UNICEF has started many trends over the years, and one of the most
influential began in 1971, when George Harrison and Ravi Shankar teamed up
with UNICEF to raise money for those fleeing the war in East Pakistan. The
two musicians put on the Concert for Bangladesh, starring themselves and
other luminaries like Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. They raised
an unprecedented amount for their cause, 10 million dollars, the single
largest benefit ever held.
This model was copied within UNICEF in 1979 with the Music for UNICEF
concert to kick off the Year of the Child. Held in the General Assembly
Hall, this performance starred the Bee Gees, ABBA, Rod Stewart and Earth
Wind and Fire, among others. They donated all the future royalties of the
songs they performed to UNICEF.
Then, also in 1979, Paul McCartney organized the Concert for Kampuchea
(Cambodia) with UNICEF, and that show was the biggest show for a
humanitarian cause in UK history. Over four nights, McCartney, Queen,
Elvis Costello and the Clash, among others, performed to sold out
audiences.
These concerts, an important part of UNICEF’s role in history, paved the
way for a string of 1980’s concert fundraisers: Live-Aid, Band-Aid and USA
for Africa, and birthed the concept of rock-and-roll super-concerts for
humanitarian causes.
