On August 4, a blast at the port of Beirut left more than two hundred people dead and injured thousands of others. The explosion — the result of improperly stored ammonium nitrate — levelled buildings near the port and overwhelmed hospitals, testing the fibre and fortitude of the Lebanese people.
Now, as part of the “Unis pour le Liban” (United for Lebanon) concert, France’s Eurovision 2018 act Madame Monsieur will join French, Lebanese and international artists to raise funds for the people of Lebanon. France Télévisions and France Radio are collaborating with the Red Cross France on the initiative.
The concert will be held inside the iconic Olympia in Paris. It will air on October 1 in France on France 2 and France Inter from 20:40 CET to 21:10 CET.
For its part, the European Broadcasting Union is covering the costs of sending the signal from Paris to Beirut. The EBU’s partner broadcasters can also air the show free of charge.
?? #UnisPourLeLiban : @JMGenereux s'associe à l'appel aux dons lancé par la @CroixRouge pour soutenir le peuple libanais et vous donne rendez-vous jeudi soir pour un grand concert caritatif en direct de l'Olympia !
? Vos dons sur https://t.co/pTzNvXYWOC pic.twitter.com/edj0m0zbCz
— France 2 (@France2tv) September 29, 2020
Who is singing at the United for Lebanon concert?
In addition to Madame Monsieur, the performing artists include Mika, Sting, Vianney, Florent Pagny, Clara Luciani, Hiba Tawaji, Ycare, Pascal Obispo, Bernard Lavilliers, Matthieu Chedid, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Astrig Siranossian, Yannick Noah, Patrick Bruel, and Melody Gardot.
Madame Monsieur have a long history of supporting charitable causes. As we’ve detailed on Wiwibloggs, they’ve kept in contact with Mercy — the child born on board a migrant rescue ship, who inspired their Eurovision 2018 entry — and her mother. They’ve set up a GoFundMe page and even collaborated on a children’s book to help support them.
Speaking of the concert, Vanessa O’Connor — the EBU Director of Member Relations and Communications — said:
“This initiative is at the heart of what the EBU stands for. Bringing broadcasters and audiences together, to raise awareness and connect people across continents. Thanks to the proposal of France Télévisions, we’re delighted to be able to help bring this concert to a wider audience and, in particular, to the people of Lebanon.”
Marco Tinirello, the CEO of Eurovision Services, hopes the concert will bring people together in trying times.
“These are challenging times for us all, but especially for the people of Beirut. I hope that our free pan-European distribution of this concert, which is a laudable initiative by France Télévisions, will help with the international solidarity effort at this critical time in Lebanon.”
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A wonderful initiative. The people of Beirut need a lot of support after the disaster.
You obviously don’t know the system of government in Lebanon.
It actually has a very complex government set-up but one that was made to end its civil war, which ideally allows for demographic representation for all the communities living in the country.
You’re right. It’s not a French issue. It’s a human issue.
Are you one of those?
Pls be supportive of this concert because imagine if you were in this situation
and need help and your house is in rubble. Be kind
Apples and oranges.
The benefit concert is being organized by France TV, an EBU member.
Both are important and urgent matters that need to be addressed but are not only the sole issues being faced by the world at large, with the pandemic being at the very forefront at the moment.
Public service media doing public service. This is well within their mandate.
I don’t see the point of you trying to be a party-pooper over sincere fund-raising efforts by pointing out other global issues.
If you read the article above, this is fundraiser will be produced by France TV in cooperation with the Red Cross and artists from France, Lebanon and others from overseas will take part. The EBU will provide coverage by encouraging members to pick up the broadcast if they wish so. Lebanon’s Télé Liban is a full member of the union.
So, The attack was not caused by Hezbollah but by some chemicals that had
been stored in that building which caused an explosion and that is what
they confirmed…. and what’s the trouble of helping someone in times especially
like these.
Everybody shoud watch this concert and support this initiative, it is a disaster for Lebanon, they need help and we should help them #UnitedForLebanon , thank you Ebu and France tv.
Europe and the eurofans with Lebanon, and thank you to all the singers too.
August 4th was such a dreadful day for the Lebanese people, and its consequences are still felt to this day. We have suffered for a long time under the current corrupted regime, and one can only hope that one day Lebanon can retain its past glory. I must thank all the cultural and humanitarian efforts for their stand with the citizens of Lebanon. It is truly heart warming to see what humans can do when they all work together towards a common cause.