Today I am grateful for all the amazing people who do incredible things in response to what is going on in the world. I can get so overwhelmed with the terrible things that happen in the world and so I have to work really hard to remind myself that there is always light to counter the dark. I think that the light actually outshines the dark. This always reminds me of humanity’s incredible resilience and I truly believe our world is full of wonderful human beings.
Here are a few reminders of this humanity.
The Concert For Bangladesh in 1971:
Organized by Beatles legend George Harrison and Norah Jones’ father, Ravi Shankar, the two concerts were held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 1, 1971. According to Yahoo Music, the events were created to raise money and awareness for East Pakistan refugees, who were struggling to become Bangladesh at the time. Packed with an all-star line up, The Concert for Bangladesh was the first benefit concert of its kind. The concerts were attended by a total of 40,000 people. This concert set the stage for mega-watt benefit concerts that pulled in various big-name artists for one common cause.
Live Aid in 1985:
Sir Bob Geldof’s famed concert for the starving in Africa, which was held on July 13, 1985, was at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
Performers included Phil Collins, Sade, Bryan Ferry, U2, Queen, David Bowie, the Who, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, the Pretenders, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan.
The Live Aid concert raised $38 million.
A Concert for Life: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in 1992:
The concert was held at London’s Wembley Stadium. The concert acted as both a tribute to the late Queen singer, and a benefit for AIDS research. The was an audience of 72,000 and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world. There was believed to be an audience of up to one billion people. The money raised was intended to go to “AIDS projects worldwide.”
Performers included the surviving members of Queen, Metallica, Def Leppard, U2, Guns N’ Roses, Seal, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Elton John, George Michael, Annie Lennox, and Robert Plant.
Artists for Grenfell
Simon Cowell has pulled together multiple acts to raise money for the victims and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Until next time
