Live Aid’s magic captured in new Dublin exhibition

For one unforgettable day in July 1985, music united the world. From Wembley Stadium in London to JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, over a billion people tuned in to Live Aid — the global charity concert that raised millions for famine relief in Africa.

Now, forty years on, Dubliners can relive that extraordinary moment as the National Library of Ireland unveils a powerful new exhibition of rare photographs from the landmark event.

The exhibition, Live Aid at the National Library of Ireland, was officially launched today at the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar.

It brings audiences face-to-face with the colour, energy and emotion of the concerts that became known as “the day the music changed the world.”

More than seventy photographs from the Band Aid Trust Archive, donated to the NLI in 2017, have been carefully curated to capture both the atmosphere and the behind-the-scenes reality of staging such an unprecedented event.

From Status Quo’s raucous opening in London to electrifying performances by U2, David Bowie, Black Sabbath and Run DMC, the exhibition immerses visitors in the intensity of the day.

Striking images reveal everything from hurried sound checks to jubilant crowds, giving a sense of the scale and spirit of Live Aid from the intimacy of a Dublin gallery.

The launch was attended by Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan, who described Live Aid as “one of the defining cultural moments of the 20th century.”

He said the photographs “invite us not only to remember the concerts but also to reflect on their legacy and the global humanitarian response behind the images.”

Bob Geldof, who spearheaded the Band Aid and Live Aid efforts, was also present. He noted that Ireland’s response in 1985 had been remarkable: “It seemed a fitting home since Ireland magnificently rose to the day and pro rata gifted more to Live Aid than any other country on Earth.” He added that the National Library was the right custodian for the Band Aid archive, calling it “a future resource for students of politics, economics and development — and for schoolchildren who may come to learn that the world is not immutable, that change is possible.”

The exhibition is the first public display from the Band Aid Trust Archive, which contains over 400 boxes of documents, artefacts and 3D objects, alongside more than 2,000 images from Live Aid.

Many of these images were digitised and made available online earlier this year to mark the concert’s 40th anniversary.

Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the NLI, said the institution was proud to preserve the collection: “In Bob Geldof’s introduction to Live Aid: The Greatest Show on Earth he asks readers to ‘remember this day all of your lives.’ Thanks to the Band Aid Trust’s generous donation, that memory lives on. The legacy of Live Aid will continue to endure in Ireland’s cultural memory.”

The free exhibition opens to the public on Wednesday, September 24, and will run daily from 10am to 4pm.

Alongside the photographs, the NLI will host outreach programmes examining both Ireland’s response to Ethiopia after Live Aid and the country’s rich cultural traditions.

Future plans include a travelling exhibition that will bring the material to communities across Ireland, as well as a permanent display in new galleries at the NLI’s Kildare Street building following redevelopment.

For now, Dublin audiences can step back into 1985 and experience the energy of the day when music made history.