We’re just a couple of weeks away from the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, the global mega-gig that set the template for charity stadium shows and took place on Saturday 13 July 1985.
To mark the occasion, the BBC and CNN have collaborated on a new documentary - Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World - and we’re now getting our first look at the full-length trailer.
This features show organisers Bob Geldof and Harvey Goldsmith discussing their fears for the show, which was put together at relatively short notice and involved 16 hours of music being broadcast live around the world from two venues in the UK and the USA (London and Philadelphia).
“My head was full of, ‘it’s going to be a disaster’”, says Geldof at one point, with Goldsmith adding that “no one had ever had 16 hours of anything on television”.
The documentary is also set to touch on Live Aid’s complicated legacy - despite raising huge amounts of money for Africa, it’s been criticised for perpetuating the notion of the ‘white saviour’ - and cover follow-up gig Live 8, which took place 20 years later.
Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World also features interviews with Bono, Sting, Patti Labelle and Phil Collins, along with contributions from political figures such as George W Bush, Condoleezza Rice, President Obasanjo and Tony Blair. It airs on the BBC in the UK from Sunday 6 July, and CNN in the US from Sunday 13 July.
