Live Aid was a dual-avenue music concert that sought to bring global awareness and raise funds to combat the then-ongoing famine in Ethiopia. Held simultaneously in both Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Live Aid was also broadcast simultaneously by satellite around the world, making history as one of the largest such events, with a total viewership estimated at 1.9 billion people. Sister concerts in the Soviet Union, Australia, West Germany and Japan were similarly well-attended and added to the funds raised for famine relief.
Organized by musicians and activists Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the event featured a star-studded lineup on both sides of the Atlantic, including Smile, Elvis Costello, U2, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Phil Collins, Elton John and David Bowie. The main event, however, was the surprise of the Beatles’ unannounced reunited performance of their best-selling single “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. Phil Collins, who performed at both venues, convinced the two ex-Beatles at Wembley, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, to fly with him to JFK Stadium. Despite tense negotiations with the other two ex-Beatles who were scheduled to perform solo at JFK, the four men agreed to a one-song reunion in lieu of John Lennon’s solo performance, the latter of the two ex-Beatles scheduled to perform. It would be the final time all four Beatles would perform together, and despite all four men subsequently denying that there was the possibility of more reunions, it kindled hope for more reunions before Lennon’s death in 1993 during a traffic accident.
Despite Live Aid’s impressive fund-raising and awareness campaign, the ability of concert organizers to effectively translate the raised funds towards famine relief was stymied the Derg regime that ruled Ethiopia. Investigative reporters found that the regime ended up pilfered most of the Live Aid funds either for its members’ own bank accounts or to help funding Ethiopia’s fight against Eritrean rebels.
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