Live Aid, history╒s biggest pop concert, aims to raise around ú1 million an hour today for African famine relief.
Its begetter, Bob Geldof, the 32-year-old Irish rock musician, now more famous as a fund-raiser than lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, acknowledges the irony of pop stars saving Ethiopians from starvation: ╥It╒s pathetic that the price of a life is a plastic record. But if that╒s the way it has to be, you have to use glamour.╙
Sixty-three rock acts will be playing on both sides of the Atlantic, their music and images transmitted from Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia by 11 satellites to a potential television audience of 1.5 billion people in 160 countries, including the Soviet Union and the United States.
╥I reckon we╒ll get about ú10 million. That╒s a conservative estimate,╙ said Mr Geldof.
The money will come from 72,000 Wembley tickets at ú25 upwards, with a similar audience at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, plus the worldwide sales of 16 hours of television and radio.
Live Aid is a natural successor to Geldof╒s Band Aid record Do They Know It╒s Christmas? which, with its American counterpart, We Are The World, seems likely to raise nearly ú26 million ╤ or as much as the British Government gave to Ethiopia last year.
More money will come from corporate sponsorships and merchandising, although the organisers were worried yesterday that the thousands who travel to Wembley will become prey to pirates selling everything from eye-shades to mock souvenir programmes.
Official Live Aid goods will be clearly marked with its logo, a guitar-stemmed outline of Africa.
The Wembley show begins at noon, after the Prince and Princess of Wales have met the stars, and the transatlantic bill includes some of the most famous names in rock music, including Status Quo, Sting, Elton John and Paul McCartney.
The Who are back together after several years, and Ozzy Osbourne is reunited with Black Sabbath. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant will perform some Led Zepplin songs.
The Pretenders and Phil Collins will play both concerts, thanks to Concorde, which has been provided free by British Airways.
The acts will include Soviet hard rock group Autograph, performing live from Moscow, who will be the first Russian pop stars to be seen by a worldwide TV audience.
