Putting the fun into fundraising to raise vital cash

LIKE many charities, we must raise a significant amount of money to continue delivering our services and providing support to thousands in the bay each year.

- DAVID GLEDHILL

We are eternally grateful to the major funders, such as The Lottery Community Fund, Torbay Council, and the NHS, but we also need your support.

We try to make fundraising for us as much fun as possible and this year we have come up with some real humdingers that should appeal to communities across the bay, regardless of age.

First off, we are marking the 50th anniversary of the Swedish supergroup ABBA playing a gig on Abbey Meadows, just one year after they stormed to victory at Eurovision in 1974.

There will still be plenty of people around who fondly remember that momentous gig, but there are fewer memories associated with another tie-in between Eurovision and Torbay - it was devised here 75 years ago at a meeting in the Imperial Hotel.

Eurovision wasn’t the only idea to emerge - we also got the European Sports Championships and Jeux Sans Frontières (or It’s a Knockout for those who prefer their French translated).