LIVE 8 Campaign

This initiative brings together popular musicians to entertain audiences worldwide, while communicating to G8 leaders that aid for Africa must be high on the agenda of the G8 Summit. On July 2, top musicians like the African Children's Choir, Annie Lennox, Elton John, Madonna, Paul McCartney, REM, Snoop Dogg, Sting, and U2, and many others performed in free concerts in London (UK), Edinburgh (Scotland), Paris (France), Berlin (Germany), Rome (Italy), Philadelphia (USA), Barrie (Canada), Tokyo (Japan), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Moscow (Russia). Organisers antitipated that a total of 2 million people would attend these 9 concerts.

With the help of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the cooperation of the media, an estimated 3 billion more people were expected to be exposed to the international broadcasts. AOL is tapping into the live global feed from the various LIVE 8 concerts, broadcasting the complete concerts live on the Internet and offering interactive material, news updates, and photo essays. Visitors to various AOL country websites can learn more about global poverty, connect with a community of fans through dedicated weblogs, and make their voices heard; click here to view one example. Radio and television are other media being used; the BBC is the host broadcaster and is working with fellow broadcasters to provide coverage of the concerts.

LIVE 8 music is meant to stimulate the public to participate actively in advocacy using various communication tools to share their demands with the G8 leaders. For instance, people with mobile phones are asked to send a short message service (SMS)/text message to friends and family with a note such as "No to debt" and a request that they add their names to the online LIVE 8 list. This Internet-based component of the campaign involves people submitting their name and country to a list that scrolls online, that appears on large screens at the concerts, and that would be printed and personally delivered to the G8 leaders. Furthermore, the LIVE 8 concert day kick-starts the 5-day "Long Walk to Justice", which organisers describe as "the symbolic journey of millions of people across the world to show the G8 leaders that the world is watching and waiting. Ahead of the G8 Summit, those that can, will make their way to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh...This Long Walk To Justice culminates on Wednesday 6th July - the eve of the all-important G8 Summit - with a celebration of the largest and loudest cry to make poverty history the world has ever seen at Murrayfield Stadium called Edinburgh 50,000 - the Final Push."

In addition to the celebrity involvement that is key to raising the awareness and stimulating the activism of large numbers of people, other leaders added their voices to LIVE 8. For example, in a sermon at Lambeth Palace on July 2, Dr. Rowan Williams was expected to say that the challenges faced by G8 leaders give relevance to the Christian message of love thy neighbour. "Pandemics, poverty (and) ecological degradation are everyone's business, and there is no escape pod reserved for those who are comfortable and prosperous just at the moment." To cite another example, one of the LIVE 8 organisers, Sir Bob Geldof, prepared an open letter to the G8 leaders, which was published in UK newspapers prior to the concerts on July 2. The letter calls on leaders to give an extra £13.8 billion in aid for Africa, along with the same amount for the world's other economically poorest countries. He also asks that they confirm the cancellation of all debt for countries who need it.

Poverty, Overseas Development Assistance, Rights.

News reports during the last week of June 2005 predicted that the LIVE 8 concerts would reach 85% of the planet.

Sir Bob Geldof, one of the LIVE 8 organisers, urges "This is not Live Aid 2." He is referring to Live Aid, a music-based fundraising event that took place on July 13 1985. On that day, rock stars from around the world held dual concerts in London and Philadelphia that raised over US$ 100 million. In contrast, "LIVE 8 is about justice not charity". The issue this time, explains Geldof, is one of morality and human rights.

The claim is that people living in poverty have a right to overseas development aid from wealthy countries, and that this aid works; for instance, organisers cite the following statistics: smallpox was wiped out by approximately US$100 million worth of aid; Mozambique's economy grew at 12% in the 1990s when aid constituted 50% of its income; and in Tanzania, debt relief enabled the government to abolish primary school fees, leading to a 66% increase in attendance.