The tenth and final ZEvent marathon in Montpellier raised a historic 32,891,874 euros for 22 charities, doubling the previous year’s total. Organizers and streamers concluded the charity event on September 7, 2026, marking a record-breaking end to the decade-long streaming tradition.
Montpellier Marathon Doubles Previous Record with Nearly 33 Million Euros Raised
The tenth and final edition of the French charity streaming event ZEvent closed its marathon run with a staggering total of 32,891,874 euros, se sont félicités les organisateurs sur X. Staged at the Corum in Montpellier, the final broadcast wrapped up in the early hours of Monday, September 7, 2026, pulling in nearly double the 16 millions d’euros recorded at the close of the 2025 edition by the biais de 771.000 dons, selon la Fondation de France.
More than 80 streamers on-site and 200 participants online spent three days broadcasting non-stop challenges, musical acts, and endurance stunts. Jusqu’au bout, les 200.000 internautes encore connectés dimanche soir étaient encouragés à contribuer une dernière fois par des streamers vides d'énergie
et à la voix éraillée après 50 heures de diffusion en direct. Plus de 1,7 million de dons ont été enregistrés, soit une moyenne de 10 euros le don, versés par des donateurs aux profils variés. By Sunday evening, with only hours left on the clock, the cumulative donations had already surpassed the total amounts of previous years, which had, cumulées, permis de lever 58 millions d’euros.
On a commencé en 2016 dans un salon, en branchant les câbles nous-mêmes, en faisant nos salades de pâtes, en dormant par terre. Aujourd’hui on est 80 dans une salle, on est 300 en ligne, c’est monstrueux ! Adrien Nougaret, alias Zerator
Why the Organizers Decided to Call Time on the Decennial Milestone
Co-founded in 2016 by Adrien Nougaret, known online as Zerator, alongside his friend Dach, the event grew from humble beginnings into a cultural powerhouse for French internet streaming. Yet, despite its massive financial success, Zerator explained that the organizing team chose to end the flagship marathon because it had reached its natural peak. Annoncée comme étant la dernière, cette édition se veut explosive, grandiose
, a prévenu Zerator.
He explained that they decided to stop because they feel the ZEvent has offered everything it had to offer, while also highlighting the existence of other live charity marathons. He expressed hope that in France, there is a charity event on Twitch about every three weekends, noting that while the ZEvent is the most famous, there are plenty of others, and the fact that the ZEvent is slowing down a bit will help boost all of them a little.
From Micro-Donations to Star-Studded Support and High-Stakes Challenges
The record-breaking sum was driven by a diverse donor base, ranging from younger YouTube viewers contributing modest sums to older Twitch audiences giving larger amounts. Agathe Djelalian, head of media relations at the Fondation de France, noted to AFP that certain streamers, mostly originating from YouTube communities, attract the youngest internet users, and these donors make small donations while participating in one-euro races.
Mme Djelalian continued that other streamers, primarily known on the Twitch platform, have a community of slightly older people between the ages of 30 and 50, and those individuals give more, between 100 and 200 euros. Depuis quatre ans, la Fondation de France gère toute la collecte pendant l’événement, puis accompagne les associations dans la mise en œuvre d’actions grâce aux dons récoltés.
A cela, s’ajoutent les dons de stars, aux montants plus importants à l’image de Bigflo et Oli (100.000 euros) or de Gims (50.000 euros + un disque platine). Bigflo assured AFP that it is not a contest about who will give the most. He stated that if you only have one euro to give, that euro will be just as important as their donation. The singer proudly declared that the previous generation had Les Enfoirés and the ongoing Téléthon, whereas the ZEvent is somewhat their own thing for the generation of thirty-somethings.
A lui seul, l’un des streamers les plus suivis, Mastu, est parvenu à dépasser les cinq millions d’euros sur sa cagnotte, notamment grâce à une tombola légendaire
. Parmi les 40 lots, des maillots de foot dédicacés de Zidane ou Messi, des disques de platine ou de diamant de Théodora ou Angèle, un script du réalisateur Christopher Nolan ou encore le pied du costume de Spiderman remporté par un internaute après un don de 5 euros.
Where the Record Funds Go Next
L’édition 2026 versera les dons aux 22 associations ayant bénéficié des Zevent précédents, dont la Ligue contre le cancer, Action contre la faim, Amnesty International, le Secours populaire ou la LPO. Agathe Djelalian pointed out that over the past 10 years, the ZEvent has truly made it possible to have a new generation of donors and streamers who were not necessarily aware of the entire non-profit sector.
