I was lucky - or rather quick - enough to get a ticket to the London Twestival last night. There were about 800 of us hanging out under the arches near the city while it snowed, and we were joined by about 20,000 Twitterers in roughly 175 other cities around the world. The QuirkStars in Johannesburg and Cape Town couldn’t attend, but I stepped in for Quirk representation! 

Twestival's aim is to bring awareness globally to charity:water and to raise $1 million for the cause. This was Social Media at its finest and shows the power of Twitter connectivity and immediacy.

When Amanda Rose and a handful of volunteers in London launched Twestival '09 just a few weeks back, she (@amanda) probably had no idea how large it would become. But that's the magic of Social Media - it has the capacity to surprise.

The idea of Twestival was first devised last September when members of the London Twitterati organised to meet in person and have a few drinks. Following the evening’s huge success it was decided that doing something worthwhile with the concept would be a good community thing to do - and Twestival '09 was born.

The bulk of the event was organised in under two weeks via Twitter, utilising the talents and financial support of the local Twittersphere to make it happen. As word spread globally, Twitterers in different cities around the world collaborated to form local events. By working together in a short timescale with one single aim, Twestival brought awareness to the global water crisis.  

Unsurprisingly the London tickets sold out within minutes. Although they cost £5.00 at the beginning, within minutes some had to pay £50.00. Money raised in this way globally, together with general donations, sales of T shirts, a Live Aid-style Twestival radio project called Twestival FM and an Ebay auction, all helped towards the $1 million goal. You can view the largest donors on the Donation Water Cloud: http://cloud.twestival.com/

The press picked up on it, from The Guardian in the UK  to The New York Times,  the media was out in full force at the London event with cameras and microphones everywhere. It seems that - in the UK at least - Twitter's gone mainstream.

The #twestival twitter stream was alive with action throughout the day, and as the evening of 12/2/09 hit each country, so the videos and photos of events started to role in. The clever design of the Twestival website acted as a platform for all the Social Media elements, enabling everyone to add to it, view what was happening around the world and feel part of the community.

The genuine enthusiasm from all involved has been staggering. When you have 2 guys like @documentally and @philcampbell ‘Gumballing’ the UK, covering 700 miles to reach as many UK Twestivals as possible and raising $6,000 towards a well for a whole village, you can’t help but be impressed (they’re going for $10,000 so please help!).

The amount of planning and detailed organisation required to pull off just one event with such style is daunting. Despite this Amanda Rose, the global event organiser, looked totally calm and in control at the London event last night. Well, there's one lady to look out for in the future!

charity: water is a non profit organisation bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations by funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Please visit the Twestival website to donate - there's still time!