The Rolling Stones, Pink and U2 to perform at ‘Lviv Aid’: A-list music stars ‘asked to take part in Live Aid-style concert for Ukraine at Wembley this summer to pile pressure on Putin’
Huge acts such as Pink, The Rolling Stones, The Killers and U2 have reportedly been asked to perform at a Live Aid-style concert this summer in support of Ukraine.
As their brutal war with Russia rages on after over a year of conflict, mega stars and bands are being lined up to create a charity gig on June 24, dubbed ‘Lviv Aid’ after one of the Ukrainian cities that has come under fire, reports The Sun.
The concert will be televised worldwide in a bid to send a strong message to Putin – and the publication reports that big names such as Adele, Sir Paul McCartney and Noel Gallagher are also likely to be approached.
A source said: ‘It’s going to be huge, properly A-list and on a global scale.
‘It’s something people have wanted to do for a while but a date has now been nailed down and booked at Wembley Stadium.
Gig: Huge acts such as Pink, The Rolling Stones (pictured), The Killers and U2 have reportedly been asked to perform at a Live Aid-style concert this summer in support of Ukraine
Charity: As their brutal war with Russia rages on after over a year of conflict, mega stars and bands are being lined up to create a charity gig on June 24, reports The Sun (Pink is pictured)
‘For bands like U2 and Bono, who are pretty outspoken about their views on war and conflict, it feels like a great opportunity to keep hammering home the severity of the situation out in Ukraine.
‘An event of this size can put real political pressure on the Russians, too.’
The insider did add that certain big acts would be ruled out as the summer date clashes with music festival Glastonbury.
Live Aid was held at the same London venue to raise funds for Ethiopian famine victims in 1985.
Livewire Pictures are reportedly one of the planners behind the event. They helped organise a charity gig with ITV last March for Ukraine which raised £13million, as well as 2017’s One Love Manchester gig.
Last week marked a year since the bloody conflict began.
February 24, 2022 was a day that changed everything: death rained from the skies, explosions lit up the dawn, Russian tanks churned up the Ukrainian border, and 200,000 pairs of boots marched on its cities.
It was a day that millions had dreaded, and millions more doubted would ever come.
Huge: The concert will be televised worldwide in a bid to send a strong message to Putin – and the publication reports that big names such as Adele, Sir Paul McCartney and Noel Gallagher are also likely to be approached (U2 pictured)
Bands: A source said: ‘It’s going to be huge, properly A-list and on a global scale’ (The Killers are pictured)
It was the day that Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. And in the year that has now passed since that fateful moment, nothing has remained the same.
Almost half a million soldiers on both sides are either dead, missing or wounded – torn up by bullets and bombs on battlefields that are eerily reminiscent of the First and Second World Wars.
Tens of thousands of civilians have perished as Moscow’s missiles hit hospitals and homes. More than eight million have fled into Europe as refugees, and millions more have been forcibly deported into Russia through filtration camps.
The bill for damage currently stands at $700billion and counting.
The conflict has reverberated around the world. It has seen energy prices in Europe soar. It has caused food shortages in Africa and the Middle East. Inflation has tightened purse-strings from America to Asia. A global recession now looms.
What was supposed to be a three-day ‘special military operation’ to topple Ukraine’s government, carve up the country and re-establish Russia as a global power has dragged on for twelve bloody and brutal months. And there is no end in sight.
Vladimir Putin, who once ruled Russia undisputed, is weakened, humbled, and facing the worst crisis in his two-decade rule.
He is forced to buy drones and ammunition from North Korea and Iran. He is kept waiting for meetings by the likes of Turkey, Qatar, and Tajikistan. Even China, which pledged a friendship ‘without limits’ before the war, shies away from doing business with him.
His health has visibly worsened – he grips table edges for support, twitches his hands, and fidgets nervously with his feet. He is rumoured to be terminally ill with blood cancer, bowel cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
The Russian economy rests on thin ice, weighted down by sanctions that threaten to break it. Would-be successors circle, biding their time: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, spy chief Nikolai Patrushev, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Meanwhile Volodymyr Zelensky, an ex-comedian who cropped up as a footnote in one of Trump’s impeachment scandals, has become an internationally recognised war hero – mentioned in the same breath as Churchill.
The West – led by the US and UK – has put aside old divisions, overcome fear, and united in a way that most people, especially Putin, did not think possible.
Big names: Adele is reportedly one of the acts which could be approached for the huge charity gig
Iconic: Live Aid was held at the same London venue to raise funds for Ethiopian famine victims in 1985 (David Bowie pictured at Live Aid)
War: Last week marked a year since the bloody conflict began (pictured are Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut)
Ukraine is now being provided with the weapons it needs: not just to survive, but to win.
The threat of a Third World War – which loomed large on the day of the invasion – has diminished in the last 12 months, but it has not disappeared.
The first year of war taught us that Ukraine is capable of defying astronomical odds, but that even a weak Russian army is capable of wreaking mass death and destruction.
The second year of war lies ahead. The prospect of peace talks is remote. Both sides are facing months of hard fighting. It is impossible to know how this war ends, but it seems unlikely it will be over any time soon.
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