The Make Poverty History Concert was held on the night of November 17, 2006 produced by Dan Adams, Hugh Evans and John Connor at Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Australia. The concert was timed to coincide with the G20 Summit which was being hosted by then-Australian Treasurer, Peter Costello. The aim of the event was to create public awareness of preventable poverty and to get the message to members of the G20 summit that "more financial aid should be given to poorer nations". The concert was free to attend, as the focus of the concert was not to raise money, but to raise awareness amongst the Australian public, particularly the younger generation. Whether or not members of the summit discussed global poverty and financial aid is unknown.
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The purpose of the Make Poverty History Concert was to generate wide public support for the Make Poverty History campaign. Another aim of the concert was to encourage the G20 to make policies that are equitable for developing countries.
The Make Poverty History Concert was the brainchild of Daniel Adams from the Oaktree Foundation. He, along with Hugh Evans, John Connor (formally of World Vision), and a team of volunteers from the Oaktree Foundation organised the event on behalf of the Make Poverty History Coalition in Australia.
Original musicians scheduled to be performing at the concert were Sarah Blasko, Eskimo Joe, Evermore, Hilltop Hoods, John Butler Trio, Paul Kelly, Lior and George Telek. To be hosted by Dave Hughes and include guest speakers Tim Costello (brother of the host of the G20 summit Peter Costello), Hugh Evans and Trisha Broadbridge among others. On 13 November, 2006, it was announced that Jet would also be performing, coming back from the United States specifically to play, the thought being that a high scale act like Jet would really drive home the message and make the concert heard throughout the world. Other bands were also rumoured to be late additions, most prominently U2 were rumoured to appear, as they were touring, and did not have any other appointments scheduled.
Tickets were free, but it was unknown how tickets to the concert would be distributed. There were only two ways to secure a ticket:
Performing artists/setlists were as follows:
Note: This list is incomplete and will be updated as information becomes available.
| “ | "Politicians have to do what you tell them to do, so scream it from the mountains". | ” |
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— Bono
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| “ | "Australia is 19th of 22 countries in financial aid to developing nations. But in terms of public generosity, we're 2nd only to the Irish, thank you Bono and Bob Geldof". | ” |
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— Tim Costello
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| “ | "On the 11th of September 2001, nearly 3000 were killed by terrorists, it was all over the news, everyone knew about it. Yet on that same day 30,000 people died, deaths that could have been prevented, and was it on front pages of newspapers? No". | ” |
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— Tim Costello
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| “ | "I don't want to be in the generation remembered for inventing reality TV, I want my generation to be remembered for ending world poverty". | ” |
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— Kavyen Temperly
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It was also announced that there would be a live broadcast event at Docklands Waterfront, as well as several screens broadcasting live throughout the rest of Australia's major cities, such as Brisbane and Perth.
Small performances were also held in the regional Victorian cities of Geelong and Ballarat.