World Liberty Concert

World Liberty Concert
The logo of the World Liberty Concert, as broadcast live.
GenreRock music
Pop music
Dates8 May 1995
Location(s)Stadsblokken [nl], Arnhem, Netherlands
Years active1995
FoundersArno Geul
Alan Parsons
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Overview of the concert, showing the stage next to the bridge.

The World Liberty Concert was a concert that took place on 8 May 1995 next to the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem in the Netherlands. The concert was held in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Europe and is the largest memorial concert ever held in the Netherlands and was thought of by Arno Geul.[1] Preparations lasted for about a year.[2]

Performances were provided by Alan Parsons (with Chris Thompson and Mick Mullins), Art Garfunkel, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Wet Wet Wet, Candy Dulfer, UB40 and René Froger. Also present was the Metropole Orkest consisting of 80 men and the Gelders Opera and Operetta Gezelschap (GOOG) choir. The event-specific configuration of The Alan Parsons Project, which had been a studio group only, was one of the first live performances of the band's material, albeit without cofounder Eric Woolfson (who had split from Parsons before Try Anything Once and the accompanying tour captured on Alan Parsons Live); it was performed under the name of Alan Parsons Band.[3] The musical performances were accompanied by historical readings by Walter Cronkite and an illustrative performance by the Royal Netherlands Army.

The broadcast portion of the concert lasted about 2 hours, was attended by 85,000 people and was broadcast in 45 countries, of which 31 were live. The entire concert lasted over 12 hours.

  1. ^ "The Alan Parsons Project List of Frequently Asked Questions: Okay, then what is the World Liberty Concert?". Roadkill Consulting. September 1996. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  2. ^ "World Liberty Concert". The Production Factory. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ^ "THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT: BOOTLEG: Alan Parsons Band, The Metropole Orchestra, Choir & Guests - 1995-05-08 - Arnhem, NL". THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2014.