Live Aid

Concerts held in 1985 in London, England, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to raise money for victims of poverty and famine in Africa. Organized by Bob Geldof, the event raised more than £60 million and was viewed on television by 1.5 billion people in 160 countries. Geldof was also responsible for Band Aid, which was the name of the group that recorded the single ‘Do They Know It's Christmas?’ (1984), written by Geldof and Midge Ure. It went on to sell over 3 million copies in the UK, raising £8 million worldwide, and becoming the best-selling record ever.

The Live Aid concerts lasted for 16 hours and featured some of the biggest pop artists of the time, including Sting, Dire Straits, Phil Collins, David Bowie, Madonna, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Queen, Eric Clapton, Patti LaBelle, Mick Jagger, and Tina Turner.

Pop artists and charities have since promoted similar fundraising concerts, such as NetAid (1999) which has the long-term goal of alleviating poverty and uses the Internet as its medium.