Each year a member of the Norwegian Royal Family becomes the patron of state television channel NRK’s charity broadcast. Last year, it was Queen Sonja. It’s just been announced that in 2020, King Harald will take on the role.
The NRK TV charity campaign of 2020 will support the WWF (the Worldwide Fund for Nature) and its efforts to combat plastic in the sea. One third of the plastic in the sea comes from Southeast Asia and so funds will be earmarked to support projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand.
Karoline Andaur, Secretary General of the WWF World Natural Fund, said as the announcement was made on the morning of April 28th: “King Harald has a strong commitment to environmental issues and a close relationship with the sea. As Crown Prince, the King was president of the WWF for 20 years. When he became king, he became an honorary member. That is why we think it is so good that the King will be a high protector for this year’s TV campaign.”
Secretary General Andaur continues: “Together with the local population, the authorities and the business community, we will cut the use of unnecessary plastic, collect and recycle garbage that today ends up in the wild. In the first place, this means that the TV campaign will give more than 900,000 people access to new and improved waste systems. We will also reduce plastic emissions to rivers and seas by 7,000 tonnes annually.”
NRK’s charity broadcast has been taken place on a Sunday in October each year since 1974. The TV show from NRK is the world’s largest fundraising campaign and has brought in over nine billion Norwegian crowns since its inception 45 years ago.
When members of the Norwegian Royal House become a patron for an organisation or an event, it usually happens for a period of five years; however, this is not the case with the TV charity event. Mostly since its inception in 1974, each broadcast has received its own representative from the Royal House. The first of them was Queen Sonja who opened the very first broadcast in 1974.
