Considering the ultimate impact of Live Aid

5/29/2019

Since our quick hopscotch through various musical mega-events in the 1970s and especially ’80s, several of you have asked follow-up questions about the ultimate impact (politically but also financially, which was its chief stated mission) of the Live Aid concerts in 1985.

I'll refer you to two pieces:
— This media article from The Atlantic a couple of years ago is a fair retrospective of Live Aid's cultural legacy, such as how the concerts crafted a template other fundraisers have followed.
— This scholarly article from a journal attempts to survey Ethiopians who would have been infants at the time of the famine (and, as we saw, such imagery was a prime motivational tool in the fundraiser's marketing) and gauge how their lives were impacted by the relief efforts. The short answer: not much.

1 Comment

Jiawei Xia

5/31/2019 10:00:59 am

few days ago, I watched the video of 1985 live aid, that was really touching me. I never saw those much super stars on the same stage. When Micheal Jackson song the "we are the world ". I can no longer control myself. I guess music is the most powerful energy between the whole world.

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