[ad_1]
According to organizer Bob Geldof’s website, Live Aid set the model for fundraising concerts by raising around £ 150million for famine relief.
Freddie Mercury performing at Wembley Stadium in 1985. Image via Twitter.
Thirty-six years ago, 1.9 billion people from over 150 countries tuned in to witness one of music’s greatest days: the Live Aid concert on July 13, 1985. The timing was rare because some of the biggest names in the music world have apparently taken an active interest in political and economic inequalities around the world and pledged to lead relief efforts.
While the concert is often considered the most influential fundraising concert of all time, it also sparked controversy and raised questions about Western aid. In this explainer, we take a look at the event, its significance, and the many truths it brought to light for stakeholders.
July 13, 1985
Organized by Bob Geldof, two landmark concerts took place in London and Philadelphia. The common goal of the participating artists was to show solidarity with Ethiopia and to raise funds to help the people there who were facing famine.
The crowds that filled London’s Wembley Stadium on a hot afternoon watched legends like Paul McCartney, Elton John, David Bowie, U2 and The Who. But it was Freddie Mercury’s incredible comeback show with fellow bandmates Queen that went down in history as one of the most touching performances on record.
Live Aid set the model for fundraising concerts by raising around £ 150million for famine relief, according to Geldof’s own website. Each ticket was priced at £ 5 with an additional charitable donation of £ 20. Attendees – over 72,000 of them – started arriving during the day to watch Status Quo start the show. Besides the regulars at the concerts, Princess Diana and Prince Charles made their presence known and stood next to Geldof in their dressing room.
In the United States, Philadelphia Stadium saw a crowd of 90,000 and a once-in-a-lifetime lineup with names like Madonna, Duran Duran and The Beach Boys. Phil Collins arrived from London after finishing his show at Wembley and has also performed on the American stage. One of the most iconic performances of the day turned out to be Tina Turner’s incredible show with Mick Jagger. The American concert ended with a group performance of ‘We are the world‘, while in London, the performers were joined by the crowd singing’Do they know it’s christmas‘.
A global jukebox for Freddy Mercury
Another main reason Live Aid is considered historic is Queen’s heartwarming performance, with Mercury casting a spell on the crowd. The band had just completed a world tour to promote their latest album. The works, and had to be more moderate. However, their show at Wembley asserted their power and status. “Queen was absolutely the best band of the day,†Geldof said in an interview with Hot press. “They played the best, had the best sound, used their time to the maximum. They understood perfectly the idea, that it was about a world jukebox. They just went and smashed one hit after another. It was the perfect scene for Freddie – the whole world.”
Queen’s intensive rehearsals at the Shaw Theater in London had paid off. The band preferred to play in the evening, but Live Aid was their chance to show the world that with them, it was all about the music, and they did.
Controversies
Although it became the biggest international satellite event to ever broadcast, there were lingering doubts and rumors about the concert’s success and the many stars it had featured. Twenty percent of the proceeds, for example, would have gone into the pockets of the powerful in Ethiopia, according to a statement. Geldof, however, refuted Requirement.
Moreover, bringing together several stars was not a simple task, and Geldof soon realized it. During the concert, Paul McCartney’s microphone sounded during the first verse of The Beatles classis, ‘So be it‘. Interestingly, fans were already hoping the group would reform after Live Aid. However, those expectations quickly faded with George Harrison. saying, “Paul didn’t want me to sing on ‘So be it‘ten years ago, why would he want me to sing on it now? “
So and now
Live Aid has become one of the greatest cultural events in history, although the organizers never intended it to become one. Geldof had envisioned it to act more as a “political lobby” to which world leaders would be compelled to respond, as poverty, in his view, was the vicious link that plagues the African continent. Recounting the purpose and subsequent success of the fundraising concert, Geldof mentionned in 2019, “While it worked in terms of money and raising the £ 150million, which we are still spending, it really worked in terms of lobbying, as the G8 was invented the following year and this had never gone from that (agenda) and then because the lobby kept insisting that this would be a global agenda. So from there until Live 8, the long way has been a long way to lead people from what they had done to the political reality of this one.
Despite Geldof’s confident claims, the impact of Live Aid has been debated for years. Several reports detail the other side of Western aid, which allows NGOs to participate in government-controlled exploitation exercises like resettlement, even if their intention is to mitigate the effects of such crimes. This highlights the need for a deeper understanding of aid. For Geldof himself, the definition has caught on an approach closer to social justice than a simple “charity”, which is perhaps the objective with which the Live Aid and Band Aid efforts should be analyzed.
[ad_2]
