More A-list celebrities have been added to the star-studded For the Love of Scotland fundraiser on Wednesday.
Edith Bowman will chat to some of the country’s biggest names in film, music, literature and and the arts for the online event in aid of Masks for Scotland, with Travis frontman Fran Healy announced today, as well as Karen Gillan and Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro.
They join an already impressive line-up including Alan Cumming, Ally McCoist, Annie Lennox, Sir Chris Hoy, Ian Rankin, James McAvoy, Martin Compston, Peter Capaldi and Sam Heughan.
Presenter Edith will bring viewers a night of heart-warming content in a bid to reach the £200,000 target for the crowdfunding initiative, with three hours of music, literature and poetry planned.
As well as appearances from the country’s biggest stars, with Irvine Welsh, Judy Murray, Peter Mullan, Sanjeev Kohli and KT Tunstall also taking part, Edith will share stories from the public about the community spirit being seen across the country during this difficult time.
Creator and host Edith said: “As the weeks have been passing, more and more I’ve been working out how I can do something to help. After a friend drew my attention to an amazing event in Wales last week, with a number of well-known Welsh faces, I thought, “I Ought To Do That!” I wanted to create an event that had a purpose, was a way of saying thank you to all those selfless people putting themselves in danger to help others and celebrate this extraordinary community spirit that we are seeing.
“Jo at Masks For Scotland had just been in touch to ask for my support, the work that she and her mum Jill are doing is wonderful, so it felt like the perfect fit. For the Love Of Scotland will be three hours of people coming together through music, prose, comedy, conversation and thanks, featuring both plenty of well-known faces and members of the public. I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am to all the people who are helping us out and giving up their time. Now we just have to do it!”
The Masks for Scotland crowdfunding initiative was founded by Professor Jill Belch of the University of Dundee, in response to the urgent need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for community frontline medical teams across Scotland.
The appeal has already attracted support from Scottish actors Brian Cox, Alan Cumming and Joanna Vanderham with the first orders of PPE arriving in Scotland last week.
Professor Belch added: “The Medical Teams who protect us must be protected too. We know that the bigger the viral load, the worse the disease. Day in, day out, these teams are exposed to very high viral loads. We must help save their lives, the lives of their families and their patients by providing correct PPE. This fund raiser will save lives – thank you so very much to all who donate.”
Aiming to help Masks for Scotland reach their target, Edith will host the livestream on Gigs In Scotland’s social channels from 6pm – 9pm on Wednesday, April 22.
Viewers can tune into the stream on the Gigs in Scotland Facebook or YouTube.
You can also show your support for Masks for Scotland and those carrying out exceptional work in this unprecedented time by donating directly here.
