Live 8 Concerts Attract Worldwide Audience to Fight Poverty
In what some were calling the greatest concert ever, possibly billions of spectators watched as over one hundred artists performed in ten cities live around the world to raise awareness and prompt world leaders to action of poverty in Africa.
In what some were calling the greatest concert ever, possibly billions of spectators watched as over one hundred artists performed in ten cities live around the world to raise awareness of poverty in Africa and prompt world leaders to action.
The concerts were spread out over four continents with the most heavily attended events taking place in Europe and the United States. Philadelphia was the American city hosting a concert.
Philadelphia Mayor John Street announced that 1 million people filled 60 acres around Benjamin Franklin Parkway in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, according to the Washington Post.
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Saturday's concerts were marked by an eclectic mix of artists united in purpose. Hundreds of thousands saw performances by musical artists including U2, Neil Young, Paul McCartney Madonna, Elton John, Pink Floyd, The Who and George Michael.
However, a non-musician was one who received perhaps the greatest ovation by the audience. At the South Africa Live 8 concert, the nation's former President Nelson Mandela made his way to the stage to thunderous applause.
"Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times," said Mandela, according to CTV.
"So much of our common future will depend on the actions and plans of these leaders," he added later. "They have a historical opportunity to open the door to hope and the possibility of a better future for all."
Yesterday's series of concerts were organized by Bob Geldof, a musician and activist who twenty years ago staged Live Aid concerts that brought attention to famines in Africa. The Live 8 concerts were meant to support the Make Poverty History Campaign, the UK offshoot of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP).
