What other Benefit Concerts are there?

Part of my EPQ is to look into whether or not a Benefit Concert like Live Aid could happen again. Therefore, I wanted to look into other charity concerts which have taken place before or after Live Aid. I read an article by E Online which gave an overview of these concerts and this is what information I gathered from it. 

1) The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 was an event organised by Beatles member George Harrison. It consisted of two concerts in Madison Square Garden on 1st August 1971. It was organised to raise money and awareness for East Pakistan refugees. This was because they were struggling to establish themselves as Bangladesh as the time of the concerts. There was an all-star line up including Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan. The concert for Bangladesh was the first of many benefit concerts of its kind and was attended by a total of 40,000 people. At the time it raised nearly $250,000 for Bangladesh relief and was administered by UNICEF. However, the live album and film that followed the live concerts pushed the total to an estimated $12 million which had been sent to relief in Bangladesh by 1985. 

2) A Concert for Life: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in 1992 was held in London's Wembley Stadium. It was held as a tribute to late Queen front man Freddie Mercury but at the same time a benefit for AIDS research. The benefit held an audience of 72,000 while also being broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world. Therefore, it was believed there was a total audience of one billion people across all platforms. Performers including Queen, Metallica, Def Leppard, U2, David Bowie, Elton John, and George Michael were all there to raise money for "AIDS projects worldwide." Reports state that the initial money raised came to $35 million. 

3)America: A Tribute To Heroes in 2001 was an event organised by Joel Gallen and George Clooney which was put on 10 days after the 9/11 attacks. The concerts were recorded in New York City, Los Angeles, and London. They were all aired on the major networks and channels. Those who took part in the benefit concert were Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, U2, Billy Joel, Mariah Carey, and Willie Nelson. The benefit raised a total of over $200 million which was given to the United Way's September 11 Telethon Fund. 

4) Live 8 in 2005 was held due to Live Aid 1985's 20th Anniversary. It was a series of 8 concerts although it came to more) to raise money for Make Poverty History campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty. 


Swertlow, M. (2017). 8 of the Biggest Benefit Concerts of All Time and How Much They Really Made. [online]
I cannot confirm the reliability of this source but many of the facts do coincide with my own knowledge. 

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