ZEvent 2026: €32.9M for the final edition, then what?

ZEvent 2026 raised €32,891,874 in early September, in Montpellier, for 22 charities. It was the tenth edition of the French charity livestream, announced by its organisers as the last. The 2025 edition had raised €16,658,660: the record doubled in the very year the event ended.

According to Streams Charts, the marathon peaked at 1.3 million concurrent viewers, the second-highest figure in its history, and set a record of 26.18 million hours watched across 354 channels. Over ten years, ZEvent raised more than €90 million.

ZEvent 2026: an event ends, demand does not

For ten years, ZEvent fixed a moment in the calendar. Audiences knew when to give, whom to watch and which causes to back. That fixed point is gone. The interest it concentrated does not disappear with the name.

Organiser ZeratoR put it in his closing words: ZEvent is over, but solidarity must go on. The organisers hinted that other initiatives could follow, not necessarily under the same banner. Nothing has been announced. That is exactly what makes this period readable: demand is looking for a new anchor before any offer provides one.

Where the attention can go

Three directions stand out, and each leaves traces online.

Towards streamers rather than the event

ZEvent was a brand, but the audience was already following people. According to Streams Charts, mastu's channel peaked at nearly 477,000 concurrent viewers, ahead of organiser ZeratoR's own channel at 370,400. Part of the audience could follow its streamers to their own charity projects rather than look for a replacement event.

Towards other formats

A multi-day marathon, a year-long campaign, a themed event, a local fundraiser: each format meets a different expectation. Searches after an event ends show which one the audience is asking for, before organisers decide.

Towards the causes themselves

The 22 charities supported in 2026 gained visibility edition after edition. Some donors may now search for the charity directly, without an intermediary.

Reading the shift before it settles

This movement does not show up in viewership, which ends with the event, nor in donations, which do not exist yet. It shows up in searches, which precede the act and answer no questionnaire, unlike stated preference: queries pairing “ZEvent” with a year that will not happen, queries about streamers, charity marathons or the charities, and how they evolve week after week. It is the same logic as a subscriber won during a peak: lasting interest can be told apart from tournament interest before the decision, not after. The gap between peaks and demand is covered in what peak viewership does not measure, and the esports category brings together the other analyses.

For a brand that was part of the ZEvent ecosystem, or an organiser considering an online charity event, the decision covers the coming months: identify which streamers, formats and causes searches are moving towards, and take a position while that attention has not found a new fixture.