Live 8 Concerts To Amplify Problem of Global Poverty

Bob Geldof, who 20 years ago put together the famine-relief concerts of Live Aid -- the biggest musical event in history -- yesterday announced that five enormous, free concerts would be held July 2 in Philadelphia, London, Paris, Berlin and Rome.

The extravaganza, which will feature many of the biggest names in pop music, will not be intended to raise funds. Rather, it is aimed at spotlighting the problem of poverty in developing African countries just days before President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of five other industrial nations gather for the G8 Summit in Scotland. Accordingly, Geldof has named his event Live 8.


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The lineup for the London concert is to include U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, R.E.M., Sting, Madonna, the Cure, Coldplay, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox and Velvet Revolver. Philadelphia can expect to see the Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5, P. Diddy and a half dozen others. The other European concerts are to feature such stars as Andrea Bocelli, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Duran Duran, Jamiroquai, Youssou N'Dour, Lauryn Hill, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Brian Wilson.

The main themes of the G8 summit, set for July 6-8, are social, political and economic conditions that have left almost one billion people living in extreme poverty, almost half of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

"The G8 leaders have it within their power to alter history," Geldof said yesterday in London. "They will only have the will to do so if millions of people show them that enough is enough. We understand precisely what must be done to free the weak, the hungry and the sick from the awful, needless condition of their lives. Now is the time to do it. This isn't about charity, it's about justice."

As with Live Aid, the Live 8 concerts are expected to be carried globally on television and, this time around, over the Internet via America Online. It's been estimated that the simultaneous Live Aid concerts July 13, 1985, at London's Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's JFK Stadium (both have since been torn down) reached a worldwide audience of 1.4 million. Those concerts and a concurrent telethon raised $245 million for famine relief in Africa.