More than 15 million people took part in The Big Help Out or Big Lunch events this year, organisers have said.
The events took place at the same time this year after The Big Help Out, which was launched in 2023 to encourage people to try volunteering in their communities, took a year off in 2025.
Research conducted among a nationally representative sample of 4,000 UK adults found that slightly more than 15 million people took part in Big Help Out or Big Lunch events between 5 and 8 June.
Big Lunch organisers the Eden Project said this included 4.9 million people who took part in The Big Help Out, 6 million who attended a Big Lunch and a further 7 million who participated in an event incorporating both activities.
Direct comparisons to previous years are difficult because of the combined nature of this year’s events but about 6.5 million people took part in the previous Big Help Out in 2024.
An estimated 7.2 million people took part in the inaugural event, which was timed to coincide with the additional bank holiday for the King’s coronation weekend in 2023.
Lindsey Brummitt, programme director at Eden Project, said: “We’re truly blown away by the huge number of people who jumped at the chance to come together for The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out this year.
“But while this is positive news, we know that communities are struggling at the moment, with the high cost of living, deepening social divisions and a decrease in communal spaces often feeling like insurmountable barriers.
“We hope that the sense of neighbourliness seen in June can continue to prevail all year round and that more people are inspired to take action.”
Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the Royal Voluntary Service and co-founder of the Big Help Out, said: “There was a fantastic variety of opportunities available this year to encourage people to get stuck in and give volunteering a go; there really was something to suit everyone.
“That’s what The Big Help Out is all about: inspiring more newcomers to experience the many benefits volunteering can bring to them and to their communities.
“The hope, and the big win for society, is that a percentage of those first-timers choose to carry on volunteering and make a difference in their community.”