The Christmas Concert in the Vatican, to help child slaves and victims of cyber-bullying, which was broadcasted by private television’s Channel 5 on the night of December 24, 2017, was a “great success,” stated a press release of the organizers.
It was the second most watched program that night. The first most watched program was the Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s, broadcasted live by RAI-Uno, Italian National Television’s channel one.
The charity concert, which took place on December 16 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It was watched by 2,463,000 TV viewers, with 14.6% participation, three points higher than last year.
To that number are added the 992,000 spectators (9% of share) who saw the broadcast in the early afternoon of Christmas Day, as well as the spectators who followed it on Mediaset Italy in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina and several European countries.
Produced by Prime Time Promotions, and organized by the “Don Bosco in the World” Foundation and the “Scholas Occurrentes” Papal Foundation, the concert launched a fundraising campaign to support two projects related to the world of digital communication.
The first project is the liberation of children working as slaves in the Congolese coltan mines, the mineral necessary to make computers and intelligent phones, and the “more conscientious and responsible” use of these products.
The second project is to fight cyber-bullying, stated the press release. The “Scholas Occurrentes” Foundation, founded by Pope Francis, operates in 446,113 public and private schools worldwide.
