The song Africa by Toto will be played on repeat all night at an event in Bristol to raise money for a charity that works to reduce poverty in remote communities in Malawi.

The DJ Michael Savage will play the track on vinyl for five hours continuously at the Exchange in Bristol on 30 November, with people variously being sponsored to attend the event in its entirety – and not to go at all.

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“It’s been my go-to track in recent years for bringing the dancehall together,” said Savage. “Everyone seems to know it, or at least half the chorus.

“I was messing around with a friend when we were drunk and I suggested running a night where Africa is the only track. The idea just stuck. There was a two-year period where I kept talking about it and then I thought, ‘I’ve really just got to do this,’ so it’s been a slow gestation.”

The organisers are looking to extend the night to 12 hours and Savage has registered with Guinness World Records so his venture can be officially recognised.

“If I think about it too much I get worried,” Savage said. “Will people’s moods change after an hour or two? But I imagine everyone there will want it to be a success and have some fun.”

Proceeds for the event will go to Temwa, a Bristol-based charity that works in Malawi to tackle the root causes of rural poverty.

Temwa said it relied on community fundraisers and that the event could allow for the seeds of hundreds of trees to be sown in Malawi.

“All of the money raised on the night will go direct to our work and will go a long way to transforming the lives of some of the poorest communities in the world,” a spokesperson said. “The £5 door entry alone can provide someone with clean water or plant 10 trees.”

Since 2003, the charity has planted more than 1m trees and trained 5,000 farmers. It has also helped to supply mobile clinics for HIV testing, secured access to safe drinking water for more than 2,000 people and provided bursaries for hundreds of children to complete secondary school.