Live Aid was a benefit concert held on July 13, 1985, an ongoing music-based fundraising initiative organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise Ethiopian famine funds.
Billed as the “global jukebox”, the event was held simultaneously in front of 72,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London and more than 89,000 fans at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative were held in the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia and West Germany. The event was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time; an estimated audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially opened Live Aid in London, while Joan Baez kicked it off in the U.S. The 16-hour superconcert raised more than $125 million in famine relief for Africa.
The lineup featured more than 75 acts, including Elton John, Queen, Madonna, Santana, Phil Collins, Run DMC, Sade, Sting, Bryan Adams, the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Duran Duran, U2, The Who, Rick Springfield, Tom Petty, Neil Young and Eric Clapton.
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