International Day of Rock

The commemoration is a reference to a wish expressed by the musician Phil Collins, one of the participants in the event.

Live Aid - Feed the World

The event's objective was to raise money to help alleviate the continuous famine in Ethiopia and was organized by the Irish musician Bob Geldof and the Scottish Midge Ure.

It featured performances by rock giants like The Who, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, Madonna, Queen, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Sting, Scorpions, U2, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Black Sabbath.

The event aimed to raise ten million dollars and tripled that amount, showcasing the true power of music, which had as its primary goal, ending famine in Ethiopia.

The Live Aid was a simultaneous show that took place in London and Philadelphia, in the United States.

The performances were broadcast live by the BBC to various countries and opened the world's eyes to the poverty in Africa.

At the time, it was the most-watched TV broadcast in history, with approximately 1.9 billion people tuning in from around the world.

In 2005, twenty years after the first event, Bob Geldof organized the Live 8, a new edition with a larger structure and shows in more countries.

This time, the goal was to pressure the G8 leaders to forgive the debt of poorer countries and eradicate poverty worldwide.

Despite being called the "International Day of Rock", the date is only remembered in Brazil.

It began to be celebrated in the mid-1990s, when two rock-specialized radio stations in São Paulo - 89 FM and 97 FM - started mentioning the date in their programming.  The conclusion was widely accepted by listeners and, in a few years, became popular throughout the country.

However, this date is completely ignored worldwide.

To conclude...

The video below is a clip from the Queen performance at the 1985 Live Aid, which gathered around 72,000 people at the Wembley Stadium in London.