French Twitch streamer Zerator opened the tenth and final edition of ZEvent with a live concert at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier on Thursday, September 3, launching a three-day charity streaming marathon featuring 333 content creators.
The livestreaming event, running from Friday, September 4 to Sunday, September 6, brings together online creators to raise funds for 22 beneficiary charities. Speaking to French news outlet 20 Minutes, Zerator said he is encouraging participants to break past previous records and reach at least 20 million euros for the farewell broadcast, following a total of nearly 17 million euros raised during the previous year.
ZEvent has established itself as one of the largest digital charity initiatives in Europe since its inception. Broadcast live on Twitch, the Amazon-owned video streaming platform, the event relies on content creators broadcasting video games, talk shows, and entertainment challenges to solicit donations from viewers. Montpellier, a major city in the Occitanie region of southern France, hosts the launch concert at the Sud de France Arena, a multi-purpose indoor venue situated in nearby Pérols.
Decisions behind ending the decade long fundraiser
Zerator explained that organizers decided to end ZEvent because they felt the project had reached the natural end of its cycle after ten years. He emphasized that while he engaged in charitable work prior to ZEvent and will continue to do so in the future, the team preferred to conclude the marathon at its peak so that supporters and participants retain positive memories of a final major celebration.
Holding out for a decade is a significant achievement for a live internet event, Zerator noted. He explained that concluding the marathon allows the organizers to make room for other creators, refresh their creative focus, and pursue new charitable concepts, while preserving everything ZEvent constructed over its ten-year run.
Addressing questions regarding whether online criticism or spectator weariness influenced his decision, Zerator stated that negative feedback represented a tiny minority of public sentiment. He emphasized that public response remained 99 percent positive throughout the history of the event, adding that if he had stopped at the first sign of fatigue or criticism, ZEvent would have ended eight years ago.
Impact on charities and the streaming ecosystem
Zerator acknowledged that ending any major fundraising event represents a direct loss for non-profit organizations seeking financial support. However, he pointed out that ZEvent demonstrated how a single flagship event can inspire a wider movement, noting that France now hosts nearly ten charity streaming marathons each year.
Selecting beneficiary groups has consistently posed a challenge for organizers, who were forced every year to turn away deserving non-profits due to limited capacity. Zerator observed that even if organizers held a ZEvent every single weekend, there would still be more legitimate causes than a single platform could support.
While selected organizations expressed gratitude for participating in the final edition, Zerator received messages from non-profits expressing regret over the closure. He noted that fundraising has grown increasingly difficult over time due to broader political factors and an ongoing economic crisis affecting donors across the country.
Growth from a living room setup to millions
The scale of ZEvent's current setup stands in contrast to its modest beginnings ten years ago. Zerator recalled launching the original event inside a residential living room, where team members personally ran network cables and managed equipment, raising 170,000 euros during their first broadcast.
At the time, organizers believed they could never surpass their initial total. By 2018, the marathon crossed the one million euro mark for the first time, a milestone Zerator said moved him to tears. The fundraiser now generates roughly 100 times its original debut total, consistently reaching 16 million euros in recent editions.
Streamer mechanics and donation goals
Throughout the three-day broadcast, 333 participating streamers interact with audiences using donation goals, which are custom challenges and pledges performed live when specific fundraising thresholds are met. Zerator dismissed concerns about streamer exhaustion, clarifying that while some creators occasionally struggle to invent new donation goal ideas, viewer enthusiasm remains high.
In previous years, Zerator maintained a relaxed attitude toward fundraising totals, asserting that failing to beat a previous record was acceptable because any amount raised was beneficial. For this final edition, however, he is urging all participants to maximize their efforts to reach the 20 million euro target and close the ten-year chapter on a high note.
