13/366: I heart Warsaw

13/366: I heart Warsaw, originally uploaded by rodia.

January 13th 13/366

WOSP 2008 Great Finale
This is the sixteenth Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. It works like this: for one day every year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers head out to collect money for the organisation.This money goes to a different medical cause every year- they buy ambulances, incubators... all sorts of expensive medical equipment.

There are concerts and events all over the country which all end in fireworks at eight pm (I had to miss them this year, alas, so no photos) and the whole thing has non-stop live coverage on TVP2, one of our national TV channels. The symbol of the Orchestra is a heart, so there are always plenty of heart-shaped balloons around...

In the photo, behind the balloons, you can see Warsaw's infamous landmark, the Palace of Culture and Science. It was a gift of friendship from the good people of the USSR. ;) You learn to love it.

As I type this out, the counted donations are up to over thirteen million zloties (over five million USD) and the day is far from over.