RTL Group | Luxembourg, 04/06/2018

€55,000 for Cancer Research

Some 400 RTL Group employees took part in the 14^th Télévie Challenge to raise funds for cancer research. The indoor cycling event was held at RTL Group’s new headquarters, RTL City, for the first time. The participants pedaled their spin bikes for eight hours and covered a total of 6,602 kilometers. Thanks to their sporting prowess, RTL Group was able to donate €55,000 to Télévie.

Last week, employees at RTL Group in Luxembourg once again pedaled for a good cause. Some 400 employees took part in the 14^th Télévie Challenge to raise funds for cancer research. This was the first time the indoor cycling event was held at RTL Group's new headquarters, RTL City. The participants pedaled on indoor exercise bikes for eight hours and covered a total of 6,602 kilometers. Thanks to their sporting prowess, RTL Group was able to donate €55,000 to Télévie.

“We're proud to continue our commitment to Télévie this year, and to stage the event at our new ‘RTL City’ from now on. Since 2005, our collective efforts have helped to raise more than €725,000 in donations for scientific research into cancer,” said Elmar Heggen, CFO and Deputy CEO of RTL Group, and head of its corporate center.

Celebrity Support

Last Thursday at 11 am, Heggen gave the starting signal for the spinning event. Besides Bert Habets, CEO of RTL Group, numerous Luxembourg VIPs from politics and society were also present: Mars di Bartolomeo, President of the Luxembourg Parliament; Romain Schneider, Minister of Sport, Minister of Social Security and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs; Martine Solovieff, Attorney General; Georges Engel, Deputy Mayor of Sanem; Georges Mischo, Mayor of Esch/Alzette; Luxembourg MPs Max Hahn, Martine Hansen, Claude Lamberty andClaude Wiseler; Luxembourg cross-country champion Pol Mellina; former road cycling champion Fränk Schleck; and Dr. Robert Goerens, Chief Physician in the Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health.

At around 7 p.m., Elmar Heggen and Diane Wunsch, Télévie coordinator for Luxembourg, announced the eagerly awaited final results. The kilometers cycled by the participants were converted into a total of €33,010 (€5 for each kilometer covered), which was rounded up to a total €55,000 donation for the Télévie association.

The Télévie’s traditional closing gala will take place on the evening of Apr 21, when all the checks collected during events organized for Téléviein Luxembourg and Belgium will be presented to the association, and a call for donations will be launched to raise even more funds. The gala will be broadcast live on the TV channels and radio stations of RTL-TVI, Bel RTL and RTL Luxembourg.

Money for Scientific Research

Télévie  is a charity event held in French-speaking Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to raise funds for the National Scientific Research Fund (FRS-FNRS). The money raised goes towards scientific research into fighting cancer. Every year the Télévie ends with a televised gala evening, which is broadcast live on television.

Télévie has been organized by the Belgian TV channel RTL-TVI since 1989. Since 2001, the Kiwanis Foundation of Luxembourg has served as exclusive partner to Télévie in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Since 2002, RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg has been a media partner alongside RTL-TVI, and also organizes the grand annual closing ceremony. In 2012, the Kiwanis Foundation of Luxembourg and the non-profit association Télévie Luxembourg also signed a partnership agreement. Since it made its debut in the Grand Duchy, the Télévie has raised a total of €19,541,850 for the cause in Luxembourg.