bbc radio 1 tour de dance

Taking on the ultimate test of stamina, strength and endurance this week, Arielle pedalled 100 miles through wind, rain and freezing temperatures to complete her longest ever DJ set, all whilst cycling.

The Radio 1 DJ and teams of listeners worked together to keep the wheels turning and the decks spinning – and they couldn’t have crossed the finish line without your support.

Arielle took on this Red Nose Day challenge to raise life changing money for Comic Relief; and there’s still time to donate. The money raised will help support people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, and food poverty here in the UK and around the world, so if you can support Arielle and the team, a donation of any amount will help to make a difference.

It doesn’t have to cost the earth to help change lives. Your donation can help people who are facing the toughest times of their lives, here in the UK and around the world. Please donate what you can, now.

Ahead of her big challenge, Arielle visited a Comic Relief funded project called ‘Mind Our Music’ in Luton.

Mind Our Music is a weekly music therapy support group for adults with mental health conditions and provides them with a unique opportunity to engage in making high quality live music. The music is led by the participants as much as possible, with the support of facilitators, including a Music Therapist and a Community Musician. The project is run by Music24 at the Bear Club (a Jazz club) in Luton.

Arielle took part in the session, having a go on the drums and various other instruments, and chatting to the participants about their experiences of the project; finding out how it supports their mental health. For over 35 years, Comic Relief has been supporting people facing the toughest times of their lives, both here in the UK and around the world. Please donate what you can, now.

Latest updates from Arielle Free's Red Nose Day challenge!

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Culture | Music

Radio 1’s Arielle Free to DJ while cycling for 50 hours in aid of Red Nose Day

Radio 1 host Arielle Free is to take on the longest set of her life as she will attempt to DJ live while cycling for 50 hours across five cities in five days to raise funds for Red Nose Day.

From Sunday, the early breakfast host will be taking to the streets of York , Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool , tackling a different city each day.

The Scottish broadcaster, 34, will undertake the challenge, dubbed Tour de Dance with Arielle Free, on a 10-person bike adapted with DJ decks and a giant Red Nose.

Along the way, she will be joined by Radio 1 listeners and some famous faces in each of the cities who will need to help her pedal to keep the music pumping.

On the first day, Free will join Radio 1 presenter Greg James for a special ‘Tour de Dance For Red Nose Day’ breakfast show to talk through the task she is about to embark on.

Free said: “I’m so nervous about the challenge, it’s something I’d never considered before, and that’s just the cycling shorts! It’s going to be a huge mental and physical challenge peddling whilst mixing live, across five cities in one week.

“I have definitely had some funny looks in the gym whilst practising DJing on the bikes!

“Looking forward to raving and pedalling across the nation, if you see us cycling past, please show some support by dancing along! And please donate if you can!”

James added: “These challenges only work when the whole station and all the listeners get behind them so I’ll be doing my very best to be the ringmaster back at base rallying everyone together to get Arielle over the finish line.

“She’s incredibly tough but this will be her biggest challenge yet.”

Money raised for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day will help those affected by the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, and food poverty in the UK and across the world.

A portion of the money raised will also go towards the emergency response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

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Samir Patel, chief executive of Comic Relief, said: “We are incredibly excited to have the support of Arielle for this extraordinary challenge that only our friends at Radio 1 could imagine.

“The Tour de Dance with Arielle Free is a unique and exciting way to raise funds and we hope that Radio 1 listeners and people across the country get behind Arielle and help her through this huge challenge of a lifetime. Good luck Arielle.”

The challenge will begin on Sunday, March 5, live on BBC Radio 1 and daily updates on Free’s progress will be given during Vick Hope and Jordan North’s show, which will be renamed for the challenge Tour de Dance For Red Nose Day and will be broadcast live from whichever city Free is cycling through.

Red Nose Day returns to BBC One on March 17 with hosts AJ Odudu, David Tennant, Joel Dommett, Paddy McGuinness and Zoe Ball.

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BBC Radio 1 Tour De Dance inspires similar fundraiser in Crumlin

The event was inspired by the Radio 1 Tour De Dance

• 16:22, 17 APR 2023

Visitors to a Co Antrim town this weekend may have thought they had stumbled upon a load of hen and stag parties as the Wee Toast Tours bikes rolled into town.

The yellow bikes have become synonymous with the Belfast party scene and on Sunday, they arrived in Crumlin for a very special charity fundraiser.

Billed as the 'Tour De Crumlin' locals took to the bikes for a special spin class to raise money for Project Zambia in an idea thought up by The Fiddlers Inn owner Shane McGrann and local DJ Sean McKeown, both of whom will be travelling to the country this summer.

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"The idea for Tour De Crumlin was really a brainchild of myself and Sean," Shane told Belfast Live.

"We are both travelling out this summer and were thinking of ideas to fundraise when we came across BBC Radio 1's Tour De Dance and thought it was a genius idea.

"I had the pleasure of working with Wee Toast Tours before and so instantly we reached out to them to see if they would be interested in helping us and they were more than keen.

"It was an idea that was stormed up over a beer and we thought it would be a great way to have a wee bit of fun in Crumlin town in collaboration with The Little Gym and Wee Toast Tours."

Project Zambia is a social justice organisation and charity which is a member of the Edmund Rice Developing World Immersion Programme and takes its ethos from that organisation.

The project works in partnership with some of the poorest and most marginalised communities in Zambia, mostly around Lusaka Province to improve the quality of life of people living in abject poverty; including orphans, disabled children, homeless youths and community leaders.

The money raised from Tour De Crumlin will help the charity deliver education, feeding programmes, improved access to first aid/ healthcare, clean water and safe sanitation, income-generation and empowering communities in Zambia through the training of local people.

Talking us through how the event would run, Danielle Tubridy from The Little Gym said: "We have a DJ on each bike and a spin instructor on each bike from The Little Gym.

"We will be cycling around the town and depending on how fast the song is, that will depend on the cadence of the pedals."

Jennifer Kenna from Wee Toast Tours added: "Shane and Sean contacted us when they heard about our work with BBC Radio 1's Arielle Free and her Comic Relief fundriaser.

"We were in the preparation stages for that a couple of months ago when the guys said it was a fabulous idea and they wanted to do something for Project Zambia.

"They asked us to head up here to Crumlin and do some fundraising for Project Zambia which is near and dear to their hearts and they have been involved with for years.

"We said absolutely and as soon as we got back, we got the wheels rolling."

To donate to the fundraiser, click here .

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