On 2 July 2005, a

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

concert was held at Park Place (formerly Molson Park) in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Barrie is located north of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. The event is also referred to as "Live 8 Toronto" or "Live 8 Canada". About 35,000 people, full capacity at Park Place, were at the event, ranking eighth in attendance among the ten July 2 Live 8 concerts. Had a larger venue been available, organizers originally expected upwards of 150,000 spectators at the show. ('' see Location'').

Lineup

Past Live Aid performers are listed with an asterisk (*). In order of appearance: * Dan Aykroyd and

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...

(Hosts) (BA 11:00) *

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member of the Canadian Music H ...

– "

Life Is A Highway "Life Is a Highway" is a song by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane from his second studio album, ''Mad Mad World'' (1991). The song became a number-one hit in Canada in late 1991. "Life Is a Highway" also peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' ...

", "No Regrets" (BA 11:03) * Sam Roberts – " Brother Down", "

Bridge To Nowhere A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively. There are fi ...

", "Hard Road" (BA 11:29) *

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

* – " Back To You", " Open Road", "

This Side Of Paradise ''This Side of Paradise'' is the debut novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1920. It examines the lives and morality of carefree American youth at the dawn of the Jazz Age. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive ...

", " All for Love/

Tears Are Not Enough "Tears Are Not Enough" is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of Canadian artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of a number of such supergroup singles reco ...

" (BA 11:48) * DobaCaracol and

K'naan Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali Canadians, Somali-Canadian musician. He ...

) "Nakilé", "Amazone", "Anda", "Soobax", "Until The Lion Learns To Speak" (BA 12:14) * Simple Plan – " Shut Up!", "Jump", " Addicted", "

Welcome to My Life "Welcome to My Life" is a song by Canadian rock band Simple Plan. "Welcome to My Life" was released to radio on September 14, 2004, as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Still Not Getting Any...'' (2004). It peaked at number 40 ...

" (BA 12:40) *

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

– "

If I Had a Rocket Launcher "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, from his 1984 album '' Stealing Fire''. The song was inspired by Cockburn's visit, sponsored by Oxfam, to Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico following the coun ...

", "Call It Democracy", "Waiting For A Miracle" (BA 13:16) *

Les Trois Accords Les Trois Accords is a Canadian rock band from Drummondville, Québec. The band launched its first album, ''Gros Mammouth Album,'' in 2003. Some of the songs from that album, include "''Hawaïenne''", "''Saskatchewan''" and "''Lucille''". Their ...

– "Hawaiienne", "Loin D'ici", "Turbo Sympathique" (BA 13:42) *

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...

& The Carpet Frogs – "Hey You", " You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", " Takin' Care of Business" (BA 14:08) * Deep Purple – " Highway Star", "

Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, first released from the band's sixth studio album ''Machine Head'' (1972), which chronicles the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino. In a 2004 publication by ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

", "

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

" (BA 14:27) *

African Guitar Summit African Guitar Summit is a group of nine Canadian musicians, all of African origin, who perform traditional songs from their native countries. History The African Guitar Summit was organized in Toronto as part of a performance project for CBC Rad ...

(BE 14:56) * Great Big Sea – "

Donkey Riding "Donkey Riding" is a traditional work song or sea shanty originally sung in Canada, Scotland and the Northeastern United States. It has also become popular as a children's song. The earliest written record of the song dates to 1857. The tune and ...

", " Excursion Around The Bay" (BA 15:22) *

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

– " Love Can Move Mountains" (BA 15:40) * Blue Rodeo – "Heart Like Mine", "

Try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

", "Are You Ready" (BA 15:53) *

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

– "Restless", "

If You Could Read My Mind "If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce. It reached 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in ...

", "Let It Ride" (BA 16:21) *

Our Lady Peace Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and ...

– "

Bird on the Wire "Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album ''Songs from a Room''. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, titled "Like a Bird", was added to ...

", "Where Are You", "

Innocent Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

" (BA 16:47) * Jet – " You're Like This", "

Look What You've Done "Look What You've Done" is a song by Australian rock band Jet, released on 8 March 2004 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Get Born'' (2003). The single was initially released in the United Kingdom in March 2004 before bein ...

