Turkey Marathon TV Show Raises $6 Billion for Earthquake Victims

Taylan Bilgic, Bloomberg News

Volunteers work at the site of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Turkey’s public finances were improving in the month before the country’s deadliest earthquakes in almost a century, giving authorities headroom to marshal fiscal measures to cope with the devastation. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) --

A seven-hour show broadcast on hundreds of TV and radio channels in Turkey raised 115.1 billion liras ($6 billion) in aid for survivors of the February 6 twin earthquakes, with the country’s central bank leading the donation drive.

In a phone call to the live show, Governor Sahap Kavcioglu said the central bank will donate 30 billion liras, about a quarter of all the money raised during the Wednesday night show, Anadolu Agency reported. State-run lenders followed the lead, with Ziraat Bankasi pledging 20 billion liras, Vakifbank 12 billion liras and Halkbank 7 billion liras.

Other top donators include mobile companies Turkcell and Turk Telekom at 3.5 billion liras and 2 billion liras, respectively, and state-run insurer Turkiye Sigorta with 2 billion liras. Turkish Airlines and Borsa Istanbul also donated 2 billion liras each.

Isbank separately announced a 1 billion liras donation and a pledge to support new construction with 1.75 billion liras.