FireAid Benefit Concerts Estimated to Have Raised $100M for Los Angeles
The FireAid benefit concerts in Los Angeles, which took place on January 30 and featured performances from dozens of artists including Billie Eilish, Green Day and Stevie Nicks, are expected to have raised more than $100 million to support recovery across the city, organizers announced on Tuesday.
The massive funding haul will support immediate needs in the Los Angeles region and aid long-term recovery from the recent wildfires that devastated the city, leaving at least 29 people dead, destroying thousands of homes and ravaging over 57,000 acres of land. More than 50 million viewers watched the major event as over 30 artists performed at the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum. Proceeds from FireAid, which streamed across 28 platforms, came from ticket sales at both of the venues, sponsorships, merchandise sales, and donations from the public, including private gifts.
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When Billy Crystal, wearing the same clothes he’d had on the day he fled the Palisades fire as it consumed his house, took to the stage on January 30 at the Kia Forum, he announced that all donations of the night would be matched by L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie Snyder. The comic and actor announced that the band U2 had just donated $1 million.
The high-energy concerts had a lineup that teetered back and forth from modern artists like Anderson.Pak, who brought out local legend Dr. Dre, to L.A. icons like Joni Mitchell, who at 81 years old, serenaded the sold-out crowd with a rare performance. Somber moments came, too, as victims of the fires shared their survival stories from the stage during the event. Actor Samuel L. Jackson was on hand to kick off the show at the Intuit Dome and shouted out the men and women who worked to contain the deadly blazes that shattered records to become the worst in L.A. history.
“We’ve got hundreds of first responders here in the house. Let’s give them a huge round of applause,” Jackson shouted, causing the crowd to erupt in applause.
The contributions made to FireAid in connection with the concerts will be distributed through L.A. non-profit the Annenberg Foundation. FireAid was the collaboration of Hollywood power couple Irving Azoff and his wife Shelli Azoff and the Azoff family, Live Nation, and the LA.. Clippers. Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet and Rick Krim produced the event.
Those still interested in donating to FireAid can do so at FireAidLA.org.
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