Tour by Amnesty International | |||||||||||||
Start date | 2 September 1988 | ||||||||||||
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End date | 15 October 1988 | ||||||||||||
Legs | 6 | ||||||||||||
No. of shows | 20 | ||||||||||||
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Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty International, the shows featured Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, and Youssou N'Dour, plus guest artists from each of the countries where concerts were held.
Human rights activists and former prisoners from around the world, led by Sonny Venkatrathnam from South Africa, participated in the tour. At each location, the artists and Amnesty leaders held a press conference to discuss human rights, and concert-goers were provided with copies of the Universal Declaration in their language and opportunities to sign the Declaration themselves and join the worldwide human rights movement. The tour featured big concerts at big stadiums such as Camp Nou (90,000 people), Népstadion (80,000), JFK Stadium (78,000), River Plate Stadium (75,000), and Harare (75,000). Only Paris and Toronto got arena shows. The Paris concert was originally going to be held at a big racing track that could accommodate 72,000 people, but the promoters changed their minds and it was moved indoors. More than one million people attended concerts over a six-week period, volunteers distributed 1.2 million copies of the Declaration, and hundreds of thousands of concertgoers signed a petition urging governments to ratify international human rights treaties and defend advocates for human rights. [1]
The tour was made possible in part by a grant from the Reebok Foundation. The twenty concerts were the second stage of what subsequently became known collectively as the Human Rights Concerts - a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986 and 1998.
The tour was originally conceived by the Executive Director of Amnesty International's U.S. section, Jack Healey after a suggestion from former Executive Director David Hawk, with some limited input from producer Martin Lewis, who had first recruited rock musicians to perform for Amnesty years before for the Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefits. [2] [3] Healey developed the concept with famed rock promoter Bill Graham, who had worked with Healey on Amnesty's shorter, United States-only tour in 1986, titled A Conspiracy of Hope, and who acted as tour director. Healey served as executive producer, leading the team of three producers: Mary Daly, Jessica Neuwirth, and James Radner, father of George Radner. The media strategies for the tour, based on concepts originated by Healey and Lewis, [4] were developed by Healey and Daly and executed by tour media director Magdeleno Rose-Avila and Charles Fulwood, Communications Director for Amnesty International USA. [4]
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the 58 members of the United Nations at the time, 48 voted in favour, none against, eight abstained, and two did not vote.
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles "Fast Car" (1988) and "Give Me One Reason" (1995).
The Secret Policeman's Ball is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.
The United Nations Prizes in the Field of Human Rights were instituted by United Nations General Assembly in 1966. They are intended to "honour and commend people and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other United Nations human rights instruments".
The Olympic Stadium of Athens "Spyros Louis" is a sports stadium in Marousi, in the north section of Athens, Greece. With a total capacity of 75,000, it is the largest sports venue in Greece. It is a part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA) and is named after the first modern Olympic marathon gold medalist in 1896, Spyros Louis. The stadium served as the main stadium during the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Paralympics, including the opening and closing ceremonies.It is the current home ground of Panathinaikos F.C.
Article 19 is a British international human rights organisation that works to defend and promote freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide. It was founded in 1987. The organisation takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
Harvey Goldsmith is an English performing arts promoter. He is best known as a promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall.
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis.
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rights and of Amnesty's work on its 25th anniversary. The shows were headlined by U2, Sting and Bryan Adams and also featured Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and the Neville Brothers. The last three shows featured a reunion of the Police. At press conferences in each city, at related media events, and through their music at the concerts themselves, the artists engaged with the public on themes of human rights and human dignity. The six concerts were the first of what subsequently became known collectively as the Human Rights Concerts – a series of music events and tours staged by Amnesty International USA between 1986 and 1998.
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is an American non-profit non-governmental organization that is part of the worldwide Amnesty International organization.
Prudence Fenton is an American film, television and music video producer. She won a Grammy for producing and co-creating the music video for Peter Gabriel's 1992 single "Steam".
Los Pericos is an Argentine band formed in 1987. The band has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America. In 2006, the band received some notable exposure for North American audiences when featured on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. The band was also featured in the 2000 documentary, Botín de guerra.
Kevin Wall is an American entrepreneur, investor, activist and Emmy Award-winning producer of international events such as the benefit concert series Live Earth and Live 8.
Jack Healey is an American human rights activist, author and the former director of Amnesty International USA. He is best known as the organizer of Amnesty's benefit concerts in the 1980's featuring bands like U2, the Police, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Sinead O’Connor, Bob Dylan, Santana, Tracy Chapman and others.
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and supporters around the world. The stated mission of the organization is to campaign for "a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments." The organization has played a notable role on human rights issues due to its frequent citation in media and by world leaders.
Live Earth was a one-off event developed to combat climate change. The first series of benefit concerts were held on July 7, 2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in twelve locations around the world which were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio, and streamed via the Internet. It was "unclear" where ticket proceeds from ticket sales went towards.
This is a list of audio, video and film releases of The Secret Policeman's Ball series of charity shows.
The Human Rights Concerts is the collective name informally used to describe the series of 28 rock concerts presented worldwide 1986-1998 to raise funds for and awareness of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
Bill Shipsey is an Irish human rights activist, barrister (retired), artist event promoter, producer and consultant. He is the founder of Art for Amnesty, Amnesty International's global artist engagement programme, and the co-founder of Art 19. In November 2022 Art for Amnesty changed its name to Art for Human Rights. Shipsey remains its Executive Director. Art for Human Rights brings together artists of all disciplines in a collaborative effort to support human rights organisations including Amnesty International through the medium of the arts.
Jessica Neuwirth is an American lawyer and international women's rights activist. She is one of the founders of Equality Now, an international women's rights organizations established in 1992, and the founder and director of Frontline Women's Fund, a project hosted by the Sisterhood is Global Institute to support women's organizations around the world. She is the founder and President Emerita of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women's Equality.