The Concert for Bangladesh — 1971 benefit concert organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar
The first large-scale benefit concert raised global awareness of the Bangladesh crisis and set a model for future humanitarian aid events like Live Aid.
Key Facts
- Date
- 1 August 1971 (two shows)
- Venue
- Madison Square Garden, New York City
- Total attendance
- 40,000 people
- Initial gate receipts
- ~250,000 USD
- Total funds raised by 1985
- ~12,000,000 USD
- Aid administrator
- UNICEF
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1970 Bhola cyclone created a massive refugee crisis in East Pakistan. Sitar player Ravi Shankar, who had ancestral roots in Bangladesh, approached his friend and collaborator George Harrison to help raise international awareness and funds for relief efforts.
On 1 August 1971, two benefit concerts were held at Madison Square Garden, organised by Harrison and Shankar. A supergroup of performers including Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Leon Russell performed before a combined audience of 40,000 people, raising close to $250,000 at the gate for UNICEF-administered Bangladesh relief.
The concerts were followed by a bestselling triple live album and a concert documentary film released in 1972. Despite millions in revenue being held in IRS tax escrow for years, an estimated $12 million had reached Bangladesh by 1985. The event established a template for large-scale humanitarian benefit concerts, directly inspiring later projects such as Live Aid.