July » Jul | 109 LIVE AID FOR AFRICA It was on 13th July 1985, at London’s Wembley Stadium, that Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially opened Live Aid, a global rock concert organised to raise money for famine-stricken Africans. The event continued at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, where Joan Baez famously kicked it off by telling the crowd “this is your Woodstock, and it's long overdue”. The 16-hour “super concert” was 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 $125million for famine relief in Africa. Live Aid was the brainchild of Bob Geldof, who travelled to Ethiopia in 1984, after hearing news reports of the horrific famine that had already killed hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians and threatened to take the lives of millions more. After returning to London, he called together the top pop artists of Britain and Ireland to record a single to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief. His song Do They Know It’s Christmas? was performed by Band Aid, an ensemble featuring the likes of Culture Club, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, U2, Wham! and others. It was the UK’s best-selling single to that date, raising more than $10 million. Do They Know It’s Christmas? was also a No. 1 hit in the U.S. and served to inspire American pop artists to come together and perform “We Are theWorld,” a song co-authored by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. “USA for Africa,” as the American ensemble was known, featured Jackson and Richie themselves, as well as Geldof, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, StevieWonder and many others. The single topped the charts and ultimately raised $44million. The most memorable performance of the London concert was that of the band Queen, particularly frontman Freddie Mercury, who unexpectedly stole the showwith his fierce performance. Another top moment was provided by Phil Collins in Philadelphia, who flew from London by Concorde after having performed at Wembley earlier that same day. He later played drums in a reunion of Led Zeppelin. Paul McCartney and Pete Townsend held Geldof aloft on their shoulders during the London finale, which featured a collective performance of Do They Know It’s Christmas? It was six hours later that the U.S. concert culminated with a rendition of We Are theWorld. Live Aid went on to raise a total of $127 million for famine relief in African nations, while the publicity it generated encouragedWestern nations to make enough food available to end the immediate hunger crisis in Africa. Geldof was later knighted for his efforts by Queen Elizabeth II. U Londonu je koncert za pamcenje izveo Fredi Merkjuri The most memorable performance of the London concert was that of Freddie Mercury
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzExMjc5