Source: Freddie Mercury performing at Wembley, mic in left hand and right hand in a fist. Photo: Steve Rapport; NPA BAA331; Source: National Library of Ireland
To mark the anniversary of one of the 1980s’ most memorable events, the National Library of Ireland (NLI) has digitised 2,000 photos from the Live Aid concert and made them available to view online.
The Band Aid Trust kindly donated its full archive to the National Library of Ireland (NLI) in 2017. It includes documents, personal stories, correspondence with donors, governments and broadcasters, as well as artwork, sound recordings, and hundreds of personal letters. The archive reflects the scale and complexity of the effort behind Live Aid. The full archive has been catalogued and will be made available to researchers in 2026.
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This unique visual record presents a raw and unedited look at one of the 20th century’s most defining musical, cultural and fundraising events spearheaded by Sir Bob Geldof for famine relief in Ethiopia, as told through the lens of hundreds of international photographers.
The images capture the scale and energy of the concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on 13th July 1985, including performances by Freddy Mercury, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, U2, Sting, Madonna, Sade, Black Sabbath, Phil Collins and more. Now digitised by the National Library of Ireland, the archive offers a mix of both familiar and candid scenes from the ‘Global Jukebox’ event once broadcast to 1.9 billion people
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
