Can Comic Relief Triumph in the Recession

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Will money raised be enough to avoid unlucky 13 superstitions?

Tonight the BBC will be hosting Red Nose Day as part of Comic Relief 2009.

It is perhaps ominous that, on the eve of Friday 13 March, the 13th Red Nose Day will try and emulate the performance of its predecessors during the middle of a recession.

Each successive year, Comic Relief manages to top the amount of money it made from the previous effort.

In 2007, the British public managed to raise over £40 million in a single evening, and by November had broken the record set in previous years, raising a total of £67,250,000.

Whilst there is no doubt that tonight’s evening of entertainment from performers such as The Saturdays, David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Lenny Henry and Ronnie Corbett will raise money, it will be a tall order to eclipse the gargantuan effort of two years ago.

The recession has hit many people across the UK hard, which may make people a little reluctant to put their hands in their pocket and spend their hard earned money. Then again, there are nothing like hard times to focus the mind on what one has, and how little others do not.

The recession could well prompt an extraordinary response from the public not through sympathy but empathy. Families have felt the pinch of the economic crisis, perhaps this will be the catalyst to galvanise naysayers into action to donate more to charity.

The BT Red Nose climb has already managed to raise £1.25 million alone, from nine celebrities making the monumental climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

One thing is for sure, on the night there will be the bitter sweet mixture of tears of sadness and laughter from harrowing promotional videos and comic performances. Get the tissues, and your credit cards at the ready.