What is Freddie For A Day?
Freddie For A Day was the brainchild of Liz Swanton, web editor of the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the AIDS charity set up in Freddie’s name in 1992. In real life she’s a City of London Banker and she raised over £1,200 by spending a working day dressed as Freddie. It was such a wonderfully whacky idea that we decided to make it an annual event coinciding with Freddie’s birthday (5th September). It’s fun, it’s slightly crazy AND it raises money for the charity which is spent fighting HIV/AIDS worldwide.

How do I get involved?
It’s very simple. You dress as Freddie Mercury in any way and anywhere you want and encourage friends to sponsor you.

What do I wear?
Go to www.freddieforaday.com for ideas for making your own costume or to the www.queenonline.com shop to purchase an outfit. All profits from costumes go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust. It’s not obligatory to be in a full Freddie outfit, you could just sport a moustache which we’re hoping to make available online as well with profits going to the MPT. The aim is to raise awareness and have fun.

How do I raise money?
Register on www.justgiving.com (go to the Freddie For A Day or the Mercury Phoenix Trust websites to find out more) and ask your friends, family or work colleagues if they will SPONSOR you for dressing up, which means they pay however much or little they wish to contribute direct by credit card into your Just Giving account. This money gets sent direct to the Mercury Phoenix Trust. You can also ask people to make donations to the MPT PayPal account. It’s as simple as that and if everybody is able to raise just a little, it could be momentous! For other ways to donate the money you raise, look at the Donate section on www.freddieforaday.com.

Should I document my day?
Yes, great! Nearer to 5th September you will be able to upload photos direct to www.freddieforaday.com. We’d love to receive written accounts of your day as well, so send them to us at ffad@mercuryphoenixtrust.com. Last year loads of people just dressed up in the privacy of their own homes, that’s OK too. Another way, if you are shy or unable to spend the whole day in a Freddie costume is to throw a ‘Freddie Party’ where the dress code is dress as ‘Freddie’. We will be running a competition so check it out.

Let us know if you plan to dress up and get involved this year! We’d love to see what you wear.

For more information please visit Freddie For a Day!