", "

Are You Gonna Be My Girl "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" is a song by Australian rock band Jet from their 2003 debut album, ''Get Born''. It was released as the first single from the album on 18 August 2003 in the United States and on 1 September 2003 in Australia. The son ...

" (BA 17:13) *

Jann Arden Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is famous for her signature ballads, "Could I Be Your Girl" and " Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date. Early life and educat ...

– "Where No One Knows Me", "Willing To Fall Down", "Good Mother" (BA 17:29) * Mötley Crüe – "

Kickstart My Heart "Kickstart My Heart" is a song by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, originally released on their 1989 album, '' Dr. Feelgood''. Released as the album's second single in 1989, "Kickstart My Heart" reached #27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

", "

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * Home, Sweet Home (1914 film), ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * Home Sweet Home (1917 film), ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * Home Sweet ...

", " Dr. Feelgood" (BA 17:55) *

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

– "

My Music at Work "My Music at Work" is a song by Canadian rock group The Tragically Hip. It is the first single and title track from the band's seventh studio album, '' Music @ Work''. The song was a hit in the band's native country, peaking at 2 on Canada' ...

", "

Ahead By A Century "Ahead by a Century" is a song by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, '' Trouble at the Henhouse''. The song reached number one on Canada's singles chart, and is the band' ...

", " Poets" (with Dan Aykroyd) (BA 18:23) * DMC – "

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

", "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, '' John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original ve ...

", "

Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...

" (BA 18:49) * Barenaked Ladies – " Brian Wilson", " If I Had $1,000,000" (BA 19:15) *

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

* – "

Four Strong Winds "Four Strong Winds" is a song written by Ian Tyson and recorded by Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia. Tyson has noted that he composed the song in about 20 minutes in his then manager Albert Grossman's New York apartment in 1962. A significant compos ...

" (with Pegi Young), "When God Made Me", "

Rockin' in the Free World "Rockin' in the Free World" is a song by Canadian-American singer, musician and songwriter Neil Young, released on Young's seventeenth studio album ''Freedom'' (1989).Buckley, 1206 Two versions of the song bookend the album, similarly to "Hey Hey, ...

", "

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...

" (BA 19:49)

Pre-show planning

Lineup

Sibling duo

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumenta ...

were slated to be in the lineup, but had to drop out close to the date due to illness. Likewise, Burton Cummings was to perform with

, but also didn't attend, apparently also due to illness.

Location

For weeks leading up to the concert, several locations were considered as potential hosts for the Canadian Live 8 concert.

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

, Ottawa,

was the first choice for the concert. However, on June 10, the federal

Public Works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

and

Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the Ministry (government department), department of the Cabinet of Canada, Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to init ...

departments, along with the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

rejected the idea of using the site for Live 8. Government officials felt that Parliament Hill, with a capacity of 75,000 people was too small for the event, which was originally expected to attract over 150,000 participants. They were also concerned about damage to the local buildings and grounds. On June 15, Bob Geldof announced

, Ontario as the host of the Canadian Live 8 concert. At that point, several venues were considered as candidates for the concert:

Downsview Park Downsview Park is a large urban park located in the Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park's name is officially bilingual due to it being federally owned and managed, and was first home to de Havilland Canada, an aircraf ...

, which hosted the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert and a

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...

mass;

Exhibition Place Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...

, which also hosted World Youth Day activities;

Molson Amphitheatre The Budweiser Stage, originally known as the Molson Amphitheatre, is a concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the grounds of Ontario Place and hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, country, and jazz. The ...

, and Sunnyside Beach, which would have involved floating stages on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

. Ultimately, none of these considerations were used for the concert. There were several financial and logistical problems related to these bids. For example, both Downsview Park and Molson Amphitheatre were hosting concerts on Canada Day (the day before Live 8) and it was impossible to set up the Live 8 stage a day before the concert. On June 21, Park Place in Barrie, Ontario was finally announced as the official venue for the Canadian Live 8 concert by promoter,

Michael Cohl Michael Cohl is a Canadian concert promoter, theatrical producer and touring impresario. He is the former Chairman of Live Nation. Cohl now runs S2BN Entertainment, with offices in New York and Toronto. Having been named the Howard Hughes of ...

References

{{Live 8 concerts Live 8 events 2005 in Canadian music 2005 in Ontario July 2005 events in Canada Culture of Barrie