebrities expected to attend include Bush frontman (and husband of Gwen Stefani) Gavin Rossdale, Borat star Ken Davitian, and David Spade.

Theron shares her threads for charity

Another star in the mood for giving is the stunning Charlize Theron, who is auctioning off the first red carpet gown she was ever given to wear by a designer.

No, the dress isn’t made from red carpet – it’s actually a one-of-a-kind silk dress designed exclusively for the actress’ debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 by Narciso Rodriguez.

All of the proceeds from the auction, which can be accessed through Theron’s eBay page, will go to the Charlize Theron African Outreach Project, a mobile clinic that serves more than 3000 high school students in Theron’s home country of South Africa. The project was launched in 2007 in association with the Entertainment Industry Foundation to create a safer, healthier, and better life for families in South Africa, especially those touched by the effect of HIV/AIDS.

The auction runs until March 13, and the bids have already gone over $1,000.

Other auctions running on eBay Giving Works right now include the chance to have lunch with JAG and Bruce Almighty star Catherine Bell in LA. The auction runs until March 17, and proceeds go to Communities in Schools, nation’s largest dropout prevention organization. The original Hannah Montana_, Miley Ray Cyrus, is also holding an auctionW0QQitemZ260217660695QQihZ016QQcategoryZ61QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QqcmdZViewItem right now. The young star is selling an autographed chair, with proceeds to go to Variety - The Children's Charity.

Leona Lewis – a star on the rise

Another star with an interest in South Africa at the moment is singer Leona Lewis. The 22-year-old X Factor winner is currently enjoying a meteoric rise to fame, with her album Spirit holding the record for the fastest selling debut album ever released in the UK. And now the young star has witnessed the extent of the AIDS pandemic during a recent trip to South Africa.

Lewis has just returned from a 3-day trip to Johannesburg with Sport Relief, an initiative of Comic Relief, in which she raised awareness of the plight of AIDS orphans and sufferers. But it was all almost too much for the singer, who describes in her diary how she broke down while visiting some of the worst cases.

“Some of the horrors I have seen will never leave me,” she said. “It’s amazing to see the great work that Sport Relief does firsthand and the difference they make, their projects and centres keep communities going and give them something to be proud and positive about.”

In response to her trip, Lewis has just announced that the stunning purple gown she wore for her performance at last month’s Brit Awards will be auctioned on eBay, with all proceeds going to Sport Relief.

“It’s been a great pleasure for me to work with Leona Lewis right from the start,” said Roberto Cavalli, who designed the dress. “She has an incredible voice, beautiful eyes, and a fresh and positive attitude. I’m happy that a dress I have created for her for an important occasion is now being auctioned for a charity. It’s a sign of her great generosity and I’m proud that the name Roberto Cavalli is linked to it.”

As if all of that is not enough, the singer is also donating the proceeds from her new double A-side single, Footprints In The Sand/Better In Time, to the charity.

Look To The Stars News: Sport Relief

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