'Live 8' concerts to fight poverty
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 Posted: 10:58 AM EDT (1458 GMT)
Geldof wants to influence the G8 summit.
LONDON, England -- Twenty years after he staged Live Aid to help save the starving in Ethiopia, Bob Geldof has announced plans for new concerts to fight poverty in Africa.
Five concerts will take place on July 2 at Hyde Park in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Circus Maximus in Rome and the Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
Under the title "Live 8," the concerts -- which will be free -- are aimed at raising awareness of poverty just before leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations meet in Scotland.
Geldof said Tuesday the concerts would be different from Live Aid in 1985. Those concerts -- held in London and Philadephia -- raised more than $100 million for famine relief.
"It couldn't be about charity any more. We knew too much," the Irish rock star told a news conference in London.
"We arrived here today because I was very reluctant to do this again, I couldn't see how anything could possibly be better than that glorious day 20 years ago, almost perfect in what it achieved and the day itself."
Geldof said the G8 summit presented a unique opportunity "to do something unparalleled in the world, and especially at the beginning of the 21st Century, and that is to tilt the world a little bit on its axis in favor of the poor, and that's not a difficult thing to do."
Those scheduled to perform at the London concert include: Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Dido, Elton John, Keane, Annie Lennox, Madonna, Muse, REM, the Scissor Sisters, Joss Stone, Stereophonics, Sting, Snoop, U2 and Robbie Williams.
Among artists set for Berlin are A-Ha, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Lauryn Hill and Brian Wilson. The concert in Rome will feature Faith Hill and Duran Duran, while in Paris the bill will include Jamiroquai, Craig David, Youssou N'Dour and Yannick Noah.
In Philadelphia, the scheduled acts are the Dave Matthews Band, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Bon Jovi, Will Smith and Stevie Wonder.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has campaigned to help Africa during the UK's presidency of the G8 this year and will host leaders at a summit July 6 to 8 in Gleneagles in Scotland.
But campaigners fear discord between G8 nations on debt reduction and aid spending plans, combined with reluctance in Washington, will wreck Blair's ambitions.
They warn African schools and hospitals could receive no new money from the lavish summit, which could cost as much as £100 million ($180 million) to stage, Reuters reported.
"We are really concerned that we're a long, long way away from any kind of breakthrough on tackling poverty in Africa," said Oxfam policy adviser Max Lawson.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 Posted: 10:58 AM EDT (1458 GMT)
Geldof wants to influence the G8 summit.
LONDON, England -- Twenty years after he staged Live Aid to help save the starving in Ethiopia, Bob Geldof has announced plans for new concerts to fight poverty in Africa.
Five concerts will take place on July 2 at Hyde Park in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Circus Maximus in Rome and the Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
Under the title "Live 8," the concerts -- which will be free -- are aimed at raising awareness of poverty just before leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations meet in Scotland.
Geldof said Tuesday the concerts would be different from Live Aid in 1985. Those concerts -- held in London and Philadephia -- raised more than $100 million for famine relief.
"It couldn't be about charity any more. We knew too much," the Irish rock star told a news conference in London.
"We arrived here today because I was very reluctant to do this again, I couldn't see how anything could possibly be better than that glorious day 20 years ago, almost perfect in what it achieved and the day itself."
Geldof said the G8 summit presented a unique opportunity "to do something unparalleled in the world, and especially at the beginning of the 21st Century, and that is to tilt the world a little bit on its axis in favor of the poor, and that's not a difficult thing to do."
Those scheduled to perform at the London concert include: Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Dido, Elton John, Keane, Annie Lennox, Madonna, Muse, REM, the Scissor Sisters, Joss Stone, Stereophonics, Sting, Snoop, U2 and Robbie Williams.
Among artists set for Berlin are A-Ha, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Lauryn Hill and Brian Wilson. The concert in Rome will feature Faith Hill and Duran Duran, while in Paris the bill will include Jamiroquai, Craig David, Youssou N'Dour and Yannick Noah.
In Philadelphia, the scheduled acts are the Dave Matthews Band, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Bon Jovi, Will Smith and Stevie Wonder.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has campaigned to help Africa during the UK's presidency of the G8 this year and will host leaders at a summit July 6 to 8 in Gleneagles in Scotland.
But campaigners fear discord between G8 nations on debt reduction and aid spending plans, combined with reluctance in Washington, will wreck Blair's ambitions.
They warn African schools and hospitals could receive no new money from the lavish summit, which could cost as much as £100 million ($180 million) to stage, Reuters reported.
"We are really concerned that we're a long, long way away from any kind of breakthrough on tackling poverty in Africa," said Oxfam policy adviser Max Lawson.
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