The Big Issue are teaming up with Social Bite for this year’s Sleep Out

Social Bite will be holding their World’s Big Sleep Out event, dubbed the ‘Live Aid of global homelessness’, at the end of the year and The Big Issue will be right there with them.

Alongside the Scottish social enterprise’s Trafalgar Square spectacular, The Big Issue Foundation (TBIF), our charitable arm, will be holding their own Sleep Out at the Kia Oval Cricket Ground.

TBIF held their Big Sleep Out event at the cricket stadium last year as well as bedding down for a Big Stadium Sleep Out Southampton FC’s St Mary’s Stadium last November.

Our SECOND London event is now open for pre registration! In collaboration with @TBIF at The Oval. Join us Saturday 7th December in our global campaign to #endhomelessness #bigsleepout pic.twitter.com/gP9FuWxfJv

— The Worlds Big Sleep Out (@BigSleepOuts) July 1, 2019

But this year’s event will be bigger than ever as it ties in with Social Bite’s events across the globe with Dame Helen Mirren reading the bedtime story at the Trafalgar Square gathering while Will Smith will be doing the same in New York.

Events are also confirmed in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin, Chicago, New Delhi, Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels, Santiago, Rijeka and Kharkiv in the Ukraine with more to be confirmed.

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The Big Issue Foundation is returning to the Kia Oval – but this time they will be part of a global movement

Like the other locally held events, The Big Issue Foundation will receive 50 per cent of the fundraising to go towards their work to end poverty and exclusion for Big Issue vendors while the other half will go towards supporting people displaced internationally.

TBIF CEO Stephen Robertson said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be bringing the World’s Big Sleep Out to the Kia Oval for the first time – it is an incredible honour to be one of the beneficiaries from Social Bite’s global movement and it will be a hugely important step on our mission to dismantle poverty for Big Issue vendors working hard around the UK. We hope to see you there!”

The ambitious global movement builds on Social Bite’s Sleep Out events in Scotland over the last two years – which saw 18,000 people across four cities brave the cold to collectively raise over £7m.

Now they have teamed up with the Malala Fund, UNICEF USA and the Institute of Global Homelessness to tackle homelessness across the globe.

“In my mind, this is the equivalent of Live Aid for the issue of global homelessness,” organiser Josh Littlejohn told The Big Issue earlier this year.

📢 Very exciting news! 📢 We've partnered with @BigSleepOuts to host an official event in London! On 7th December thousands of people will sleep out around the world in solidarity with and in support of those experiencing homelessness and displacement. https://t.co/14u2tOsPpG pic.twitter.com/gtN4QuB6j2

— Big Issue Impact (@bigissueimpact) June 30, 2019

“This is a call to city governments, business leaders, students, school children, religious groups and people from all over the world. Whether you sleep out in your backyard or Times Square New York, together we can raise a target of $50million to tackle homelessness and displacement, whilst sending a message to the world’s political leaders to ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home.”

Official registrations for TBIF’s event will open on September 3 but you can pre-register today to gain first access to a place.