If you tuned into Twitch on Saturday and saw the likes of John Legend Diplo, Sting, and Biffy Clyro performing, then you’d be forgiven for thinking it was all a dream. Amazingly though, Twitch managed to pull this incredible lineup together – and more – for Twitch Stream Aid 2020 to help raise more than $2.7 million for the COVID-19 Solidarity Fund.
The star-studded lineup, which brought artists from different genres together and interspersed them with messages and gameplay from big names in sports and gaming like Olympic gold medallist Aly Raisman and Formula 1 driver Lando Norris, provided hours of entertainment over the weekend. The Music and Performing Arts section even became the second most popular category on the streaming website at one point.
In fact, the first Twitch Stream Aid was a resounding success. The 12 hour stream had a total of 15 million unique viewers and had a peak of 132,366 viewers, according to Twitch Tracker, raising an incredible $2,766,857.12 in the process, which will be used to help the World Health Organisation fight against the disease.
Hundreds of artists have been flooding to livestreaming platforms like Twitch to connect with their fans in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and this sort of reach and impact gives a clear example of why.
But in the present day, with so many of us housebound due to the pandemic, and the number of people browsing Twitch rising on a week by week basis, it’s clear that streaming is – and will remain – king.
