It’s recently been reported that the 1985 series of Live Aid concerts is going to serve as the basis for a new stage show in London. The show will tell the story of the event, of those who organized it and who played in it, with 10% of ticket sales going to the Band Aid Charitable Trust.
Many, myself included, have reacted negatively to this announcement. Why the negativity? Because the legacy of the original event was not entirely positive for Ethiopia, or indeed the continent of Africa, and reigniting it seems not just tone deaf but positively belligerent.
In July 1985, 1.9 billion people watched the Live Aid concerts, with some of the biggest stars playing simultaneously in Philadelphia and London to raise money for people affected by the famine in Ethiopia. I was 7 that summer and remember vividly watching BBC journalist Michael Buerk’s report while my stepmother wept in front of the TV, and later the concert, to which she duly donated. I also remember Bob Geldof, the front man of this event, and his sweary and passionate pleas for donations.
About the author
Jess Crombie
Jess Crombie is a researcher and scholar working as a senior lecturer at the University of the Arts London and as a consultant for some of the leading organizations in the humanitarian sector. In both contexts Jess utilizes almost two decades as a leader in the charity sector to explore the ethical complexities in narrative creation.
