Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will be joined by Prince Charles at a memorial service in London tonight for victims of bushfires last month which tragically killed 173 people in southeastern Australia.
The service at Westminster Abbey will be attended by Australian celebrities who are based in London, including Jason Donovan, Elle Macpherson, Dannii Minogue, and Rolf Harris.
The bushfires, the worst in Australia’s history, blazed through Victoria, ruining entire towns and more than 2,000 homes.
They raged for weeks before being brought under control by thousands of firefighters and survivors in some areas have only recently been allowed to return to their homes to begin rebuilding.
Kevin Rudd is in London for this week’s G20 summit in London, on tackling the world economic crisis, also attended by President Obama who is making his first presidential trip to the UK. A collection will be taken during the service, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Red Cross Australian Bushfires Appeal.
