Between 1983 and 1985, the worst famine to hit Ethiopia in a century affected the country, leaving 1.2 million dead, making four hundred thousand refugees leave the country and turning almost 200,000 children into orphans.
There was no light at the end of the tunnel and with the crisis continuing in Ethiopia, and Sudan also stricken with famine, Bob Geldof suggested the organization of Live Aid, an ambitious global charity concert with the goal to raise money and increase awareness of the daily fight of many Africans.
Well, some of you might be thinking: “Bob who?” Bob Geldof! Let me explain.
He was the singer of an Irish rock group called The Boomtown Rats. In 1984, he went to Ethiopia because he heard news of a tragedy that was going on in the country. It seemed that a horrible famine was killing hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians and it was threatening to kill millions more.
After returning to London, he decided that he couldn’t stand still, and it was his obligation to do something to help those people. He then called Britain’s and Ireland’s most famous pop artists and presented them with a challenge – how about recording a single to benefit Ethiopian famine relief? And so, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, written by Geldof and singer Midge Ure, performed by “Band Aid,” (with singers and bands like Culture Club, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, U2, Wham!...), was released. It was a huge success becoming the first single ever to raise more than $10 million.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough. It didn’t feel enough to Geldof. The next idea he had, Live Aid concert, would end up raising $127 million for famine relief in Africa.
Organized in just 10 weeks, Live Aid was staged on Saturday, July 13, 1985 and guess what? The celebrities who officially opened the concerts were nothing less than Princess Diana and Prince Charles! Sounds unreal, right??
In order to help you realise how huge this event really was, take a look at all the pop stars who played and sang in the event: Elton John, Queen, Madonna, Santana, Sting, Bryan Adams, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Duran Duran, U2, Neil Young and I could go on. Yes, it was that big. Most of these artists performed in the Wembley Stadium, in London, for more than 70 thousand people. However, in Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium, 100 thousand people showed up for this concert. The most memorable moment all was, for many, Queen’s… or should I say Freddie Mercury’s incredible performance. For 20 minutes, he absolutely “stole the show” and left everyone mesmerized! To show you the magnitude of this event, it was broadcast worldwide by more than 13 satellites and to over 1 billion people’s TV sets.
In the end, this initiative proved to be immensely successful, showing everyone in the world the power that music and celebrities really have when they join their efforts and try to do something good.
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