Rock for the Rainforest is a biennial (formerly annual)

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

held by the

Rainforest Foundation Fund The Rainforest Foundation Fund is a charitable foundation founded in 1987 and dedicated to drawing attention to rainforests and defending the rights of indigenous peoples living there. The fund and its three sister organizations (Rainforest Fou ...

and Rainforest Foundation US, hosted by the organizations' founders

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and his wife

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was two years ...

, since 1991. In addition to the annual flagship concert, Sting holds other concerts and hosts other types of events to benefit the Rainforest Foundation. In addition to Sting, regular performers at the event include

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

. The event holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the largest environmental fundraising event. By 1996, the concerts had raised over $6,000,000; by 2000, more than $11,000,000;David Hinckley. April 13, 2000. "Stars Rain Down on Eco-Benefit." ''Daily News'' (New York). p. 54. by 2004, more than $20,000,000. Money is raised through corporate sponsorships, individual and group ticket sales, and related events like a benefit dinner and

silent auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

. The event, which so far has always been held at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

, is a "spring tradition in New York"David Hinckley. April 8, 1996. "Carnegie Sting-Along to Save Rainforest." ''Daily News'' (New York). p. 31. and a "fixture on the Manhattan charity circuit."Adam Higginbotham. August 4, 2002. "Truly Trudie." ''The Observer''. At the 1997 and 2006 events, the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

was lighted green on the night of the concert. The concert funds projects that benefit the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the world's

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s. The Rainforest Foundation Fund supports projects by three independent national organizations:

Rainforest Foundation Norway Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) working to protect the world's rainforests and to secure the legal rights of their inhabitants. It is one of the largest rainforest organizations in the world, and collabo ...

, Rainforest Foundation US, and Rainforest Foundation UK. Kayapo chief

Raoni ''Raoni'' (also known as ''Raoni: The Fight for the Amazon'') is a 1978 French-Belgian documentary film directed by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux and Luiz Carlos Saldanha on the life of Raoni Metuktire. The film portrays issues surrounding the survival ...

delivered a ten-minute speech in his native language at the first concert, which was subsequently translated into English for the audience.

List of events

References

{{Authority control Benefit concerts in the United States Carnegie Hall