Wise Giving Wednesday: Live Aid at 40 - Music, Generosity & Lessons for Today

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calendar icon Jul 17, 2025

Forty years ago, Live Aid united artists, audiences, and global attention around famine relief, showing how music can mobilize generosity on a massive scale.

Live Aid at 40: The Day Music Went Global for Good

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 40 years since some of the biggest names in music took to the stage at London’s Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, linked by satellite on July 13, 1985. Live Aid, a massive concert which was also broadcast to over 1.9 billon worldwide, raised over $125 million for famine relief in Africa, not to mention awareness of the issues of global poverty and hunger. Organized by musicians Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, Live Aid, performers included a laundry list of stars with more than 70 performers and lasted over 15 hours. Mick Jagger and Tina Tuner stole the show in Philadelphia, along with performances from Bob Dylan and Santana. Across the pond in London, in a show opened by Princess Diana and Prince Charles (now King), Tina Turner teamed up with Mick Jagger for a duet with Elton John, Paul McCartney and David Bowie in the mix. Perhaps the most iconic of all was the set by Queen which included anthems “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You.”

From Live Aid to Today: Benefit Concerts Carry the Torch

Live Aid also inspired future fundraising events like Farm Aid and America: A Tribute to Heroes (for 9/11 relief). More recently, the Concert for the Carolinas, with notables James Taylor, Luke Combs and Billy Strings, raised money for relief in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which devastated Western North Carolina last September. Billie Eilish, Sting and Rod Stewart are a few of the artists who teamed up for FireAid to benefit the Southern California wildfires. There will surely be events in the wake of Central Texas floods earlier in July.

In the age of smartphones and instant access to so much information, taste in music and entertainment is no longer limited to what you hear on the radio or see on MTV. Platforms such as SoundCloud allow anyone to upload their creations, regardless of merit. While some critics believe there will never be a concert as big and influential as Live Aid, the reach of streaming platforms and social media make these events possible, and there are big stars with a lot of reach still out there.

Planning a Benefit Concert? Here Are 5 Wise Giving Tips

Hopefully, musicians will continue to help charitable causes in the future. Every dollar counts. To help ensure future events are effective in raising funds, organizers might want to consider the following tips:

  1. 1. When fundraising for disasters and emergencies take place, donors generally expect collected funds to be distributed quickly unless told otherwise.
  2. 2. While some concert fundraisers create a new charity to house collected funds, this can sometimes create an administrative challenge in distribution and oversight. Sometimes it is best to partner with established charities that can carry out announced program goals more effectively.
  3. 3. If a concert event partners with established charities, the organizers should take time to verify the trustworthiness of the chosen organizations by verifying if they meet BBB Charity Standards by visiting Give.org.
  4. 4. Transparency of how much was collected and how it was used should be a planned communication activity. This may also encourage additional future gifts.
  5. 5. If tickets are being sold to attend a concert fundraising event, promotions should be careful about any statements referencing tax deductibility. In general, such ticket purchases, if sold at their fair market value, are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. For more on this issue, see IRS Publication 526.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.