Live 8

» Posted by Inês

Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa, organised by Bob Geldof and co-organised by Midge Ure. More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks. There were ten concerts held on 2 July 2005, most of them simultaneously. The first to begin was held at the Makuhari Messe in Japan, with Rize being the first of all the Live 8 performers. During the opening of the Philadelphia concert, Will Smith led the combined audiences of London, Philadelphia, Berlin, Rome, Paris and Barrie (outside Toronto) in a synchronised finger click. This was to represent the death of a child every three seconds, due to poverty.

Bob Geldof was at the event at Hyde Park in London, England and made numerous appearances on stage, including a performance of "I Don't Like Mondays". Special guests appeared throughout the concerts. Both Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Bill Gates made speeches at the London show and Nelson Mandela addressed the crowd in the South African venue. Guest presenters, ranging from sports stars to comedians, also introduced acts. The final event was held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 6 July 2005. It featured further performances from some of the artists from the other concerts, and was the closest of the eleven to the actual location of the G8 summit.

Some examples of artists involved with Live 8 were Bryan Adams, Our Lady Peace (concert in Barrie), Audioslave, Green Day, Daniel Powter (in Berlin), Dido (in Cornwall), McFly, Natasha Bedingfield, Sugababes (in Edinburgh), Mahotella Queens (in Johannesburg), Joss Stone, Mariah Carey, Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Pink Floyd, U2 (in London), Pet Shop Boys (in Moscow), Amel Bent, Shakira, Alpha Blondie (in Paris), Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, Linkin Park (in Philadelphia), Laura Pausini (in Rome) and Good Charlotte (in Tokyo).

Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_8
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Live_8_artists