From Wembley to Philadelphia: New National Library of Ireland Exhibition unites images from Live Aid concerts at the National Photographic Archive

Launched today by the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, TD, and attended by  Bob Geldof, the exhibition brings audiences face-to-face with the colour, energy and emotion of the two iconic Live Aid concerts held at Wembley Stadium and JFK Stadium in July 1985.

In this new exhibition, more than seventy photographs and images have been carefully curated from the Band Aid Trust Archive, generously donated to the NLI in 2017. Through a series of striking displays, the exhibition brings audiences on a visual journey of the Live Aid concerts, capturing the behind-the-scenes preparations, atmosphere and iconic performances by bands and artists on both sides of the Atlantic as the day unfolded.

From Status Quo, U2 and David Bowie in London, to Black Sabbath and Run DMC in Philadelphia Live Aid at the National Library of Ireland immerses visitors in the scale and spirit of this iconic event from the intimacy of the National Photographic Archive.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, TD, said: “Live Aid is one of the defining cultural moments of the 20^th century, and it is an honour to open this new exhibition. These powerful images invite us to not only remember the Live Aid concerts but also to reflect on their legacy and the global humanitarian response behind the images. My Department is delighted to fund the National Library of Ireland in its role and ongoing work to preserve such legacies and ensure they remain freely accessible to the public.”

Donor, Bob Geldof, said: “Band Aid has gifted its archives to the National Library of Ireland. It seemed a fitting home since Ireland magnificently rose to the day and pro rata gifted more to Live Aid than any other country on Earth. It also seemed appropriate as so much of the logic of Live Aid was formed by its organisers and participants in Ireland in their youth.

“As the custodians of this trove sift through the vast amounts of documents this exhibition will be the first of many. The Band Aid Trustees are satisfied that the National Library cherish their gift and understand its values not just as a source of contemporary cultural history but as a future resource for further exhibitions of use to students of politics, economics and development but also to schoolchildren who may come to learn that the world is not immutable. That change is possible and this is how, long ago another generation set about enacting that change through using a common global language called RocknRoll, the genius of their artists and the generosity of their audience. Band Aid continues working for the poorest people in Africa up to the moment you are reading this.”

Dr. Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland, said: “In Bob Geldof’s introduction to Live Aid: The Greatest Show on Earth he asks readers to ‘remember this day all of your lives’. Thanks to the Band Aid Trust’s generous archive donation to the National Library of Ireland, the memory of Live Aid lives on through the photographs, images, artwork and personal letters now in our care. The National Library of Ireland is delighted to share a selection of these with the public in such a vibrant exhibition. In preserving and presenting this iconic material, the legacy of Live Aid will be enhanced and continue to endure in Ireland’s cultural memory.”

This free exhibition opens to the public daily (10.00am – 4.00pm) from 24^th September 2025. The exhibition’s programming will also include a series of outreach initiatives by the NLI, examining Ireland’s understanding of Ethiopia in the post-Live Aid era and the country’s rich cultural traditions, past and present.

Live Aid at the National Library of Ireland follows the work of librarians at the NLI cataloguing and digitising a selection of material from 400 boxes of administrative material, artefacts and 3D objects, as well as over 2,000 images documenting the Live Aid concerts. The 2,000 newly digitised images were made publicly available by the National Library in July this year, commemorating the 40^th anniversary of Live Aid and are now permanently accessible online at www.nli.ie

The Band Aid Trust Archive includes many more documents, personal stories, correspondence with donors, governments and broadcasters, as well as artwork, sound recordings, and hundreds of personal letters, reflecting the scale and complexity of the effort behind Live Aid. The archive has been catalogued by the NLI and will be made available to researchers in due course.

Those who visit the NLI in the coming years will be able to see this material in our new exhibition galleries in the West Wing of the main NLI building on Kildare Street following its planned major redevelopment. It will also tell the broader story of the Band Aid Trust. Further plans include a travelling exhibit for public and cultural centres throughout Ireland, bringing this significant collection to towns and communities around the country.

ENDS