Benefit concerts raise at least £11m
Organisers of the weekend’s three all-star benefit concerts will know by the end of this week how much money was raised for victims of the US terrorist attacks, with about $17m (£11m) raised so far.
The takings from ticket sales, sponsorships, online contributions and auctions, telephone pledges and sales of merchandise all need to be added up, organisers say.
Already, the Concert for New York at Madison Square Garden, which featured Sir Paul McCartney, The Who, Billy Joel and Elton John, raised at least $14m (£9m) in ticket sales.
The United We Stand concert in Washington, where the Pentagon was attacked, raised about $3m (£2m) from ticket sales. Tickets for that event, which featured Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy, the Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync, were priced from $25 to $75 (£16 to £50).
Ticket sales figures were not yet available for the Nashville charity concert, which featured Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and others.
Prices for that concert ranged from $25 to $1,000 (£16 to £660).
In addition, the New York event featured an eBay auction of rock ’n’ roll memorabilia, and a CD and DVD from the event will sold later, with much of those proceeds going to charity.
