Live Aid returns despite controversy. In the 1980s, 40% of people watched concerts. population, now they have changed their target

The legendary Live Aid charity concert returns after many years in a changed form. The details of the events will be taken care of by promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who was responsible for organizing the famous concert in London in 1985, and the second one took place in Philadelphia almost at the same time. Both events gathered a huge audience and the world’s biggest stars.

Live Aid is back. The concerts will take place over 10 years

This time, Goldsmith announced a series of concerts that will take place over the course of ten years in the largest cities in the world located on five continents. The first performances are scheduled for August 2025. The line-up of stars who will appear on stage has not been announced yet, but according to The Guardian, the selection of performers and contract negotiations are already underway.

Goldsmith stated that he will also organize similar events in 2030 and 2035. The concerts are to take place live, but also in the “metaworld”. In the 1980s, Live Aid participants raised funds to fight famine in Ethiopia, this time the goal will be different. Goldsmith wants to organize charity concerts and raise funds to fight the climate crisis.

The organizers’ statement says that they will “make every effort” to ensure that the events generate “zero carbon dioxide emissions”, i.e. they will not contribute to increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Additionally, they announce that reporting on the impact of events on the environment will be completely transparent and available for verification.

Live Aid 85′ was watched by 40 percent. population. $140 million was raised

The biggest challenge a promoter will face may be finances. In 1985, the organization of events amounted to £140 million. Since then, the costs associated with mass events have increased significantly.

The legendary Live Aid concert in 1985 gathered approximately 72,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium and almost 90,000 in Philadelphia. The broadcast of the events was watched by approximately 1.9 billion people in 150 countries. That’s 40 percent of the total population. Stars such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Queen, U2, Elton John, The Wgo, Dire Straits, Sting, Status Quo, Phil Collins appeared on the stages. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Brian Adams, Madonna and many others. They managed to collect over $140 million for the hungry and initiated a series of similar, although less spectacular collections.

There was also controversy surrounding the event. Bob Geldof, the originator of the event, was criticized for lack of ethnic diversity at the London concert and for promoting his own name in the event too boldly.

The greatest doubts, however, concerned the money collected through the event. The BBC reported then that part of the proceeds from the collection went to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and were used to purchase weapons. Years later, the BBC admitted that there was no evidence that such a situation actually took place, but a former British ambassador to Ethiopia confirmed the reports.