Harvey Goldsmith, the organizer of concerts who supported the London portion of Live Aid and other charitable events and major performances, has revealed a fresh long-term endeavor to support efforts in addressing the climate emergency.
In August 2025, Earth Aid Live will be held in six countries on five different continents, specifically in London, Los Angeles, and Rio de Janeiro. The list of performers has yet to be revealed. Goldsmith intends to organize similar events in both 2030 and 2035, which will include concerts in both the metaverse and the physical world.
Goldsmith was upbeat as he announced the events, hailing “a new era marked by unity, sustainability, and a profound positive impact on the planet. Building on what we have already achieved with Live Aid, our aspiration is to unite people from all walks of life in the shared mission of bettering our world.”
The written plans for the events indicate that they will develop beyond a typical fundraising endeavor, like Live Aid, which raised money for non-governmental organizations working to combat famine in Ethiopia. Earth Aid Live aims to inspire a broader movement for addressing climate change among its attendees, including individual actions, community involvement, corporate involvement, and international cooperation. The organizers are committed to achieving a net zero carbon footprint for the events and will provide transparent reporting on carbon emissions.
Goldsmith was asked by Bob Geldof to assist in gathering £140m through Live Aid in 1985. He continued to support charitable causes by organizing concerts for organizations like the Prince’s Trust and Teenage Cancer Trust. Goldsmith has also been involved in numerous other tours, individual performances, and musical productions, collaborating with renowned musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, and Luciano Pavarotti.
Earth Aid Live is the latest large-scale effort from the entertainment industry to draw attention and fundraising to the climate crisis. In 2007, Goldsmith advised on Live Earth, a global event series organised by Al Gore and entrepreneur Kevin Wall, which featured performers such as Madonna, Kanye West and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The Global Citizen festival, a yearly gathering focused on addressing poverty, has incorporated a focus on climate change in its efforts in recent times. One of their recent events, Power Our Planet: Live in Paris, which took place in June 2023, featured performances by popular artists like Lenny Kravitz, Jack Harlow, and Billie Eilish – a known advocate for climate awareness. Other organizations, such as Reverb and EarthPercent co-founded by Brian Eno, are also actively involved in promoting climate action within the music industry.
Although Coldplay has received recognition for their attempts to reduce the environmental effects of global tours, there is a growing focus on celebrities who utilize private jets, such as Drake, who travels in a large Boeing 767.
Taylor Swift is currently facing criticism for her frequent use of private jets. A student from an American university, Jack Sweeney, closely monitors the flights of two jets owned by Swift and shares their routes and estimated carbon emissions on Twitter. However, Swift’s legal team threatened to take action against Sweeney this week, stating that the shared information poses a safety threat.
Source: theguardian.com
