# A brief history of fundraising rock concerts

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/12/08/brief-history-fundraising-rock-concerts/
- Published: 2003-12-08T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Against the backdrop of Nelson Mandela’s 46664 concert in Cape Town last week, BBC
Online has presented a brief history of fundraising rock concerts.
The article starts
not surprisingly in 1984 with Band Aid and Live Aid in 1985, but acknowledges that
the first large-scale fundraising rock concert was Concert for Bangladesh in 1971,
organised by George Harrison.

It mentions Farm Aid, a US initiative to help farmers facing crisis, which has spawned
16 concerts since 1985. Other concerts mentioned include Artists Against Apartheid’s
Freedom Festival on London’s Clapham Common, the Nelson Mandela birthday and freedom
concerts, and the Red Hot and Blue concert to raise money for Aids awareness.

It is far from a complete listing, but a useful list of some of the more well-known
fundraising rock concerts.

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