2022 was a somewhat special edition for the ZEvent, because its creator, the streamer Zerator, had announced it would be the last under this formula. The charity marathon, which was held on Twitch from September 9 to 11, at the Corum in Montpellier, exceeded all expectations. In just fifty hours, the fifty or so streamers raised more than 10 million euros (10,182,126 to be exact) for four associations focused on ecology: Sea Shepherd, WWF, the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) and The Sea Cleaners. To encourage donations, each streamer offers their subscribers goals to achieve, with more or less absurd challenges, ranging from cleaning beaches to staying in Paris and shaving their heads.
However, this 2022 edition had not started under the best omens. Since its announcement, a few months ago, the controversies had followed one another. The choice of the association initially selected, The Good Planet Foundation, had been strongly criticized by Internet users, accused in particular of greenwashing. The two founders, Zerator and Dach, had finally decided to have Internet users vote for their favorite associations among around twenty names. Another subject, the absence of many very popular streamers from the Twitch platform, such as Michou, Kameto, Inoxtag or Maghla, raised the threat of a “flop”. An expression also taken up ironically throughout the duration of the event.
Alain Chabat superstar, a wrestling ring and techno mixes
But it was nothing. In addition to the concert organized on Thursday evening, bringing together artists such as PV Nova, Berywam, Bigflo & Oli and even Soprano, the streamers had worked hard to offer spectators live shows full of emotions throughout the weekend. The streamer Etoiles notably invited the iconic actor Alain Chabat to animate a new version of Questions for a Streamer, his adaptation of “Question for a Champion”, crossed, this time, with the famous “Burger Quiz”.
Among the other highlights that marked the public, the live technos hosted by the streamer DamDam from… 8 a.m., or the duo Antoine Daniel-Etoiles, who ignited the stream with their electro mix and their luminous glasses. Throughout the weekend, frank camaraderie was at the rendezvous, like a huge playground. Destruction of giant pinata, more or less successful drawings on canvas or Paint, and even a real wrestling match, for example, punctuated the event.
A tweet from Macron that does not pass
With more than 10 million euros collected to be divided between the four associations, this edition of the “flop” delighted Internet users. Many of them praised the benevolence at work during this 2022 edition, much more “serene” than last year: last year, the streamer Ultia had experienced a wave of cyberbullying there for having denounced inappropriate remarks from the streamer Inoxtag. The only downside: the presence of the streamer Altair, who allegedly made misogynistic remarks on his channel a few months ago; or a group hypnosis session that made some Internet users uncomfortable.
Sunday evening, Emmanuel Macron even split a video tweet to renew his commitment to ecology, and encourage the Z Event stating “I’m counting on you tonight, as usual”. A message that didn’t really go over well, especially on the side of Antoine Daniel, who declared “I can’t take it anymore for him to do his promotion on our fucking backs” and denouncing “propaganda” on the part of the head of state.
As for the streamer Angle Droit, she did not hesitate to insult Emmanuel Macron copiously, denouncing the government’s inaction on climate issues, and the political recovery of a charity event like the Z Event.
One thing is certain, it’s that the Z Event is over: streamers have turned off their PCs and put away their headsets for a few days… Until version 2.0, next year? Case to follow.