During the 34th WOŚP Grand Finale, a record amount was collected outside Poland in Brussels. As confirmed to Polish Radio by the head of the local organising committee, Kamil Arszagi vel Harszagi, preliminary figures show that more than €65,000 was raised in the Belgian capital on Sunday alone.
Donations are still coming in, meaning the final total will only be known in the coming days, according to Beata Płomecka, Polish Radio’s Brussels correspondent.
Around 30 volunteers were collecting donations on the streets of Brussels, with a similar number active in Antwerp and several more in Leuven.
More than 200 people also took part in a charity run held in one of Brussels’ central parks, including Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner responsible for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport.
Top auctions of the WOŚP 2026 finale
Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
As in previous years, WOŚP auctions hosted on the Polish platform Allegro.pl attracted huge interest.
Of nearly 60,000 listings, the highest bid so far was for a private meeting with well-known Polish businesswoman and TV weather presenter Omena Mensah and her partner Rafał Brzoska, a leading entrepreneur and CEO of the parcel-locker company InPost, who has consistently ranked among Poland’s wealthiest individuals. Their winning bid reached 263,250 zlotys (€62,565).
The second-highest auction to date fetched 120,250 zlotys (€28,579) for a tennis racket and towel donated by this year’s Wimbledon champion, Polish player Iga Świątek.
Close behind was an item offered by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: his gold football boots, which have so far attracted bids totalling 116,500 zlotys (€27,688).
This year’s fundraising campaign is dedicated to paediatric gastroenterology, with proceeds earmarked for improving the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in children.
The final amount raised in 2026 will be announced once all collections are complete - some of which continue until February. Traditionally, the full figure is published by early March.
Over its 34-year history, the WOŚP foundation has raised more than 2.6 billion zlotys (€624 million), funding the purchase of over 81,000 pieces of specialist medical equipment for public hospitals across Poland.
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Source: IAR/Polish Radio English Service