Pearl Jam raffles off signed poster to raise quake relief money for Türkiye, Syria

By Omer Faruk Yildiz

ISTANBUL (AA) - US rock band Pearl Jam raffled off a signed poster of their 1996 Istanbul concert to raise money for the victims of last week’s two strong earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

The band said on their website that on Feb. 6, two strong earthquakes “created catastrophic damage across” southern Türkiye and Syria.

“In an effort to raise support for organizations working in the region, we are offering fans a chance to win a 2018 XL reissue of Pearl Jam’s 1996 tour poster from Istanbul, signed by all five current members of Pearl Jam,” the alternative band added.

The poster of the Istanbul concert reprinted in 2018 will be presented to the winning donor with the signature of the band members.

The winner of the fundraiser will be announced on March 6.

Earlier, American heavy metal band Metallica's foundation donated $250,000 to assist relief efforts from the devastating quakes, in which over 36,000 people died, according to the latest figures.

The Feb. 6 magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.