WHAT IS SPORT RELIEF?
As a biannual campaign, Sport Relief was a time for the British public to get active, have fun and raise cash to help people living incredibly tough lives both in the UK and around the world.
These days Sport Relief is much more than a day in the calendar, and we're working to harness the power of sport to change lives all year round.
2020
Sport Relief 2020 saw 8 celebrities complete an incredible 100-mile expedition across the Namib desert and Gareth Thomas cycle an amazing 500 miles from Cardiff to Aberdeen, delivering the Sports Personality of the Year trophy to this year’s winner.
AJ and Curtis challenged us to learn their 90 second dance routine and 400 people attempted to ‘Beat Beethoven’ by running 5km before the BBC Philharmonic orchestra finished their performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Radio 2’s Jo Whiley, Richie Anderson and Reverend Kate Bottley completed 3 triathlons, in 3 cities in 3 days. Radio 1 helped school teacher Phil’s dream become a reality as he scaled the height of Mount Everest on stairs.
The night of TV saw Romesh Ranganathan and Andy Murray go head to head in a mini golf challenge, comedy sketches of Killing Eve and Line of Duty and even a Stranger Things special.
In total an amazing £40,540,355 was raised.
2018
Sport Relief 2018 saw Greg James scale three mountains in Gregathlon: Pedal to the Peaks and Zoe Ball cycle over 300 miles from Blackpool to Brighton for Zoe Ball's Hardest Road Home.
For the first time ever, the entire UK was home to a Sport Relief challenge as the British public were called upon to join Team Sport Relief and take on the Nation's Billion Steps Challenge. People from all four nations, sports clubs, school, famous faces and even the residents of Ambridge (home to BBC Radio 4's The Archers) downloaded the brand-new Sport Relief app to track their steps and smash over 1 billion steps.
Over 10,000 schools, nurseries and youth groups got involved and raised over £4 million between them.
TV audiences saw Michael McIntyre give Sir Andy Murray a rude wake up call and John Bishop undergo a one-man mission for World Cup Victory in the 'Spirit of 66'.
In total an amazing £40,900,000 was raised
2016
Sport Relief 2016 saw the British public putting in yet another great team performance to help raise cash and change lives.
Hundreds of thousands of people walked, ran, cycled and swam themselves proud at events across the UK.
There was an action-packed night of TV. Comedy sketches included the return of Frank Spencer, a one-off Luther special and the ever-so-competitive Clash of the Titans. Famous faces did their bit too - Jo Brand walked an incredible 135 miles from one side of the country to the other, in just seven days. Greg James took on his gruelling Gregathlon, completing five triathlons in five days. And Eddie Izzard completed an astonishing 27 marathons in 27 days across South Africa.
And, the final result? More staggering than Eddie after his marathons - £72,505,165.
2014
Sport Relief 2014 saw the Mile joined by the Swimathon and the Cycle as part of the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games.
With flagship events taking place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and hundreds more across the UK, the whole nation peddled, paddled and perambulated like never before, all to fundraise for people living incredibly tough lives in the UK and abroad.
The BT Sport Relief Challenge: Davina Beyond Breaking Point saw Davina McCall, cycle, swim and run an incredible 500 miles from Edinburgh to London, in just seven days, raising over £2 million. Alex Jones proved her mettle too in Alex Against the Rock, climbing Utah’s 12,000ft sheer-faced Moonlight Buttress and raising more than £1 million in the process.
Broadcast live from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the night of TV saw John Bishop and Sebastian Coe go head-to-head in The Clash of the Titans and David Beckham starring in an Only Fools and Horses special. It all added up to another record breaking Sport Relief, with the final total reaching a staggering £71,820,731.
2012
The BT Sport Relief Challenges were awe-inspiring as David Walliams took the plunge, swimming 140 miles in eight days for Walliams vs The Thames.
John Bishop’s Week of Hell saw the brave comedian cycle, row and run from Paris to London in just five days. Freddie Flintoff broke 14 Guinness World Records in 12 hours. And, not to be outdone by the boys, Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton decided to take on her own independent challenge, travelling 500 miles to the South Pole in just 18 days by ski, kite-ski and bike.
The night of star-studded TV featured comedy including Miranda and Ab Fab, and breathtaking moves in Strictly Come Dancing Underwater. Across the Sport Relief Weekend, over one million people took part in Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile events, including a very special London Mile on The Mall. It all helped raise millions – a record-breaking £67,977,824 in fact!
2010
Over 175,000 people, including future Prime Minister David Cameron, took to the streets and completed the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile on the Sunday.
Comedian Eddie Izzard ran an astonishing 43 marathons in 51 days, while David Walliams and his team of celebrity friends cycled the length of the UK non-stop in 82 gruelling hours. Christine Bleakley water-skied across the English Channel, Lawrence Dallaglio cycled to each of the 6 Nation’s stadiums and Helen Skelton kayaked 2,010 miles along the Amazon over six weeks – breaking two world records in the process.
The nation got to enjoy a fantastic night of TV on the BBC, and watch Smithy be crowned “Coach of the Year” at the Sports Personality of the Year awards.