Musicians from around the world performed in London this past Wednesday to support Agit8, a music-based campaign focused on raising awareness for extreme poverty. The group was launched by the One Campaign, a group co-founded by Bono and Bob Geldof. The idea was to get modern groups to record newer versions of famous protest songs.

The Agit8 concert hoped to put pressure on leaders attending the G8 summit in Northern Ireland next week. Musicians that participated included Angelique Kidjo, Paloma Faith, U2, Will. i. am, Elvis Costello, and Green Day among others. Artists appeared to live and online to participate in the event.

One of the artists at the event remarked that Agit8 is a movement to push leaders to fulfill their promises and to be held accountable.  Ending poverty will grow economies around the world and result in a healthier and more educated global workforce.  The artists involved in the campaign want to motivate a new generation to fight against extreme poverty and hunger.

The One Campaign gathered the extraordinary group of musicians together to show the world that protest often leads to progress. History has shown that and British filmmaker Richard Curtis produced a film showing this that will also be shown in conjunction with the event.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Sources:The Irish Sun, NTD Television
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