A new record for Télévie 2012

The Télévie 2012 campaign ended on Saturday night, 21 April, at RTL Group’s Belgian and Luxembourgish subsidiaries. By the end of the gala’s closing event, the counter showed the record sum of €8,402,651, about €190,114 more than the previous edition.

Committed to several weeks of solidarity and a multitude of local events organised to raise money for research into leukaemia and cancer in children and adults, RTL Belgium et RTL Lëtzebuerg once again joined together to make the Télévie gala an event that will give hope to those who are ill and to all the families who support them.

In Belgium, the Télévie gala evening presented by Sandrine Corman kicked off live at 19:40 on RTL-TVI and was also aired on Bel RTL and RTL.be. Along with the emotions evoked by the testimonies of people who are ill and of their loved ones, the evening was punctuated by reports summarising the latest advancements in scientific research as well as a succession of associations that stepped forward to deliver their cheques in person.

As is now the tradition, the emblematic faces of RTL Belgium, which include Luc Gilson, Stéphane Pauwels, Fanny Jandrain and the latest recruit Stéphane Rotenberg – flagship presenter of Top Chef and Pékin Express on M6 – as well as plethora of artists including Laurent Voulzy, Salvatore Adamo, Christophe Willem, Daddy K and M. Pokora, rallied non-stop throughout the evening to encourage as many viewers as possible to pledge donations. The artists performed their own songs as well as exclusive duets, accompanied by the Télévie grand orchestra.

Of particular note during the programme was the presence of Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo. Having earned a doctorate in chemistry, he had a particular interest in this fundraising event and made a special gesture to Télévie by offering one of his famous bowties to be sold at auction. “The best face we can present from Belgium is one of solidarity,” he said. RTL Belgium’s CEO Philippe Delusinne was, of course, also present on the set. He reminded viewers how important Télévie is to the entire channel and said the following about RTL Belgium: “We all hold Télévie’s noble values dear.” By raising more than €7,477,267 (as compared to €7,175,235 in 2011), the 24th Télévie gala in Belgium once more demonstrated the power of solidarity.

In Luxembourg, the closing ceremony of the 11th edition of Télévie presented by Olivier Catani and Caroline Mart, where the order of the day was, “Give hope a chance”, aired simultaneously on RTL Télé and Radio Lëtzebuerg as well as on the RTL.lu website. Several hours of airtime and the mobilisation of all the teams thus made it possible to add €925,384 to the Belgian counter (as compared to €1,037,302 in 2011). In addition, the 8th edition of RTL Group’s Télévie Challenge, held the day before in the fitness centre of the company’s headquarters, raised €55,000.

Created in 1989 in Belgium and in 2001 in Luxembourg, Télévie has raised more than €125 million, the entire sum of which has gone to the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) to finance the work of thousands of researchers. Last year the association raised a total of €8,212,537.