Download Festival raises £75,000 for NHS so far with charity t-shirts

3 April 2020, 11:34 | Updated: 3 April 2020, 11:48

Download Festival release charity t-shirt with funds going to the NHS. Picture: Press

The festival, which was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, has created t-shirts to raise vital funds for NHS charities.

Download Festival has created a limited edition t-shirt to support the NHS in its fight against COVID-19, and has raised a whopping £75,000 so far.

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The UK's premier rock event - which was forced to cancel its 2020 instalment with headliners KISS, Iron Maiden and System Of A Down due to the coronavirus pandemic - sold the limited edition garments on its Download Festival merch store, giving 100% of proceeds go to NHS Charities Together.

NHS Charities Together provide donations to 143 different charities, offering aid to the amazing NHS as well as volunteers, who are on the frontlines across the country.

There were 500 of the limited edition t-shirts up for grabs, which cost £20 each, but after raising £75,000 thus far for NHS charities, the festival has decided to extend their sale of the tees in order "to raise as much as possible".

We’re thrilled to announce that so far our charity t-shirt has raised £75,000 for @NHSCharities! 🖤⁣⁣
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We’ve been blown away by your response and after the 500 t-shirts sold out in mins we chose to extend the run to raise as much as possible.⁣⁣ https://t.co/fZIg3CDfuE pic.twitter.com/1pyIeEkAM6
— Download Festival (@DownloadFest) April 3, 2020

Meanwhile, following the news that Download Festival has been cancelled for 2020, the 2021 dates for the festival have been confirmed.

The next Download Festival will now take place from 4-6 June 2021.

The organisers wrote in a statement: "Download Festival will no longer be taking place this year.

"We’ve been closely monitoring this unprecedented situation and it’s become clear that it just isn’t possible for the 2020 festival to go ahead. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly and we’re beyond disappointed, we extend our heartfelt apologies to all of you – we really did try to make this work.

"Please rest assured we will be back next year. Now, more than ever, we need the Download spirit to thrive and offer support to those that need it most. We’ll do our best to put together an amazing line up for you in 2021 and can’t wait to see you all then. Thank you, as ever, for your continued support.

"We are working closely with our ticketing partners now and they will be in touch very soon to process your refund, or, if you prefer, you can retain your ticket and carry it over to next year.

"Look out for an e-mail from your ticketing agent very soon and please only contact them if you have not been contacted after 5 days as they are very busy at this time.

"Download 2021. 4th – 6th June 2021. Save the date!"