Virtual Tankfest a huge success
Virtual Tankfest hosted by World of Tanks for the Bovington Tank Museum wowed huge audiences in June – and raised big money to support the hard-hit museum.
As the first event of its kind, and World of Tanks as partner and co-host, Tankfest from 26 to 28 June raised €62.1k (AU$102,000) to support the future of The Tank Museum.
World of Tanks was also proud to be able to leverage on its technical and publishing experience to bring Tankfest to more than 1 million viewers, with more than 34,400 concurrent peek viewers, which was nearly 10,000 more people watching than on the real Tankfest shows before the lockdown.
The ground-breaking virtual event saw exciting tank showdowns, as well as the famed Arena Show – recreated via livestream and showcasing The Tank Museums’ tanks in action.
For The Tank Museum and World of Tanks, Tankfest was not just an opportunity to deliver a new type of entertainment to their fans, but a chance to raise funds that would allow The Tank Museum to continue to bring a world-beating historical showcase to tank fans from around the world.
With more than 10k Tankfest Charity Packages, 4k virtual Tiger 131s and 6k Tankfest camouflages sold – audiences really stepped up to support the museum.
Director of The Tank Museum Richard Smith said the museum had only just re-opened after three months of enforced closure, and then Covid-19 had hit it hard – particularly as they were forced to cancel their annual Tankfest, their most important fundraising event.
“We are hugely grateful to World of Tanks, who have sponsored Tankfest since 2014, for helping us realise our ambition to turn Tankfest into a virtual event, and to The Word of Tanks players for raising such a spectacular figure to help keep The Tank Museum going in these difficult times,” Mr Smith said.
Senior Product Manager for World of Tanks Kresimir Gusak said the event would long be remembered, especially as numerous prestigious museums from all over the world supported its action and good cause.
“Despite the current pandemic conditions, museums from wide and far supplied footage and best wishes – from Arsenalen the Swedish Tank Museum, Musée des Blindés in France, The War Heritage Institute in Belgium, The Canadian War Museum, The US Army Armour & Cavalry Collection, The Dutch National Military Museum in partnership with the Historic Collection of the Royal Netherlands Army and The Museum of Military History from Vienna.”
The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK, brings the story of tanks and their crews to life, with what is arguably the world’s finest collection of tanks displayed in awe-inspiring, modern exhibitions.
The museum houses some 300 tanks, representing the key battles of every major conflict since the First World War.
World of Tanks is the first team-based, massively multiplayer online action game dedicated to armoured warfare – and a very suitable partner for a virtual Tankfest.
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