Live Aid at 40: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 6th July 2025) ** NEW SERIES **

The behind-the-scenes story of the 1985 charity concerts in London and Philadelphia, looking at this historic event and its legacy in Britain, the US, Ethiopia and Africa as a whole. In late October 1984, a BBC news report about a biblical famine in Ethiopia inspired Bob Geldof to collaborate with Midge Ure on a pop song that would mobilise not only Britain but also the United States, raising millions for charity, as Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? single catapulted Geldof into the complex worlds of aid, charity and African politics. Featuring archival footage and specially filmed interviews with Geldof, Ure, Bono and Sting, as well as such key figures such as the Ethiopian ministers responsible for aid, the head of US AID and two survivors of the famine.

Live Aid at 40: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World (BBC 2/HD | 10:00pm to 11:00pm | Sunday 6th July 2025)

The success of the Band Aid single and Bob Geldof’s subsequent trip to Africa spark a joint fundraising event, with concerts in London and Philadelphia, broadcast to more than 80 percent of the world’s TV sets. With millions of pounds raised, Geldof now faced the challenge of deciding how to allocate the funds and embarked on a trip across sub-Saharan Africa. Engaging with governments and aid agencies, he found himself at the heart of a controversy over Ethiopia’s Marxist government’s resettlement policy and how aid was being used. Featuring archival footage from both concerts, including BBC, ABC, and MTV coverage, with performances by U2, Madonna, Phil Collins, and Patti LaBelle, as well as interviews with figures including Sting, Bono, Nile Rodgers, Mike Mitchell, and Birhan Woldu, the Ethiopian girl whose image was immortalised by David Bowie during the concert.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119