Gdansk – Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Grand Finale

I had wondered why there were tens of collectors on the streets of Gdansk today, but I’ve realised that it’s something called the Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (or Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy in Polish, or WOSP). It’s the largest public fundraising event of its kind in the country, akin to Comic Relief in the UK, and it raises money for children’s hospitals in Poland. The sums of money raised are sizeable, donations in 2019 were 175,938,717zl, or around £35,000,000.

This year’s event is the 28th and it’s shown live on television, as well as being celebrated around Poland and in Polish communities around the world. My photo above isn’t very clear and I should have taken my camera, but it’s a large square in Gdansk where they’re showing the live television fund raising programme. As it stands, the screens are showing that they’re raising more money than they did at the same point last year. Very lovely.