Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) hosted more than 85,000 visitors on Good Friday for Victoria’s 88th Good Friday Appeal, which raised a record-breaking total of $18,175,467 to support The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

MCEC Chief Executive, Peter King said MCEC was proud to be part of the Good Friday Appeal family.

“At MCEC we’re proud to be a space for the community and the Good Friday Appeal is a highlight on our events calendar,” Mr King said.

“Our team love hosting this event and many of our employees donate their time to volunteer on the day.

“In our sixth year of hosting the iconic Channel 7 Telethon, Kids Day Out activities and evening Super Show, we continue to play a vital role in seamlessly delivering a large-scale event while helping to raise life-changing funds for sick kids.

“As always, it’s a pleasure to work with the major supporters of the Appeal including Channel 7, MiNC Events, Herald and Weekly Times and 3AW,” said Mr King.

MCEC’s chefs created an interactive Ice Cream-o-Rama for the Kids Day Out, serving more than 3000 house-made ice creams for the Appeal.

MCEC’s team has spent the last twelve months planning for the event, with over 500 employees working across the week to ensure the Appeal was again a great success. Many MCEC staff also generously donated their time to volunteer on the day.

Since 1931 the Good Friday Appeal has contributed more than $363 million to The Royal Children's Hospital.

View the original media release here.