18,529,472 euros were donated as part of LICHT INS DUNKEL’s 51st year of campaign up to and including December 24, 2023
Vienna (OTS) – During the traditional live broadcast for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2023, on ORF 2, numerous celebrities and guardsmen and women from the Austrian Armed Forces helped throughout the day on the donation telephones at the ORF media campus and in the A1 donation center with. Thanks to this support, a provisional donation result (as of December 24th, 2023, 5:00 p.m.) of 18,529,472 euros was achieved, which consists of all pledged donations for LICHT INS DUNKEL since the start of the campaign year up to and including December 24th.
In view of the difficult economic conditions, high inflation and multiple crises, the great willingness of the people in Austria to help as part of LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL is once again a special sign of great solidarity.
In the morning, Barbara Stöckl and Peter Resetarits welcomed the television audience, before Eva Pölzl and Tarek Leitner chatted live in the studio with Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and other prominent personalities from midday. Norbert Oberhauser and the “ORF Allstars Band” provided musical accompaniment throughout the day with traditional Christmas songs, and Andreas Onea spoke to prominent guests on the donation telephones in the A1 donation center.
In a tried and tested tradition, the afternoon program of the LICHT IN DUNKEL program on Christmas Eve included several live entries in the ORF state studios. In the federal states, interesting talks with prominent guests, authentic stories, committed donors, unique initiatives, musical performances and local examples were shown that illustrate the help throughout the country.
“Ö3 Christmas Miracle” was another particular success
The “Ö3 Christmas Miracle” was again a complete success and was able to collect 5,239,214 euros for the LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL emergency aid fund. This time the team around Gabi Hiller, Robert Kratky and Andi Knoll broadcast 120 hours from the “Ö3-Wunschhütte” in Bad Ischl. In addition to the donation amount for the “Christmas Miracle”, 320,000 euros will come from the “Ö3 miracle bag”, which has already become a tradition and turns old cell phones into donated money. This resulted in a total donation volume of more than 5.5 million euros, all of which went to the LIGHT INS DUNKEL emergency aid fund.
ORF supports LIGHT IN THE DARK in all media
The ORF is supporting LICHT IN DUNKEL in its 51st year of action in all of its media and state studios in order to motivate as many people as possible to help and, in the spirit of the LIGHT IN DUNKEL association, to promote inclusive projects and thus provide as many people as possible with the necessary support in the area of Accessibility and learning support and thus enable better participation in society.
Television, radio, online and the state studios profited with numerous campaigns and productions – such as the “Celebrity Million Show for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the “Gala for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the “LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL Music Wish Day”, the “ORF III -Auction for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the auction in “Sport am Sonntag for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the “Ö1 celebrity quiz for LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL”, the “Ö3 Christmas miracle”, a variety of projects in the state studios and of course the all-day broadcast on Christmas Eve – donations in the millions. Also under the banner of LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL are the “Seitenblicke Night Tour” and numerous contributions in the TV shows “Guten Morgen Österreich”, “Aktuell nach eins”, “Aktuell nach Five”, “Studio 2”, “Bundesland today”, as well as in the ORF TVthek and in ORF SPORT + as well as in all ORF radio programs and in ORF TELETEXT.
The ORF reaches up to 6.5 million people in Austria with its multimedia offering. With its extensive campaigns, program focuses, programs and contributions on TV, radio and online, the ORF motivates a broad audience to strengthen cohesion in Austria and to donate to LIGHT IN THE DUNKEL.
All donation options for LICHT IN DUNKEL
You can continue to donate even after Christmas Eve. On the homepage lichtinsschwarz.ORF.at you can find all the information about online and SMS donations and the acquisition of ORF-LICHT INS DUNKEL company partnerships. In addition to the homepage, donations can be made all year round by calling or texting the free A1 donation phone number 0800 664 24 12 and on Facebook at ORFLichtinsDunkel. All information about donation options can also be found in the ORF TELETEXT on page 680.