The Big Help Out will not run in 2025, organisers have announced. 

Matt Hyde, co-founder and chair of the volunteering event, said a potential clash with the 80th anniversary of VE Day was one factor in the “head over heart” decision not to go ahead this year. 

In an opinion piece for Third Sector explaining the decision, Hyde said organisers were planning for the event to return “even bigger” in 2026. 

“The plans being put together around VE Day’s 80th anniversary this year would end up putting the sector under strain to choose between them – or try to do both,” he said. 

Hyde said organisers were encouraged by some to run The Big Help Out on VE weekend in May and were offered funding for this but were concerned that it would distract and even undermine the VE Day events. 

The Big Help Out was first staged around the King’s coronation in 2023, when an estimated 7.2 million people gave up their time to volunteer for charities. 

The event was expanded to run over three days in 2024, when about 6.5 million people took part.  

A survey conducted among 2024 participants showed that almost eight out of 10 of them said they were more likely to volunteer because of the event.

More than three-quarters of participants said the event gave them a stronger sense of belonging in their community.

“There is a big difference between repeating a one-off event and establishing something that adds value each year in the nation’s calendar,” said Hyde. 

“We now have the time to build something truly game-changing in 2026 and the years ahead to inspire a new generation to volunteer in ways that work for them.”

The event is backed by a group of 30 major charities that are part of the Shaping the Future with Volunteering group, including the British Red Cross, Cats Protection, National Trust, RNLI, St John Ambulance and Trussell.