A SPECIAL Fringe event has been held at McEwan Hall in order to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity.
A star-studded cast of comedians turned out on Monday night for the event, including Jason Byrne (MC), John Bishop, Maisie Adam, Rhys Nicholson, Phil Wang and more.
The event has been hailed as a massive success, raising over £32,000 in total.
Underbelly matched £15,000 of ticket income from the event to double donations to the Brain Tumour Charity, which was raised alongside over £2,000 of donations.
The event was inspired by seven-year-old Alfie Bartlam, son of Underbelly Director Ed and his wife Lucinda, who died of a brain tumour in 2019.
100% of the ticket income totalling will be going straight to The Brain Tumour Charity, with Ed Bartlam confirming that every penny of this will be matched by Underbelly.
Underbelly itself has now raised £132k for this important cause from these yearly benefits alone.
Ed Bartlam, Underbelly’s co-founder said: “The Brain Tumour Charity is an incredibly important cause to support.
“Underbelly is proud to have raised over £32,000 and will continue to spread the word and raise as much as possible towards this under-funded and important work.
“As I said to the incredible audience, the money raised will go towards a specific paediatric treatment trial in Cambridge that has the genuine potential to turn the tide for some particularly aggressive brain tumours in children.
“I thank the amazing acts that performed this evening, everyone in the audience for their unflinching support and would encourage everyone to dig deep and consider making a donation via our JustGiving page.”
Research into brain tumours is severely underfunded in the UK and yet it represents the biggest cancer killer for under 40s.
Around 500 children and young people in the UK are diagnosed each year but diagnosis times are longer than in many other countries.
The Brain Tumour Charity’s new Better Safe Than Tumour campaign aims to raise awareness of the common signs and symptoms in both children and adults to encourage the public to get any concerning or persistent symptoms checked out by their doctor.
