1985 : Live Aid concert
On July 13, 1985, at Wembley Stadium in London, Prince Charles and
Princess Diana officially open Live Aid, a worldwide rock concert
organized to raise money for the relief of famine-stricken Africans.
Continued at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and at other arenas around
the world, the 16-hour "superconcert" was globally linked by satellite
to more than a billion viewers in 110 nations. In a triumph of
technology and good will, the event raised more than $125 million in
famine relief for Africa.
Live Aid was the brainchild of Bob Geldof, the singer of an Irish rock
group called the Boomtown Rats. In 1984, Geldof traveled to Ethiopia
after hearing news reports of a horrific famine that had killed
hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians and threatened to kill millions
more. After returning to London, he called Britain's and Ireland's top
pop artists together to record a single to benefit Ethiopian famine
relief. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was written by Geldof and
Ultravox singer Midge Ure and performed by "Band Aid," an ensemble
that featured Culture Club, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, U2, Wham!, and
others. It was the best-selling single in Britain to that date and
raised more than $10 million.
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was also a No. 1 hit in the United
States and inspired U.S. pop artists to come together and perform "We
Are the World," a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie.
"USA for Africa," as the U.S. ensemble was known, featured Jackson,
Ritchie, Geldof, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon,
Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and many others. The
single went to the top of the charts and eventually raised $44
million.
With the crisis continuing in Ethiopia, and the neighboring Sudan also
stricken with famine, Geldof proposed Live Aid, an ambitious global
charity concert aimed at raising more funds and increasing awareness
of the plight of many Africans. Organized in just 10 weeks, Live Aid
was staged on Saturday, July 13, 1985. More than 75 acts performed,
including Elton John, Madonna, Santana, Run DMC, Sade, Sting, Bryan
Adams, the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Queen, Duran Duran,
U2, the Who, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton. The majority of
these artists performed at either Wembley Stadium in London, where a
crowd of 70,000 turned out, or at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium, where
100,000 watched. Thirteen satellites beamed a live television
broadcast of the event to more than one billion viewers in 110
countries. More than 40 of these nations held telethons for African
famine relief during the broadcast.
A memorable moment of the concert was Phil Collins' performance in
Philadelphia after flying by Concorde from London, where he performed
at Wembley earlier in the day. He later played drums in a reunion of
the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. Beatle Paul McCartney and the
Who's Pete Townsend held Bob Geldof aloft on their shoulders during
the London finale, which featured a collective performance of "Do They
Know It's Christmas?" Six hours later, the U.S. concert ended with "We
Are the World."
Live Aid eventually raised $127 million in famine relief for African
nations, and the publicity it generated encouraged Western nations to
make available enough surplus grain to end the immediate hunger crisis
in Africa. Geldof was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his
efforts.
In early July 2005, Geldof staged a series of "Live 8" concerts in 11
countries around the world to help raise awareness of global poverty.
Organizers, led by Geldof, purposely scheduled the concert days before
the annual G8 summit in an effort to increase political pressure on G8
nations to address issues facing the extremely poor around the world.
Live 8 claims that an estimated 3 billion people watched 1,000
musicians perform in 11 shows, which were broadcast on 182 television
networks and by 2,000 radio stations. Unlike Live Aid, Live 8 was
intentionally not billed as a fundraiser--Geldof's slogan was, "We
don't want your money, we want your voice." Perhaps in part because of
the spotlight brought to such issues by Live 8, the G8 subsequently
voted to cancel the debt of 18 of the world's poorest nations, make
AIDS drugs more accessible, and double levels of annual aid to Africa,
to $50 billion by 2010.
history.com/tdih.do
1793 : Charlotte Corday assassinates Marat
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5174
1943 : Largest tank battle in history ends
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5175
1960 : Kennedy nominated for presidency
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5176
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On July 13, 1985, at Wembley Stadium in London, Prince Charles and
Princess Diana officially open Live Aid, a worldwide rock concert
organized to raise money for the relief of famine-stricken Africans.
Continued at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and at other arenas around
the world, the 16-hour "superconcert" was globally linked by satellite
to more than a billion viewers in 110 nations. In a triumph of
technology and good will, the event raised more than $125 million in
famine relief for Africa.
Live Aid was the brainchild of Bob Geldof, the singer of an Irish rock
group called the Boomtown Rats. In 1984, Geldof traveled to Ethiopia
after hearing news reports of a horrific famine that had killed
hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians and threatened to kill millions
more. After returning to London, he called Britain's and Ireland's top
pop artists together to record a single to benefit Ethiopian famine
relief. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was written by Geldof and
Ultravox singer Midge Ure and performed by "Band Aid," an ensemble
that featured Culture Club, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, U2, Wham!, and
others. It was the best-selling single in Britain to that date and
raised more than $10 million.
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was also a No. 1 hit in the United
States and inspired U.S. pop artists to come together and perform "We
Are the World," a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie.
"USA for Africa," as the U.S. ensemble was known, featured Jackson,
Ritchie, Geldof, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon,
Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and many others. The
single went to the top of the charts and eventually raised $44
million.
With the crisis continuing in Ethiopia, and the neighboring Sudan also
stricken with famine, Geldof proposed Live Aid, an ambitious global
charity concert aimed at raising more funds and increasing awareness
of the plight of many Africans. Organized in just 10 weeks, Live Aid
was staged on Saturday, July 13, 1985. More than 75 acts performed,
including Elton John, Madonna, Santana, Run DMC, Sade, Sting, Bryan
Adams, the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Queen, Duran Duran,
U2, the Who, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton. The majority of
these artists performed at either Wembley Stadium in London, where a
crowd of 70,000 turned out, or at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium, where
100,000 watched. Thirteen satellites beamed a live television
broadcast of the event to more than one billion viewers in 110
countries. More than 40 of these nations held telethons for African
famine relief during the broadcast.
A memorable moment of the concert was Phil Collins' performance in
Philadelphia after flying by Concorde from London, where he performed
at Wembley earlier in the day. He later played drums in a reunion of
the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. Beatle Paul McCartney and the
Who's Pete Townsend held Bob Geldof aloft on their shoulders during
the London finale, which featured a collective performance of "Do They
Know It's Christmas?" Six hours later, the U.S. concert ended with "We
Are the World."
Live Aid eventually raised $127 million in famine relief for African
nations, and the publicity it generated encouraged Western nations to
make available enough surplus grain to end the immediate hunger crisis
in Africa. Geldof was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his
efforts.
In early July 2005, Geldof staged a series of "Live 8" concerts in 11
countries around the world to help raise awareness of global poverty.
Organizers, led by Geldof, purposely scheduled the concert days before
the annual G8 summit in an effort to increase political pressure on G8
nations to address issues facing the extremely poor around the world.
Live 8 claims that an estimated 3 billion people watched 1,000
musicians perform in 11 shows, which were broadcast on 182 television
networks and by 2,000 radio stations. Unlike Live Aid, Live 8 was
intentionally not billed as a fundraiser--Geldof's slogan was, "We
don't want your money, we want your voice." Perhaps in part because of
the spotlight brought to such issues by Live 8, the G8 subsequently
voted to cancel the debt of 18 of the world's poorest nations, make
AIDS drugs more accessible, and double levels of annual aid to Africa,
to $50 billion by 2010.
history.com/tdih.do
1793 : Charlotte Corday assassinates Marat
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5174
1943 : Largest tank battle in history ends
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5175
1960 : Kennedy nominated for presidency
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5176
###########################################
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