{"id":660982,"date":"2026-10-21T02:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T02:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/660982\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T02:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T02:44:12","slug":"bob-geldof-reflects-on-live-aid-and-irelands-generosity-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/660982\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Geldof reflects on Live Aid and Ireland’s generosity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Singer, author and humanitarian Bob Geldof has said Live Aid offered a glimpse of the Ireland he had always believed existed, praising the generosity and kindness shown in response to the charity event.<\/p>\n

Live Aid took place on 13 July, 1985, with simultaneous concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Organised by Geldof and musician Midge Ure, the event brought together music legends including Queen, U2, David Bowie, Elton John, Madonna and Paul McCartney to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Patrick Kielty on Friday night’s The Late Late Show on RT\u00c9 One, Geldof recalled growing concerned that donations were not coming in quickly enough. Then came news of an extraordinary offer: five Irish women wanted to donate their wedding rings.<\/p>\n

Geldof was at Wembley Stadium as the concert was about to begin when the Irish production team contacted him. The women were waiting outside and wanted to hand them over.<\/p>\n

Concerned that they might later regret such a personal sacrifice, Geldof asked the organisers to ensure they were certain of their decision. He instructed them to hold the rings for a week, giving the women the opportunity to reclaim them if they changed their minds.<\/p>\n

\"Bob
\nTony Hadley, Midge Ure, Gary Kemp, Adam Ant and Bob Geldof on 10 June, 1985<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Ireland’s generosity, he said: “Pro rata, as we all know famously, this country did more than any other country in the world.”<\/p>\n

He said the response revealed a remarkable spirit of generosity and solidarity, offering a glimpse of the Ireland he had long believed was there.<\/p>\n

Describing the significance of the event, Geldof said: “I think it was the first manifestations of the Ireland that I always suspected was there – generous, kind, intelligent, funny.”<\/p>\n

“And I think Live Aid was one of the first glorious manifestations of that,” he added.<\/p>\n

\"Irish
\nJust For One Day comes to Dublin’s Bord G\u00e1is Energy Theatre next year Photo: Brian McEvoy<\/p>\n

The legacy of Live Aid is being revisited through Just For One Day, the Olivier-nominated musical inspired by the concerts, which will run at Dublin’s Bord G\u00e1is Energy Theatre next year.<\/p>\n

Featuring music by Queen, U2, David Bowie, Elton John and Madonna, the production celebrates the music and collective spirit behind the historic event.<\/p>\n

Geldof admitted he was initially reluctant to get involved, but one charming Liverpudlian eventually won him over.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been to many West End shows and it’s the only show that I’ve ever been to where at half time they get a standing ovation,” he told Kielty.<\/p>\n

The turning point came during workshops for the production, when actor Craige Els, who plays Geldof, revealed an unexpected childhood connection to the singer.<\/p>\n

Geldof explained that Els told him his grandmother in Liverpool used to make him stand on the kitchen table at the age of nine and do impressions of him.<\/p>\n

“So this was destiny,” he laughed.<\/p>\n

Just For One Day runs at Bord G\u00e1is Energy Theatre from 24 August to 11 September 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Singer, author and humanitarian Bob Geldof has said Live Aid offered a glimpse of the Ireland he had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-660982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}