Live Aid was a dual-venue benefit concert watched by an estimated 1.9 billion people across 150 nations, raising funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
Key Facts
- Date
- July 13, 1985
- Venues
- Wembley Stadium, London & JFK Stadium, Philadelphia
- Global TV audience
- 1.9 billion people in 150 nations
- Share of world population
- Nearly 40 percent
- Organizers
- Bob Geldof and Midge Ure
- Beneficiary
- Famine relief for Ethiopia (1983–1985)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia prompted Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to seek large-scale fundraising. Building on the momentum of the charity single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' released in December 1984, they organised a major international concert to generate further funds and global awareness.
On July 13, 1985, Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, with concurrent concerts in the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia, and West Germany. One of the largest satellite broadcasts in history, it reached an estimated 1.9 billion viewers across 150 nations.
Live Aid placed humanitarian aid at the centre of Western foreign policy discourse and prompted sustained debate about the effectiveness of celebrity-driven relief efforts. Allegations that some funds were diverted to the Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam emerged, though the BBC Editorial Complaints Unit later found no evidence to support those claims.