What Is the Biggest Charity Event in the World?

When people ask about the biggest charity event, they’re not just looking for the one with the most participants. They want to know which event raised the most money, reached the most people, and changed lives on a massive scale. The answer isn’t a single race, concert, or gala-it’s a combination of scale, impact, and longevity. But if you’re asking which single event has pulled off the most in terms of global reach and funds raised, the clear leader is Walk the Walk’s Breast Cancer Now Big Walk in the UK.

Why Walk the Walk’s Big Walk Stands Out

Every year in May, over 70,000 people walk 10 miles across London, dressed in pink, to raise money for breast cancer research and support. Since its start in 2003, the event has raised more than £150 million. That’s not just a big number-it’s enough to fund over 1,200 research projects and support tens of thousands of women through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

What makes it the biggest isn’t just the money. It’s the way it turns grief into action. A mother walking in memory of her daughter. A group of friends who lost someone to breast cancer. Survivors walking with their families. The event doesn’t just ask for donations-it asks for presence. And that presence multiplies. Every walker becomes a walking billboard for awareness, sparking conversations in workplaces, schools, and homes.

Other Major Contenders

Walk the Walk leads in total funds raised, but other events hold their own in different ways.

Movember, which started in Australia in 2003, turns men growing mustaches into a global movement for men’s health. By 2024, it had raised over $1 billion worldwide for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health programs. It’s not a single-day event-it’s a month-long challenge that turns personal action into collective impact. Over 6 million men have grown mustaches since 2004, and millions more have donated.

Comic Relief, the UK’s long-running charity event, combines comedy, music, and celebrity appearances to raise money for poverty and social justice causes. Its Red Nose Day campaign has raised over £1.5 billion since 1988. The 2023 edition alone brought in £42 million in one night. What sets Comic Relief apart is its ability to make serious issues funny-making people laugh while they give.

The London Marathon is another giant. It’s not a charity event by design, but it’s become the biggest fundraiser in the world. In 2024, runners raised over £66 million for over 2,000 charities. One runner raised £1.8 million for a single charity. That’s not a typo. People train for months, fundraise relentlessly, and turn their personal goal into a lifeline for others.

What Makes a Charity Event the Biggest?

There’s no official scoreboard for charity events. But if you look at the data, the biggest ones share three things:

1. Mass participation-tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of people involved
2. Long-term momentum-they’ve been running for 15+ years and keep growing
3. Clear, urgent purpose-they solve a problem people care deeply about

Events that rely on one-off celebrity appearances or flashy stunts fade. The ones that last build community. They give people a way to turn emotion into action. That’s why Walk the Walk wins: it’s not about running fast. It’s about walking together.

Global Reach vs. Local Impact

Some of the largest events aren’t in London or New York. In India, the Reliance Foundation Marathon draws over 50,000 runners and raises money for education and rural healthcare. In South Africa, the Comrades Marathon-the world’s oldest ultramarathon-raises funds for community projects while honoring fallen soldiers. These events may not hit the same dollar figures as Western events, but they change entire communities.

Size isn’t just about money. It’s about how deeply an event touches lives. A small walk in a rural town that helps one family pay for medicine can be just as powerful as a million-dollar gala.

How These Events Change Lives

Behind every dollar raised is a real person. A child who gets cancer treatment because of a school fundraiser. A veteran who gets counseling because a runner raised money for mental health. A woman who gets a mammogram because a walk made breast cancer awareness impossible to ignore.

Walk the Walk didn’t just fund research. It helped create the UK’s first national breast cancer screening program for women under 50. Comic Relief funded the first domestic abuse helpline in the UK that operates 24/7. Movember funded the first men’s mental health training program for teachers.

These aren’t just events. They’re turning points.

Can You Start Something Like This?

You don’t need to be a celebrity or a big organization to make a difference. The biggest events started with one person asking, “What if?”

Walk the Walk began when a woman named Sarah, who lost her mother to breast cancer, walked 10 miles in her mother’s shoes. She asked friends to join. They did. The next year, 2,000 people showed up. Now it’s 70,000.

Start small. Pick a cause you care about. Walk, run, bake, bike, or host a quiz night. Ask your neighbors. Your coworkers. Your school. One event can become a movement. And movements change the world.

What’s Next for Charity Events?

Technology is making fundraising easier. Apps let you track donations in real time. Social media turns personal stories into global campaigns. Virtual events let people join from anywhere in the world.

But the core hasn’t changed. People still give because they feel connected. They give because they know someone. They give because they believe change is possible.

The biggest charity event isn’t the one with the biggest logo. It’s the one that makes the most people feel like they matter.