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Sir Bob Geldof
- Aired: January 2008,
- Posted: 5th October, 2007
- Video: FLV /
- 74 MB
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Sir Bob Geldof
In November 1984 Geldof saw a news on the famine in Ethiopia and vowed to use the situation to do something. The song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was released just before Christmas 1984 and raised millions of pounds and was (until 1997) the biggest-selling single in UK chart history.
Using the enormous success of the Band Aid single, in 1985 Geldof went on to organise Live Aid and challenged Margaret Thatcher, leading to a major re-evaluation of British government policy towards famine relief.
In 2004, approaching the twentieth anniversary of Live Aid concomitant with Britain's presidency of both the G8 and the European Union, Geldof called for a political and intellectual debate concerning extreme poverty and its consequences (‘You're History’)
On March 31, 2005 Geldof announced the Live 8 project to raise awareness of issues that he claims burden Africa, such as government debt, trade barriers, and AIDS issues. Geldof organised 5 concerts on Saturday July 2, 2005; in London, Berlin, Philadelphia and Ontario.
In the lead up to the G8 Gleneagles summit, Geldof fronted Tony Blair's Commission for Africa, emphasising public private partnerships, free trade and foreign direct investment. Geldof labelled critics of the summit "a disgrace".
In December 2005 Geldof became adviser on global poverty to the British Conservative Party.
Sir Bob Geldof has received many awards for this work, including an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
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