Red Nose Day travels to US from UK with a lighthearted NBC special aiding needy children

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Britain’s famed Red Nose Day charity event will make its U.S. debut with a NBC special benefiting anti-poverty groups.

Money raised by the three-hour “Red Nose Day” broadcast on May 21 will be used to help children and families in Africa, Asia and Latin America as well as the United States, NBC said Wednesday.

The 12 charities that are to share in the donations include the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children’s Health Fund and United Way.

Red Nose Day, operated by Comic Relief in Britain, was co-founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Curtis (“Love Actually,” ”Bridget Jones’s Diary”). Celebrities, schoolchildren and others traditionally don red clown noses to promote the event, a reflection of its lighthearted approach.

The biennial March U.K. broadcast, featuring stars, comedy and music, has received more than $1 billion in donations since it began, according to its organizers. Emma Watson, Daniel Craig and Orlando Bloom were among the stars appearing in the 2015 special, which aired last week.

“Red Nose Day is almost like a national holiday in the U.K. — it’s a day of real excitement, everyone looks forward to it and the entire country gets involved in some way,” actress Sienna Miller (“American Sniper”) said in a statement. “I’m thrilled it’s coming to the U.S.”

NBC has yet to announce the talent roster for its special, but “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm was featured in a promotional spot that aired during the Super Bowl.

Curtis, who is an executive producer for the NBC special, said he hopes it will make “a massive difference to the lives of millions of children and their families in the U.S. and in the poorest countries around the world.”

Red Nose Day USA is run by Comic Relief Inc., an independent sister organization of Britain’s Comic Relief.

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Online:

http://www.nbc.com/red-nose-day