'Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief': What to expect from the telethon for survivors of Harvey and Irma
— -- Some of the biggest names in entertainment will appear tonight on a telethon to benefit victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
"Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief" will be broadcast live from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST on all four networks, including ABC, and several cable channels. The telethon will simultaneously be streamed live via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, AOL, Huffington Post and Yahoo.
The hour-long special will include performances, taped tributes and messages from some of the country's biggest stars, including Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, George Clooney, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Drake, Jimmy Fallon, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Tim McGraw, Julia Roberts, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Michael Strahan, Barbra Streisand, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and more.
Though it was first announced amid the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, the telethon has been expanded to raise money for victims of Irma, which struck parts of Florida. Estimates from various groups have said that both hurricanes caused between $150 billion and $290 billion in damage to Texas and Florida.
More than 60 people died during Harvey and 12 deaths have been reported in the U.S. from Irma.
The telethon will be produced by the same team behind the recent Manchester, England, benefit featuring Ariana Grande. That concert on June 4 raised well over $12 million for victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people and left more than 100 others with serious injuries.
Over 2,000 call center volunteers stationed throughout the country will be on hand to take donations tonight. Digital and text donations will be accepted for several days after the broadcast.
Comic Relief USA, the non-profit organization behind Idol Gives Back, will manage collecting the donations and distributing them to organizations helping in the relief efforts, including the Rebuild Texas Fund, Feeding Texas Habitat for Humanity, United Way of Greater Houston and more.
"Hand in Hand" will be broadcast live tonight at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, BRAVO, CBS, CMT, E!, FOX, HBO, MTV, MTV2, MTV LIVE, MTV CLASSIC, NBC and OXYGEN. It will re-air at the same time on the West Coast.
