Paris (France) (AFP) – After nine editions and more than 58 million euros raised, the largest charitable event on the internet is bowing out with a final live marathon bringing together, from September 4 to 7 in Montpellier, nearly 90 streamers and several hundred others online.

Published on: 01/09/2026 - 09:11

Since 2016, this event has brought together a large number of web stars on Twitch each year around video game sessions and challenges (quizzes, karaoke, donation battles, etc.) in order to collect donations for associations.

“It’s not a decision that was taken lightly,” confides to AFP the French streamer ZeratoR, alias Adrien Nougaret, co-creator with his right-hand man Alexandre Dachary of this concept which brings together on average between 500,000 and a million spectators online.

“We stop because we have the impression that the event has reached its peak in this form”, and “we have the impression of having been around it a bit”, affirms the 36-year-old streamer.

For this last big rally, the organizers wanted to "push all the sliders to the limit": nearly 9,000 spectators are expected Thursday evening at the Arena Sud de France in Montpellier for the opening concert, with rappers Gims, Bigflo & Oli and Gazo headlining.

22 associations

From Friday 6 p.m. until Sunday evening, nearly 90 streamers will host the event on site in Montpellier, almost twice as many as last year.

This year it counts in its ranks streaming figures like Anyme, Baghera Jones and Ultia, the presenter of the talk show “Popcorn” Domingo and even the host Samuel Etienne.

They will be joined online by more than 200 streamers, mobilized for the benefit of 22 associations, including the League Against Cancer, Action Against Hunger and Amnesty International.

“We have included all those who have benefited from ZEVENT” since the first edition, underlines ZeratoR, “a way of thanking them for trusting us”.

The associations contribute to financing the event to the tune of several tens of thousands of euros and then withdraw "between seven and fifteen times" their investment depending on the year, explains the organizer.

Since 2022, all donations collected have been centralized by the Fondation de France, which is then responsible for redistributing them.

The funds, for example, made it possible to finance the operation of a hospital in the Central African Republic and the purchase of a new boat for the Sea Shepherd association.

For this final lap, the streamer is already expecting a new record in donations, and dreams of reaching 20 million euros.

Big internet meeting

With the end of ZEVENT, a page of the French internet is turning.

It was during the 2021 edition that Squeezie, pillar of French-speaking YouTube, launched the idea of ​​the GP Explorer, an F4 race which has since broken viewing records on Twitch.

Last year's edition was the starting point for the march across France by the two streamers Byilhan and Nico, followed daily by tens of thousands of spectators.

It has also inspired numerous online charity events like Speedons and Streamers for Humanity.

But its success has also regularly attracted criticism: internal accusations, controversies linked to the profile of certain participants or even the choice of associations.

Suspected in particular of +greenwashing+ by Internet users, Yann Arthus-Bertrand's GoodPlanet association, initially selected by the organizers for the 2022 edition, was finally withdrawn in favor of five other beneficiaries.

“It was a nightmare some years, we wanted to stop everything,” remembers ZeratoR, even if he recognizes that “if ZEVENT continued to grow, it’s also because we listened to the criticism.”

Despite the possibility of participating online, some big names from previous editions are missing for this latest edition, such as Squeezie, Inoxtag or Michou.

“Not everyone is necessarily interested, available, or wants to,” breathes ZeratoR.

Once this page is closed, "I will continue to participate in other people's events", assures the streamer, "I will not give up on charity overnight."

© 2026 AFP

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