Held now for the 28th time, traditionally on the second Sunday of the year, the Orchestra Finale on January 12 is collecting funds to finance the purchase of medical equipment for paediatric surgery.
Since 1993, the Grand Finale fundraiser is held in aid of a specific medical objective, with a main goal of supporting Polish children’s hospitals by the purchase of modern medical equipment. Over 27 years, the Orchestra has funded more than 60 thousand pieces of such equipment.
Outside Poland, the Orchestra is also collecting in England, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, USA and Australia. Driving force behind the orchestra, Jerzy Owsiak, has announced that funds from the collection in Australia will be going towards relief of the disastrous bushfires which have ravaged the country since September.
The culmination of every year's event is "Lighting up the Sky" at 8 pm, until now a show of fireworks, this time however replaced by a light and laser show.
The first results of the collection will be officially announced after midnight. According to the organizers, last year's 27th edition brought in over 1.1 billion PLN (about a quarter of a billion euro). At midday on this January 12, the collection already stood at over 17 million PLN.
Among the items put up for auction in aid of the Orchestra is the official gold-plated first replica of her Nobel Prize Medal donated by author Olga Tokarczuk, dinner with football star Robert Lewandowski and a fashion show in Paris with top model Anja Rubik.
The Polish Presidential couple have donated a sports shirt in which President Duda took part in a Nordic Walking event promoting organ transplants, and an evening dress in which the First Lady took part in the enthronement ceremony for Japan's Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo in October 2019.
Source: PAP, Kancelaria Prezydenta RP