Update 5 | Record-breaking €3,414,440 collected at l-Istrina

A record breaking €3,414,440 million has been donated during this year's l-Istrina, smashing the previous record set last year.

Closing the 12-hour charity marathon, President George Abela announced the record-breaking sum. 

The record was achieved at around 11.45 pm as donations exceeded last year's record of  €3,294,997.

The 12 hour charity marathon hit the €3 million mark at around 10.50pm. 

The fundraising marathon was kicked off by President George Abela setting the tone for the event which raises money for people in need.

Now in its 13th year, the charity marathon has seen various charitable organisations and needy individuals benefit from the donations, particularly relatives of the sick.

Donations started pouring in from callers and various organisations hitting one million in just four hours. The two million mark was hit around 7.45 pm by a €10,000 donation.

In 2012, l-Istrina broke its previous record, set the year before, reaching the sum of  €3.29 million.

The 12-hour charity marathon is organised by the Community Chest Fund under the patronage of the President George Abela. The event is focusing on the Mediterranean Conference Centre and the Astra Gozo Theatre in Gozo.

However, the bad weather dampened events in SmartCity.

€179,151 were raised by the Tisjir mill-Qalb cookbook, while Sports mil-Qalb raised over €43,000. The Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina motor show raised €207,470 while the December President's Fun Run raised €321,800.

The Labour Party and the Nationalist Party each donated €2,000.

€46,015 were raised from the L-Istrina fine arts auction while more than half a million were raised during the first two hours.

In a united appeal for donations, the country's political leaders and President George Abela urged everyone to donate funds for l-Istrina and underlined the importance of giving.

President Abela, now in his final months of presidency, said that l-Istrina was a celebration of solidarity and is committed to give those in need a gift.

As synoynomous with previous editions, this year's Istrina has seen various Maltese personalities entertain the viewers.

As the main sponsor of l-Istrina and the Malta Community Chest Fund, HSBC Malta Foundation donated €100,000 to l-Istrina. HSBC supplemented its donation by additional funds raised during 2013 through various HSBC staff activities.

"As one of Malta's major charity events, l-Istrina is a testament to the generosity of the Maltese. HSBC Malta Foundation is proud to be the main sponsor of l-Istrina and the Malta Community Chest Fund and this initiative complements the work we carry out in the community," HSBC CEO Mark Watkinson said.

Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta presented the sum of €200,000 represents the donations collected from primary and secondary schools as well as various retail outlets around Malta and Gozo during the l-Istrina BOV Piggy Bank Campaign. Over 5,000 piggy banks were distributed to schools across Malta & Gozo as well as a number of retail outlets.

The police donated €7,500 while the Central Bank, the Good Causes Fund, the l-Istrina Wine Festival, Vodafone, Go Ltd, BOV, HSBS, Banif, Mediterranean Bank, KSU and the GWU amongst many other organisations also donated considerable amounts to the charity event.