The European Speedrunner Assembly (ESA) held its recurring esports event last week, where players were challenged to play through video games at record speed and showcase amazing talents. More than US$85,000 was raised for Make-A-Wish International — an organization dedicated to fulfilling wishes for children living with critical illnesses.
The event took place in Malmö, Sweden, and revolved around gaming, entertainment, and interactive fundraising. Close to 400 participants were present, while viewers from around the world watched the event online. Both the onsite and online audience had the opportunity to actively support the charity fundraiser in various creative ways. In a race to assemble flat pack furniture for example, the audience had the opportunity to make the assembly more difficult by donating $25 to enforce a restriction on players, such as building with only the right hand or without tools. Fundraising records for a single game were broken during a Sonic game where the audience could directly hinder the player in the game through various modifications. Over $7,200 was raised in just two hours!
ESA's donations will be used to help grant the wishes of eligible children around the world. Already, a girl in Denmark named Naja has found out that her wish will be granted thanks to ESA. Despite being a child, Naja has not experienced a happy Christmas for many years. In 2020, she lost her grandmother to cancer, and the following year, she and her family had COVID during Christmas. Worse still, in Christmas 2022, Naja was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Her wish is to have a nice Christmas in a warm and sunny place and she has just found out that in Christmas 2024, she will travel with her family to experience her wish-come-true!
Ida Lidholt, one of the ESA organizers says: “We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Make-A-Wish International. ESA Winter is a festival where gamers and the community unite. Through videogames and speed, we level up to raise funds for children suffering from critical illnesses. We are so proud to announce a total of $85,000 raised to help grant wishes. We are so grateful to our gamers and the community for uniting behind this very worthy cause.”
Luciano Manzo, President & CEO, Make-A-Wish International says: “Children undergoing treatment for critical illness can experience anxiety, loss of hope, and isolation from friends and loved ones. For many of these children, gaming offers them a sense of escape, helps them connect with friends and distracts them from their long and often difficult treatment journeys. That’s why gaming and entertainment wishes are so popular among wish children. The funds raised from ESA Winter 2024 will help continue to grant these types of wishes and many others. We are so grateful to ESA and the gaming community for helping make wishes come true with this event.”
About ESA
European Speedrunner Assembly (ESA) is a biannual charity marathon dedicated to video game speedrunning, held in Sweden. Since its inception in 2012, these events have collectively raised over one million dollars for various charitable causes.
The two main flagship events, ESA Winter and ESA Summer, occur annually in February and July, respectively, each spanning seven days. Beyond these, ESA also organizes smaller speedrunning gatherings such as ESA Legends, a five-day in-person event uniting top RPG speedrunners, and Break the Record: Live, a three-day competition aimed at breaking world records in specified games and categories.
About Make-A-Wish International
Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Founded in 1980, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, having granted more than 585,000 wishes in 50 countries worldwide. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 27,000 volunteers around the globe, Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. Make-A-Wish aims to bring the power of wishing to every child living with a critical illness because wish experiences can help improve emotional and physical health. For more information about Make-A-Wish International, visit https://worldwish.org
