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International Stars and Singers Join in Global Concert for Haiti

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More than a 100 of the world’s most celebrated actors and entertainers came together in a two-hour fundraising concert for Haiti that blanketed television stations in the United States and was carried by a number of global television networks.

The concert, broadcast January 22, was streamed online and carried by mobile phone networks as well. The digital music and video music Web site iTunes is making the music from the concert available with all proceeds going to relief efforts.

Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, organized by actor George Clooney in partnership with cable network MTV, featured more than 20 musical performers ranging from Haitian star Wyclef Jean, Sting, Jay-Z, and Bruce Springsteen to Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, and Madonna — all performing live in either Los Angeles, London or New York City.

“If Haiti has struggled so much before, why do we feel we can make a difference now?” Clooney said. “This is a tragedy that reaches across all borders, all boundaries and demands our attention, our help, and our compassion as fellow human beings.”

Concert donations will be divided among such relief organizations as the U.N. World Food Programme, Red Cross, Oxfam America, the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, and Wyclef Jean’s Yelé Haiti Foundation.

SOMBER BUT STAR-FILLED CONCERT

The performers were joined in Los Angeles by many of Hollywood’s best-known stars, some of whom spoke about the suffering and need in Haiti in the earthquake’s aftermath, while others answered phones to take donation pledges.

Despite its star power, the concert remained somber in tone, with musical performances interspersed with images of the devastation in Haiti. CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper provided live commentary from a ruined orphanage in Haiti’s capital, Port Au Prince.

In many cases, the actors and singers were neither announced nor identified — although most viewers had little trouble identifying Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Clint Eastwood or Brad Pitt.

When the camera panned the phone banks, it was possible to pick out such figures as director Steven Spielberg and actors Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Reese Witherspoon, and Tim Robbins taking phone calls.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson described the efforts of the key relief organizations working in Haiti. “In all of this destruction, there is something positive we can hold on to,” he said. “We have a chance to rebuild in a sustainable way.”

Actress Halle Berry told the story of a little boy rescued eight days after being buried in rubble, and actor Morgan Freeman spoke of Haiti’s enduring beauty.

Former President Bill Clinton, now serving as U.N. special envoy for Haiti, talked about how he long had been captivated by Haiti’s culture and history and how the country had been making progress to overcome years of poverty and oppression. But now, he said, “Our focus must remain on saving as many lives as possible, tonight and in the months and years to come.”

Singer Beyoncé and the group Coldplay performed from London, which also featured a collaboration on a song, “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amor),” by rapper Jay-Z, singers Rihanna and Bono, and U2 guitarist The Edge.

In New York, Wyclef Jean gave a heartfelt performance of the reggae classic “Rivers of Babylon” and his own song, “Yelé,” and Emeline Michel, known as the queen of Haitian music sang “Many Rivers to Cross.”

BENEFIT CONCERTS

Benefit concerts like Hope for Haiti Now have a history that goes back to the 1970s — and even earlier if you include what first were called “television fundraising marathons,” or telethons. The best-known were 16-hour television events hosted by actor and comedian Jerry Lewis for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, beginning in 1955.

The first major celebrity benefit concert, however, was former Beatle George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 — even though it wasn’t actually televised. Another Beatle, Paul McCartney, organized a series of Concerts for the People of Kampuchea in 1979, to help Cambodia recovery from the ravages of the Khmer Rouge.

The event that set the standard for many years was Live Aid in 1985, directed toward famine relief in Ethiopia and produced by musical impresario Bob Geldorf. Live Aid, which took place in stadiums in London and Philadelphia, was the first globally televised benefit concert and was seen by an estimated 400 million viewers in 60 countries.

In the last decade, benefit concerts with big-name rock and pop musicians have been held for the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001, the devastating 2004 Pacific tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

At the beginning of Hope for Haiti, Clooney said, “The Haitian people need our help. They need to know they are not alone. They need to know that we still care.”

As the concert concluded, Wyclef Jean embodied the spirit of Haiti as he sang. “Earthquake, we see the earth shake — but the spirit of the Haitian people will never break!”

Help save lives in Haiti: Visit the White House Web site for options. The International Committee of the Red Cross provides a service to help people find loved ones, and the State Department has a Person Finder where people can post information about persons missing in Haiti.