Venezuela Aid Live

Venezuela Aid Live
Logo featuring Venezuela and the Guayana Esequiba
Date22 February 2019 (2019-02-22)
VenueTienditas Bridge
LocationCúcuta, Colombia
Coordinates7°52′33″N 72°27′15″W / 7.875924°N 72.454295°W / 7.875924; -72.454295
TypeBenefit concert
Organized byRichard Branson with Bruno Ocampo, Fernan Ocampo and Ricardo Leyva[1]
WebsiteVenezuelaAidLive.com

Venezuela Aid Live was a concert to benefit Venezuela in Cúcuta, Colombia, a city near the Venezuelan border, on 22 February 2019. The all-day concert, called Música por Venezuela: Ayuda y Libertad (transl. Music for Venezuela: Aid and Freedom),[2] was organized by Richard Branson and Bruno Ocampo, and featured over thirty of the best known Latin American artists[3] from nine countries. The concert's slogan was, "Let the stars shine for all".[4]

Venezuela Live Aid's charity page said, "Not that long ago, [Venezuela] was the wealthiest country in South America. Now it is facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere."[5] The purpose of the concert was to raise money and to pressure Nicolás Maduro[3] to "open Venezuela's border so humanitarian aid stockpiled on Venezuela's borders can finally reach those millions who need it the most".[6] Donations of US$2.5 million were raised online in the first four days after the concert.[7]

The concert was entirely funded through donations,[8] artists performed without charge,[9] and the event itself was free.[10] The concert was livestreamed on the Internet, with the aim to raise funds via website donations.[11] The only webpage authorized for donations was the official website at www.VenezuelaAidLive.com.[12]

  1. ^ "'Venezuela Aid Live' concert watched by live audience of more than 300,000 people in Cucuta raises millions for humanitarian aid" (PDF) (Press release). Venezuela Aid Live. 28 February 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Llegó el momento de actuar por Venezuela" [The time has come to act for Venezuela]. ayudaylibertad.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Univision was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Venezuela Aid Live Press Release No. 1, 15 Feb. 2019" (PDF) (Press release). Virgin. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Venezuela Aid Live". venezuelaaidlive.gvng.org. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference EveryDollar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cobo, Leila (28 February 2019). "How Venezuela Aid Live went from idea to raising millions in under a month". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference BillBoard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference EsperaSalvar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference QuienBranson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference BillBoardRival was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Lo que debe saber del 'Venezuela Aid Live'" [What you should know about Venezuela Aid Live]. La Opinion (in Spanish). 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.