Live 8: The Long Walk to Justice

1. Live 8: The Long Walk to Justice A Presentation by Maggie Stohler U.S. History II Mr. Greenberg period 2

2. Presentation Objective • The objective of the following presentation is to inform you about the 2005 worldwide charity event known as Live 8, as well as its controversy, its musical aspect, and its political and economical impact on our global society.

3. Geldof said, “These concerts are the starting point for The Long Walk to Justice, the one way we can make our voices heard in unison.” On May 31, 2005, Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof announced his plans for holding concerts on July 2, 2005 before the G8 conference, later known as Live 8. Bob Geldof proposed holding 9 concerts worldwide in each of the G8 countries as well as an additional concert in South Africa. The Long Walk to Justice

4. These benefit concerts were to precede the G8 Summit and Conference held in Auchterarder, Scotland from July 6th to July 8th. Live 8 was not intended to raise money, but rather awareness and people’s political interest as well as overwhelm G8 leaders with great public support. In support of Make Poverty History and Global Call for Action Against Poverty, the concerts planned to pressure world leaders to: Drop the debt of the world’s poorest countries Increase aid Negotiate fair trade rules for poorer countries The Plan of Action

5. Planned to be held on July 2, 2005, Geldof announced 10 different concerts: Johannesburg, South Africa Tokyo, Japan Barrie, Canada Moscow, Russia Hyde Park, London, England Philadelphia, United States of America Berlin, Germany Cornwall, England Paris, France Rome, Italy Worldwide Concerts

6. Organizers presented the "Live 8 List" to world leaders at the G8 summit. This is a list of over 38 million names compiled from around the world of people who support politicians to "Make Poverty History" on www.live8list.com. Names from the list appeared at each concert during the broadcast. The Live 8 List

7. Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push • The final event in the Live 8 concert series was in Edinburgh on 6 July 2005, called the Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push. It featured performances from artists from other concerts, and was closest to the location of the G8 summit. • Geldof was criticized for encouraging a crowd to assemble in Edinburgh with little notice and no consultation with local authorities.

8. Faith Hill Tim McGraw Björk Good Charlotte Brad Pitt Coldplay David Beckham Elton John Joss Stone Keane Kofi Annan Madonna Mariah Carey Ms. Dynamite Paul McCartney George Clooney James Brown Midge Ure Natasha Bedingfield Nelson Mandela Snow Patrol Bill Gates George Michael Pink Floyd R.E.M. Snoop Dogg Snow Patrol The Killers The Who The Live 8 Set List U2 Shakira The Cure Alicia Keys Black Eyed Peas Bon Jovi Dave Matthews Band Destiny's Child Kanye West Linkin Park Maroon 5 Rob Thomas Stevie Wonder Will Smith Barenaked Ladies Celine Dion Dan Aykroyd Mötley Crüe Simple Plan Audioslave Daniel Powter Green Day Angelina Jolie Peter Gabriel Youssou N'Dour Annie Lennox Bob Geldof Bono Duran Duran

10. World Wide Live 8 Concert Highlights • Pink Floyd, reunited for the first time in over 24 years. The complete foursome had not performed together since 17 June 1981. The band performed "Speak to Me", "Breathe", "Money", "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb". • Paul McCartney and U2 opened the concert playing "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". George Michael joined Paul McCartney on the Beatles' "Drive My Car”. • Before Madonna's set, Bob Geldof introduced Birhan Woldu, the starving child in the BBC News report which prompted Geldof to organise Live Aid. She held hands with Madonna while the singer performed "Like a Prayer". • Robbie Williams began with Queen's "We Will Rock You" Williams stated that he "wanted to bring a bit of Freddie back from the original Live Aid." • The crowd joined in to sing the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" led by Will Smith during his appearance. • Philadelphia's Mayor, John Street, announced on stage that there were over 1 million spectators in the audience

12. Live 8’s Impact • On 7 July the G8 leaders pledged to double levels of aid from $25 to $50 billion by 2010. Half of the money was to go to Africa. G8 finance ministers also agreed to cancel the debt owed by 18 of the poorest countries.

13. Many believed it was hypocrisy that artists had millions of "spare cash" lying in their bank accounts while wanting to "Make Poverty History". Counter-critics point out that celebrities are not rich enough to cancel the debt. Despite the show being broadcast beforehand, there was no attempt at censorship. In the United States, MTV censored swear words from the performances, yet ABC aired highlights without censorship. Live 8 Criticism

14. Criticism was drawn from viewers of MTV, in which the VJs talked over the music rather than letting performances speak for themselves. Few songs were played and none were broadcast live, leading some to say that MTV covered the event but did not broadcast it. Critics claim Live 8 is best viewed as a PR campaign. In a report issued in 2006 the G8 have not lived up to their promises. The U.S. has increased its development-assistance pledges but is off-track in meeting them. The G8 is moving slowly to meet its promises. Some believe it was a publicity stunt and a failure as the G8 have forgotten their pledges. More Live 8 Criticism

15. Although Live 8 has come in for criticism in the media, criticised for using Africa as "a catwalk" which is more about reviving the careers of rock stars than helping the poor, it has been successful and has achieved its overall goal of raising awareness. In total, the concerts included performances from more than 1,000 musicians, was broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks, and had an overall impact on our global society. Live 8: The Impact