Metallica give UK homeless charity £40,000 grant after headlining Download Festival

Heavy metal legends Metallica marked their two headline sets at Download Festival with a surprise donation to a homelessness charity.

Metallica played Download Festival for a second time on Saturday night with a second headline show in three days at Castle Donington, Leicestershire, and marked the gigs by donating £80,000 to charities, including £40,000 to Leicester charity Help The Homeless.

The surprise donation, from the band’s non-profit All Within My Hands Foundation, arrived just in time for the charity, according to founder Arif Voraji.

“We’ve seen a massive drop in donations from the public and donations from corporations, but at the same time, we’ve seen an increase in demand,” said Voraji. “We’ve seen a 100% increase in demand for the food bank and our other food services and it’s not just individuals coming to us, it’s families too.

“It will help us to keep doing what we’re doing and help not only homeless people but others who are struggling, people in recovery, people who have just moved into new accommodation.

“But it will also help us with the day-to-day costs of running the charity and just keep the lights on.”

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Metallica’s double appearance at the bumper four-day Download Festival marked the start of the band’s M72 world tour.

Since 2017 the band has been donating a cut of its ticket sales to food banks, disaster relief charities and other causes around the world through the All Within My Hands Foundation.

Help The Homeless received £40,000 following the first appearance at Download on Thursday while Living Without Abuse, a domestic abuse charity, received the same amount following the second show – which saw the band play a completely different set.

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The foundation said: “This grant will help Help The Homeless in its goal to provide relief from homelessness by gaining insight from those most at risk, and by working in complement with other service-providing organisations, all while fostering a platform for empowerment and independence for those in need.

“We thank Live Nation, Festival Republic, and the Metallica family that made their way to Donington for helping us contribute to two organisations providing such critical services. We are proud to support their work.”

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