The original Live Aid raised more than $40 million for African famine victims in 1985, but its sequel, Saturday's Live 8, has even loftier goals: The event, which will bring together stars including U2, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Sting and Green Day for concerts in ten international cities, aims to save "millions and millions of lives," according to organizer Bob Geldof, who also spearheaded Live Aid. The goal is to pressure world leaders meeting at the G8 economic summit on July 6th, in Gleneagles, Scotland, to approve billions of dollars in aid and debt relief for poverty-ravaged Africa.
"This is the concert of the year, quite possibly of the decade," says Rob Thomas, one of the headliners of the U.S. show, to be held in Philadelphia. Fellow Philly performers Maroon 5 agree. "This is the single most important concert we've played as a band," says frontman Adam Levine. "We have a huge opportunity to change the course of history by coming to the aid of the poorest countries in Africa."
Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland, who watched Live Aid on TV as a seventeen-year-old, also expects his band's London performance to be "one of the major pinnacles" of his career. "It will be something that we'll remember for the rest of our lives," says Weiland. "And the fact that all these artists were willing to make themselves available all over the world will say something."
Canadian rockers Simple Plan, set to perform in Barrie, Ontario, emphasize the opportunity for fans to have a political voice. "By showing up to all these shows," says drummer Chuck Comeau, "music fans are sending a strong message that cannot be ignored." A statement from Destiny's Child put it bluntest: "After going to Africa and seeing it for ourselves, how could we not help? We saw children living in poverty, with little to eat and no shoes on their feet. If that does not move you, we don't know what will."
Admission to the shows, which also include a separate July 6th performance in Edinburgh, Scotland, will be free -- the Philadelphia concert, held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, won't even require tickets. "We're not talking about millions of dollars that we could raise," says Tayloe Emery, outreach czar of Bono's lobbying group DATA, one of the organizations behind the concerts. "We're talking about billions of dollars from the governments of the world." To that end, the show will encourage audiences to write e-mails to leaders, and even to text-message them from their cell phones as the bands play.
The shows will be televised in eighty countries on MTV and VH1, broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and on Premiere Radio Networks and Webcast in its entirety on AOLMusic.com.
Live 8 lineup:
Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Def Leppard, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Kaiser Chiefs, Toby Keith, Alicia Keys, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Sarah McLachlan and Josh Groban, Will Smith, P. Diddy, Rob Thomas, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Jars of Clay, Rita and Stephen Marley
London
Hyde Park
U2, Coldplay, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Queen, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Sting, the Who, Bob Geldof, Keane, the Killers, Ms. Dynamite, Razorlight, Joss Stone, R.E.M., Scissor Sisters, Snoop Dogg, Snow Patrol, Stereophonics, Travis, UB40, Velvet Revolver, Annie Lennox, Dido, Robbie Williams
Berlin
SiegessSule
Green Day, Audioslave, Bap, Chris de Burgh, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Die Toten Hosen, A-Ha, Faithless, Juan Diego Florez, Herbert Groenemeyer, Katherine Jenkins, Juli, Reamonn, Renee Olstead, Roxy Music, Sasha, Silbermond, Soehne Mannheims, Brian Wilson, Wir Sind Helden, Joana Zimmer
Paris
Palais de Versailles
Andrea Bocelli, Amel Bent, Axelle Red, Calo Gero, Craig David, the Cure, Diam's, Dido, Disiz La Peste, Faudel, Florten Pagny, Johnny Hallyday, Kool Shen, Kyo, Louis Bertignac, Manu Chao, Muse, Placebo, Renaud, Shakira, Tina Arena, Yannick Noah, Youssou N'Dour
Rome
Circus Maximus
Antonello Venditti, Articolo 31, Biagio Antonacci, Claudio Baglioni, Elisa, Faith Hill, Francesco De Gregori, Francesco Renga, Gemelli Diversi, Jovanotti, Laura Pausini, Le Vibrazioni, Max Pezzali, Negramaro, Nek, Noa, Piero Pelu, Pino Daniele, Povia, Tim McGraw, Tiromancino, Velvet
Barrie
Park Place
Bryan Adams, African Guitar Summit, Romeo Antonio, Jann Arden, Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, the Bachman Cummings Band, Bruce Cockburn, Tom Cochrane, Celine Dion, Deep Purple, Keith Denehy, DobaCaracol featuring Kna'an, Joey Kramer, Elliot Easton, Great Big Sea, Jet, Tom Hamilton, Lance Lee, Les Trois Accords, Gordon Lightfoot, Mark Meadow, Motley Crue, Our Lady Peace, Sam Roberts, Run DMC, Simple Plan, Tegan and Sara, Josh Todd, the Tragically Hip, Neil Young
Tokyo
Makuhari Messe
Bjork, Good Charlotte, McFly, Def Tech, Do As Infinity, Dreams Come True, Rize
Johannesburg
Mary Fitzgerald Square
4Peace Ensemble, Orchestre Baobab, Jabu Khanyile and Bayete, Lindiwe, Lucky Dube, Mahotella Queens, Malaika, Oumou Sengare, Zola
Cornwall
Eden Project Arena
Akim El Sikameya, Angelique Kidjo, Ayub Ogada, Daara J, Maryam Mursal, Modou Diouf and O Fogum, Salif Keita, Shikisha, Tinariwen, Thomas Mapfumo and Blacks Unlimited
Moscow
Red Square
Pet Shop Boys, B-2, Agatha Christie, Jungo, Linda, Moral Code X, Red Elvises, Aliona Sviridova