Which London concert honored Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday in 1988?

The 1988 London concert was called the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute.

Held at Wembley Stadium on 11 June 1988, the event used music and television broadcasting to campaign for Mandela’s release and to draw international attention to apartheid. Mandela was still imprisoned at the time, so the concert was also a protest against his detention.

Major performers included Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Sting, Simple Minds, Dire Straits, and Tracy Chapman. The event was watched by a large global television audience and became one of the best-known cultural campaigns against apartheid.

It is sometimes confused with Live Aid, the 1985 benefit concert organized to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The Mandela tribute had a different purpose: political pressure and support for Mandela’s freedom.