Audacious crowdfund bid to raise €1.6 billion for Greece

Marketing manager Thom Feeney has set up a website to raise €1.6 billion to save Greece from defaulting on a massive loan to the International Monetary Fund due tonight.

"All this dithering over Greece is getting boring,” Feeney said on the website. “European ministers flexing their muscles and posturing over whether they can help the Greek people of not. Why don't we the people just sort it instead?

"The European Union is home to 503 million people, if we all just chip in a few euro then we can get Greece sorted and hopefully get them back on track soon. Easy."

The campaign was launched on Sunday and has already reached over €70,000 in donations as of 2pm.

Feeney, a Londoner, pledged that all the money “will go to the Greek people” and claimed to have heard a rumour that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wants to get in touch with him.

He is also promising Greek products in return for the funds - €3 will get you a postcard of Tsipras made and posted in Greece, €6 a Greek Feta and Olive salad, €10 get a small bottle of Ouzo, €25 a bottle of Greek wine, €160 a basket of Greek food, €5,000 a Greek holiday for two, and €1 million “a lot of gratitude from citizens of Europe and particularly the Greek people”.

All the money will be refunded if the target isn’t reached by the end of the week, when Greece is due to hold a national referendum on whether or not to accept reform measures in return for the latest round of bailout funds that would help them pay their loan.  

“Europeans are pretty generous on the whole, maybe Ms Merkel and Mr Cameron are the exception,” Feeney wrote. “There are 500 million people in the EU and actually, it wouldn't cost each person much to just sort it out ourselves. I'm confident the people of Europe will get this campaign and some time soon we'll all be raising a glass of Ouzo and having a bloody great big celebration.”