The Children of Chernobyl Benefit Concert was held at the Dynama Stadium in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, BSSR on April 23 and 24, 1991, five years after the nuclear reactor's meltdown. The event featured bands from around the world and served to raise awareness of the terrible legacy of

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...

as representatives from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and AEA met to discuss the causes and effects of the disaster with government officials. A documentary called ''Playing for Time'' (Let the Requiem Begin) about the concert and related issues was produced by Ian Stewart and narrated by Glenda Jackson.

History

Russian DJ Dimitri Korziouk became concerned about the aftermath of Chernobyl after visiting relatives in 1989. He solicited the help of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

's Katharine Watford Cook, and together they came up with the idea to hold a benefit concert. As UK Production Manager, Cook contacted a colleague who managed

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...

and Gary Wallis of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

(post Roger Waters era); in return they went to Belarus with Korziouk to present the idea to Stanislav Shushkevich, an official head of the Supreme Soviet of BSSR. Later an agreement was signed between MAAP International and the Belarus Ministry of Culture. At the same time, MAAP International and the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' Newspaper began administering the UK's

Children of Chernobyl A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

Charity.

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

from

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

served as the charity's chairman, and the UK artists involved included Echo & The Bunnymen, China Crisis,

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

, Martin Chambers of

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

, Sian, The Big Still and The Real East. Bands from South Africa and the USA also participated, along with Russian stars, including Boris Grebenshchikov,

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

and

Igor Talkov Igor Vladimirovich Talkov (russian: link=no, И́горь Влади́мирович Талько́в; 4 November 1956 – 6 October 1991), was a Russian rock singer-songwriter and film actor. His breakthrough came in 1987 with the David Tukhma ...

. Religious charities from the United States were also present.

References

External links

TV Press

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Newspapers and Official Documents

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *{{cite web, url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/70382278/What-it-is-for-and-Where-the-Money-Will-Go---Benefit-Concert-for-Children-of-Chernobyl, title=What it is for and Where the Money Will Go - Benefit Concert for Children of Chernobyl, publisher=docstoc.com, accessdate=2014-06-13 Benefit concerts Aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster 1991 in Belarus