Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath‘s “Again to the Starting” raised more cash than any charity live performance since George Harrison and Ravi Shankar‘s 1971 Live performance for Bangladesh popularized the very concept of an all-star profit present, based on a evaluate of Billboard‘s protection through the years.
The heavy steel present, billed as Osbourne’s last stage efficiency, raised roughly $190 million in charitable donations on July 5, based on an Instagram post from the occasion’s musical director, Tom Morello. Notably, that was a giant leap from the $140 million Morello mentioned the occasion raised in an earlier Instagram story, however the occasion’s promoters didn’t reply to requests for clarification.
In response to statements from the group and its charity companions, the live performance, watched by 40,000 ticketholders and 5.8 million people on-line, will distribute funds equally to Birmingham Kids’s Hospital, Acorn Kids’s Hospice and Treatment Parkinson’s — a corporation devoted to discovering a remedy for the illness Osbourne has lived with since 2019. It’s unclear but what the ultimate donation to every charity will probably be.
Every of these charities mentioned they had been capable of increase tens of 1000’s of kilos in extra donations by raffling off tickets to the present, auctioning off iconic artwork and band images donated by Black Sabbath, and thru particular person contributions from followers as they streamed into the live performance, which occurred at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.
Whereas unattainable to fact-check so quickly after the occasion, that determine surpasses the quantity raised by lots of the highest-profile charity concert events of all time, based on a evaluate of Billboard’s protection through the years. Notably, experiences from Billboard and different media retailers have relied on figures supplied by individuals affiliated with these concert events, as promoters aren’t required to publish the overall funds raised or how a lot is deducted to cowl bills. We’ll try to replace this record with extra and higher data as we get it. E-mail ediltsmarshall@billboard.com with any suggestions.
Right here’s a listing of a few of the highest-grossing charity concert events of all time, based on every occasion’s organizers.
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FireAid
Picture Credit score: Kevin Mazur/Getty Pictures FireAid, the five-hour-long mega-concert that featured performances by Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga and Green Day in January 2025, raised greater than $100 million for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires that killed 29 individuals and destroyed greater than 16,000 properties earlier that very same month. The group started distributing the primary $50 million price of grants to community-based organizations in February.
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Stay Help
Picture Credit score: Kent Gavin/Day by day Mirror/Mirrorpix through Getty Pictures Live Help pageant, held on July 13, 1985, at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and broadcast reside to an estimated 1 billion viewers in 110 nations, raised roughly $100 million for famine reduction within the nations of Ethiopia and Sudan. Stay Help organizer Bob Geldof raised one other $10 million for these ravaged by famine earlier than the pageant by the discharge of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, the best-selling British single that featured U2 and Phil Collins. An extra $60 million was raised for the trigger by the discharge of “We Are The World,” written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
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Farm Help
Picture Credit score: Gary Miller/Getty Pictures Willie Nelson’s Farm Help, the music trade’s longest-running charity concert that launched in 1985 to help household farmers harm by the downturn available in the market worth of American crops, has raised greater than $80 million to help household farmers over the previous 40 years. Within the Nineteen Eighties, lots of of 1000’s of American farms filed for chapter, with the chapter charge amongst farmers in 1987 topping the speed simply earlier than the Nice Despair, U.S.D.A. filings present. In response to Billboard, among the many first funds dispersed from the charity was a $100,000 test Nelson wrote to a church group that used the cash to feed farm households.
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Hope for Haiti Now
Picture Credit score: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Organized by George Clooney and Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean, “Hope for Haiti Now” was a telethon that raised greater than $57 million for the island nation after the devastating magnitude-7 quake that killed some 200,000 individuals and left 3 million harm or homeless in January 2010. Artists like Stevie Marvel, Jay-Z and Chris Martin carried out songs as celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman took donations by telephone. Proceeds from the fundraiser had been distributed by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the U.N. World Meals Program, Oxfam America, the Pink Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Basis.
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Live performance for Bangladesh
Picture Credit score: Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Pictures The Live performance for Bangladesh was really a pair of sold-out Madison Sq. Backyard exhibits organized by former Beatles guitarist Harrison and Indian sitar participant Shankar, meant to boost funds for refugees of the battle in East Pakistan throughout its combat for independence. Held on Aug. 1, 1971, the live performance raised near $250,000 from the 40,000 tickets offered to the occasion. Nevertheless, by 1985, the occasion had despatched, through UNICEF, an estimated $12 million to Bangladesh by income raised from a reside album and movie, Live performance for Bangladesh.
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One Love Manchester
Picture Credit score: Kevin Mazur/One Love Manchester/Getty Pictures for One Love Manchester One Love Manchester, Ariana Grande‘s all-star profit live performance held for the victims of the Could 22, 2017, terror assault after the singer’s present at Manchester Area, raised $12 million when it was held the month following the occasion. That quantity included $3 million (£2.35 million) raised for the British Pink Cross and $9 million (£7.3 million) raised for the Manchester Emergency Fund.
