Philadelphia and London for ”Live 8”
Just like twenty years ago, Philadelphia will be the city to host the American concert of the upcoming “Live 8” event on July 2nd.
As it is reportedly happening in London, that will host a show in Hyde Park instead of the now under reconstruction Wembley Stadium, the Philadelphia show will take place in the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, in the middle of the city’s jam-packed Fourth of July festivities, instead of the old JFK Stadium.
Promoters Bob Geldof and Midge Ure did not reveal the name of any of the performers tipped for the show so far, but only said “we’ll have all the big names we can find” at the Ivor Novello awards awards ceremony last week.
An official announcement is expected on Tuesday, when plans for the event are to be unveiled during simultaneous news conference in Philadelphia and London. At the moment the name of Madonna – together with those of U2, Paul McCartney and reunited Spice Girls – is among the rumoured ones but there has not been any official word about her attending the event.
For weeks, published reports have mentioned several U.S. cities, including New York and Washington, as hosts for the shows. But it was unknown yesterday how many cities, besides Philadelphia and London, will host Live 8 shows. It also unknown how the concerts will raise money – through ticket sales, sponsorships of other methods – for the African nations.
Based on an article by Michael Klein, Philadelphia Enquirer