NHS Fest raffle overwhelmed by demand after rock stars donate prizes

Music stars up and down the UK have donated memorabilia to the NHS Fest Raffle - an online sweep to raise money for the NHS amid the Coronavirus. Artists like Liam Gallagher, Arctic Monkeys, Snow Patrol and Sam Fender have all donated items to the cause, leading fans to jump on board in an attempt to get their hands on the stars' personal items.

The raffle has proved so popular that it's had to be paused temporarily, as the site hasn't been able to sustain the sheer amount of traffic the items have brought in.

A message on the site reads, 'Sorry to say we’re going to have to pause the raffle for the moment – we did expect lots of interest, but it’s simply more than we could have anticipated! There isn’t a quick fix, due to current working from home restrictions, so please standby for updates...'

Liam has donated a signed pair of LG Spezial trainers of which there are only five other signed pairs in existence, tickets to a future gig, a signed parka from his Pretty Green collection and a signed tambourine.

Other items include Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner's Berghaus jacket that he wore at the band's 2007 T in the Park headline slot, a signed copy of Lewis Capaldi's debut album 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent', two tickets to Sam Fender's sold out September 2020 tour and four tickets to New Order's London show in October 2020 - amongst many other things.

Even TV show Peaky Blinders has got involved, donating two tickets for fans of the show to visit the set of season six once it is back up and running, as well as two tickets to the next Peaky Blinders Festival.

It's hoped that the raffle will be back up soon, as it closes on Friday 17th April at 6pm, with winners being announced at 12pm on Tuesday 21st April.

Having been organised by Liam Gallagher's tour manager Ben Pomphrett, the project Help Our NHS is aiming to benefit frontline NHS staff during the pandemic. So far, they've been able to donate hand creams, sandwiches, toiletries, hand creams, drinks, sweets and cakes to staff.

Ben said, "The idea for the project mainly stems from having a partner who works in intensive care. With an understanding of how busy they can be in normal times, and the challenges they’re about to face, it just seemed like something worth doing.

"Since I work as a tour manager, and the music industry now on pause for the foreseeable, it’s a way for me to put my free time to good use, and hopefully do something beneficial. Partnering with The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice has transformed this project from an idea to a reality, and will also help with their day-to-day operations which include treating patients affected by Covid-19, which isn’t necessarily obvious when thinking about frontline staff."

You can view the full listings over at NHSFest.co.uk.

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• Liam Gallagher
• Snow Patrol
• sam fender
• arctic monkeys
• lewis capaldi