Sir Elton John has pledged $1m to the relief effort in Australia where wildfires have devastated a swathe of the country.

The singer made the announcement while on stage in Sydney, telling the audience they should be “in awe of the work that the firefighters are doing”.

He added: “This is a magnificent country that I’ve been coming to since 1971.

“I love it here so much. To see what is happening here breaks my heart and so we have to come together and we have to fight, and this is my bit towards it.

“I love Australia so much and to those that have lost their homes, God bless, I hope that your lives will be repaired very soon.”

It came as the smoke from the fires – which previously covered an area larger than Europe – reached as far as Argentina.

The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Show all 12 1 /12 The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Selena Gomez To her 164 million fans, the 27-year-old pop star wrote that she is “absolutely devastated” by the fires and pledged a donation to Celeste Barber’s fundraiser. “Absolutely devastated by the fires in Australia,” she wrote. “Praying for everyone affected and all of the first responders. I'm making a donation and would love if you would consider doing the same if you can.” Getty Images The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Hugh Jackman Hugh Jackman, a native Australian, shared a message along with a photo of a firefighter in the midst of the bushfires. “We want to express our deep gratitude to the people in Australia who are fighting these devastating bushfires. Our hearts are with everyone impacted especially those who have lost homes businesses and loved ones,” the Logan actor wrote. “This is an immense tragedy for our home country.” Getty Images The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Hollywood star Nicole Kidman and her husband, country singer Keith Urban, pledged $500,000. Speaking to Studio 10's Angela Bishop in Los Angeles on Sunday, Kidman said her family are “devastated for Australia” and had pledged the money to help support those tackling the fires. Urban also announced the couple's generous donation via Twitter, writing: “Our family’s support, thoughts, and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires all over Australia. “We are donating $500,000 to the Rural Fire Services who are all doing and giving so much right now,” he added. Getty Images The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Pink Pink shared links to local state fire services in Australia where her Twitter followers could donate. The 40-year-old pop star said she is “totally devastated” and pledged a donation of $500,000. The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Dacre Montgomery Australian actor and Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery made an emotional video pleading for people to help in any way they could. “Australia is in dire need of your help,” he said. “There are so many communities on fire right now, half a billion animals have died and we've lost an area the size of Belgium to wildfires.” Getty Images for MTV The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Kylie Minogue The pop star, whose advert encouraging Brits to visit Australia was recently pulled, has donated half a million dollars to help tackle the fires. “Last year I had the incredible opportunity of visiting some of the many beautiful places in my homeland for the first time,” she said in an Instagram post. “Returning home to such devastation throughout much of the country is heartbreaking. “As a family, we’ve donated $500,000 towards the immediate firefighting efforts and the ongoing support which will be required. “Big or small, from near or far, any support will help those affected by the devastating bushfires.” Getty The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Russell Crowe Russell Crowe used his Golden Globe win to highlight the “tragedy unfolding” as bushfires continue to ravish Australia. The New Zealand-born star, who has lived most of his life in Australia, won Best Actor for the Showtime series The Loudest Voice. However, he missed the event, choosing instead to stay at home to help fight the fires. In a video shared to his Twitter page, Crowe showed the details of his truck for “when things get crazy”, containing a water tank, fire blankets, spare hoses and other firefighting equipment, along with his shiny Golden Globe on the seat inside the vehicle. Making a statement on his behalf at the ceremony, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon said: “Make no mistake, the tragedy unfolding in Australia is climate-change based.” Russell Crowe. Credit: Getty The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Phoebe Waller-Bridge The Fleabag star, who won the award for Best Actress in a comedy or musical television series, is said to have made the announcement backstage that she will auction the outfit she wore to the ceremony. “Backstage: Phoebe Waller-Bridge says she is auctioning off her Ralph & Russo #GoldenGlobes suit to raise money for the Australia wildfires,” reporter Andrea Mandell tweeted. She added that Waller-Bridge said: “The money that is raised will go towards relief in Australia.” Getty The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Cate Blanchett Blanchett, who was presenting an award at this year’s Golden Globes, used her speech to give thanks to volunteer firefighters, and draw attention to the global “climate disaster”. “There are a lot of Australians in the room tonight,” she said. “I know we are all very grateful for the call-outs to our fellow compatriots who are suffering under the bushfires, so thank you. “I wanted to do a special call-out to the volunteer firefighters who have been at the centre of battling the climate disaster that is facing Australia. “And of course, when one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster, so we’re in it together, so thank you very much.” 2020 NBCUniversal Media, LLC via The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Patricia Arquette Arquette won best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie for her role in Hulu series The Act at the Golden Globes. “I am so happy to be here and celebrate this, but also I know that … we see a country on the brink of war, the United States of America … and the continent of Australia on fire,” she said. “While I love my kids so much, I beg of us all to give them a better world. For our kids and their kids, we have to vote in 2020 and beg and plead for everyone we know to vote in 2020.” Getty Images The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Sharon Stone Sharon Stone re-posted a photo shared by climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg on her Instagram page. "My heartfelt prayers for relief from the fires in Australia," Stone wrote alongside a photo of a kangaroo in front of a destroyed home. Getty The celebrities pledging to support Australia as it battles wildfires Rebel Wilson “It's obviously a weird time in Australia, and last night we were having dinner just thinking about everybody with the bushfires and how we can help,” she said. “I was just on a group text chat this morning with some other Aussie actors about what we can do for the bushfire situation because it's so overwhelming and so devastating and so our thoughts are kind of with that. ”Thinking of all those firefighters out there, it's just, my heart goes out to everyone.“ AFP/Getty Images

Animals have had their habitats destroyed “on a biblical scale”, Sir Elton told the audience at the Qudos Bank Arena.

He added: “Therefore tonight I will be pledging one million dollars to support the bushfire relief fund.”

His announcement was met with huge cheers from the crowd.

Sir Elton did not say whether his donation was in Australian or US dollars, which would be worth about £524,000 and £762,000 respectively.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth also pledged the same sum towards the relief fund, while fellow Australian Kylie Minogue pledged $500,000 to help with the response to the fire.

Actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge revealed at the Golden Globes that she would be auctioning off the suit she wore to the award ceremony and donating the proceeds towards the response to the fires.

Singer Pink has also donated $500,000 dollars to the cause, while pop star Rita Ora was among famous faces urging the public to donate.

The fires, which first broke out in September, have so far claimed 24 lives and destroyed more than 1,500 homes, ravaging more than four million hectares of land.

A mass cull of more than 10,000 camels by professional shooters in helicopters will begin on Wednesday to prevent the animals from drinking too much water in drought-afflicted South Australia.

The order came from Aboriginal leaders in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands where locals have complained about the animals entering communities and wreaking havoc as they look for any available water source, including taps and tanks.

The animals are also being culled over concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, as they emit methane equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide per year, national broadsheet The Australian reported.

Other wildlife has been hit hard by the fires, with some female bats abandoning their young because they cannot feed them, and images of burnt koalas and kangaroos drawing sympathy from around the world.

Smoke from the wildfires has drifted across the Pacific to South America, where skies over central Chile have gone grey and the sunset in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, has turned red, according to the UN World Meteorological Organisation.