10 facts about Red Nose Day

Are you taking part in Red Nose Day 2025? The big annual charity event is organised by Comic Relief – and this year it’s happening on Friday 21 March! Check out these speedy Red Nose Day facts, then get inspired to do something funny for money…

Red Nose Day facts

1. Red Nose Day is all about raising money for charity!

On Red Nose Day, people take part in fun challenges, put on events, and of course, wear the iconic Red Nose to raise money for kids facing poverty in the UK and around the world. There’s also a big live show on telly in the evening with lots of celebrities, funny sketches, and musical performances.

2. It’s Comic Relief’s 40th birthday in 2025.

The charity was founded in 1985, and the very first Red Nose Day took place in 1988. It raised a huge £15 million and over 30 million people tuned in to watch the live event on TV. Woah!

3. There have been more than 80 different Red Nose designs.

Four favourites are back for 2025’s Red Nose Day – one each from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Plus, there are two brand-new Noses: a Rare Ruby Nose and Cupcake Nose.

4. One Red Nose went to the top of Everest!

British explorer Daniel Hughes climbed Mount Everest to raise money for Comic Relief in 2013. He raised an incredible £1 million – and donned his Red Nose at the summit to celebrate!

5. The Red Nose used to change colour!

In 1995, there were two different Nose options – one that changed colour from red to yellow, and one that changed from red to pink. Cool!

6. Not all Red Noses are, well, noses…

In 1993, Red Nose Day was all about ‘squashing poverty’, and for that reason, the Nose was shaped like a tomato! Plus, in 2013, Comic Relief designed three dinosaur Noses to collect – and each one came with a tiny foldaway joke book. Check out this Di-NOSE-saur!

7. The Red Nose has been to space!

In 2013, a team from BBC Radio Scotland decided to send a Red Nose where no nose had been before – space! It launched in a special capsule attached to a balloon and floated up to a whopping 30,000 metres above Earth. Epic!

8. Some Noses come with hair!

In 2003, The Big Hair Do! Nose came with gel to style the hair on top, and in 2005, The Big Hair Do & Beyond Nose – known as ‘Chad’ – came with red, yellow and purple elastic hair.

9. Super-sized Red Noses once appeared all over the UK!

In 2019, Red Noses cropped up on famous landmarks, from Blackpool to Edinburgh in Scotland. What would you stick one on?

10. YOU can get involved in Red Nose Day!

From hip shakers, cake bakers and joke makers to Red Nose wearers, t-shirt buyers and sofa-sitting givers, there’s all sorts that people can do to raise money! Here are some easy ideas to get you started…

• – Host a Red Nose Day bake sale. Can you decorate a cake with a Red Nose?
• – Get sponsored to do something fun, like a spacehopper race or dance-a-thon!
• – Organise a quiz and sell tickets. You could even make it grown-ups vs. kids!

Visit the Red Nose Day website for even more fantastic fundraising ideas.

Hope you enjoyed these Red Nose Day facts! What will YOU do to celebrate this fun event?

Images © Comic Relief; Joel Mawhinney © Amir Hossain / Comic Relief. Article written with thanks to Comic Relief.

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