Macmillan Raises £47,500 in First-Ever York Races Abseil!

It was an honour to support Macmillan Cancer Support at a recent and truly memorable event hosted at the iconic York Racecourse. Held over the race weekend of June 13th and 14th, the standout feature was a thrilling four-line abseil down the 80-foot Knavesmire Stand, which was an exciting first for Macmillan at this venue.

While Macmillan has long had a presence at York Races, this marked the charity’s first time offering an abseil as part of its fundraising efforts. Rhys Gillard, Events Officer at Macmillan, explained that they were looking for engaging fundraising activities to contribute to their targets for the weekend. An abseil offered a real sense of excitement and challenge, and it proved a perfect fit for York Racecourse.

Across both days, we saw a fantastic turnout of enthusiastic participants, all eager to take on the challenge in support of Macmillan. Spectators watched and cheered from below as friends and colleagues descended from the Knavesmire Stand before being greeted by a celebratory non-alcoholic champagne reception at the bottom.

A standout moment? Seeing a Macmillan mascot, dressed as a horse in full jockey attire, making the daring descent!

By the end of the weekend, the abseil alone had raised an incredible £47,500. This contributed to a phenomenal total of £400,000 and counting raised across the entire York Races fundraising effort.

Alongside the abseil, Macmillan hosted a wide range of activities, including two fundraising lunches in the Dante Suite, live and silent auctions, pledge moments, and heartfelt stories shared by individuals affected by cancer. Additional initiatives like course-wide bucket collections, a raffle, and a 100km sponsored walk held throughout May added to the momentum leading up to the event.

All funds go towards Macmillan’s ambitious £2.1 million appeal to create a new cancer care centre at York Hospital, an essential step in supporting those facing cancer in the local community.

Rhys Gillard shared his praise for the team that delivered the abseil:

“We were incredibly pleased with the service provided by Big Bang for our “Abseil at the Races” event at York racecourse. The team were incredibly professional and also flexible on the day to meet our needs, all of those who abseiled had very positive things to say about their experience and felt safe, reassured, and exhilarated. We’d have no problems recommending Big Bang to any organisation thinking of creating a fundraising abseil.”

This was an incredible weekend of enthusiasm, determination, and community spirit. If your charity is looking to deliver a memorable and impactful fundraising event, Big Bang can help you achieve outstanding results.

Get in touch with us to find out how we can support your next challenge and make a real difference together.