Live Aid at 40: National Library of Ireland unveils digitised Live Aid photo archive
David Bowie performing at Wembley, with audience and photography pen in background; NPA BAA257.
The images are now freely accessible online to the public for the first time here.
This unique visual record presents a raw and unedited look at one of the 20th century’s most defining musical, cultural and fundraising events spearheaded by Sir Bob Geldof for famine relief in Ethiopia, as told through the lens of hundreds of international photographers.
The images capture the scale and energy of the concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on 13th July 1985, including performances by Freddy Mercury, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, U2, Sting, Madonna, Sade, Black Sabbath, Phil Collins and more. Now digitised by the National Library of Ireland, the archive offers a mix of both familiar and candid scenes from the ‘Global Jukebox’ event once broadcast to 1.9 billion people. The collection includes images depicting:
The photographs form part of the Band Aid Trust Archive donated to the NLI in 2017.
NLI’s Digitisation Process
To make this collection accessible to the public, teams at the National Library of Ireland (NLI) have been working to assess, catalogue and digitise the collection since April 2022.
This specialist work takes place across a number of locations within the NLI on Kildare Street. There, the condition of each original photographic image is assessed. Conservation work on individual items is carried out where needed, and each item receives a unique identification number and descriptive metadata as it is catalogued and arranged, all before the high-resolution scanning and digitisation process takes place.
Crónán Ó Doibhlin, Head of Special Collections at the National Library of Ireland, said: “This project highlights the power of digitisation including expert cataloguing and secure digital infrastructure to unlock the potential of the Band Aid Trust archive entrusted to the care of the National Library of Ireland. While we continue to safeguard original archive material, the public can now enjoy the spectacle and colour of Live Aid from anywhere in the world online. To process each photograph in the archive from start to finish involved a team of library and conservation experts drawn from across the NLI. The end result is a vivid, searchable record of Live Aid on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland, said: “By investing in expert teams and digitisation facilities, the National Library of Ireland ensures that culturally significant materials are both preserved and actively shared in new formats. This Band Aid Trust collection is a powerful example of how we connect people with the past in accessible, lasting ways. Our digital archive will resonate with those who remember Live Aid and invite new generations to discover the emotion and impact of this extraordinary event.”
Explore: Visit Live Aid Concert Photographs on the NLI website to browse the digital photo archive and find details on the upcoming Live Aid at the National Library of Ireland exhibition and associated events.
In Person Exhibition: Live Aid at the National Library of Ireland
Complementing the online release, the NLI will host a new exhibition, Live Aid at the National Library of Ireland, opening in September 2025 at the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar. The exhibition—free to the public—will present a curated selection of images from the Band Aid Trust donation arranged to evoke the energy and anticipation of that remarkable day.
ENDS
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