Sport Aid was a sport-themed campaign for African famine relief held in May 1986, involving several days of all-star exhibition events in various sports, and culminating in the Race Against Time, a 10 km fun run held simultaneously in 89 countries.
The event was organised by Chris Long (Chairman and Founder), Bob Geldof (Band Aid and Live Aid) and John Anderson (Head of Global Special Events, UNICEF).
On Sunday 25 May 1986, 19.8 million runners around the world ran, jogged or walked 10 kilometres with sponsorship donations.
Sport Aid was not widely publicised in the US due in part to its clash with Hands Across America (Sport Aid was scheduled to take place on the eve of a UN special session on Africa, and so the timing conflict could not be avoided).
Related Posts
Vietnam War French Indochina was captured by the Japanese during WWII. After 1945 the French tried unsuccessfully to restore their rule in…
Space Race, The In the 1950's and 1960's, the USA and the Soviet Union raced each other to be first into space. The…
Live Aid (1985) On 25 November 1984, 36 British recording artists gathered at a studio in Notting Hill, London, to donate their time…
Woodstock It remains the defining assembly of rock music - an unprecedented gathering of at least 300,000 young, long-haired, raggedy clad…
Farm Aid In the 1980s American farmers were confronted by a crisis more severe than any since the Great Depression. Many who…
Granville Train Disaster (1977) Tuesday 18 January 1977 started as an ordinary working day in Sydney, Australia. Then at 8:12 am, the 6:09 city-bound…
Cyclone Tracy (1974) The excitement of Christmas Eve 1974 was turned into stark horror in Darwin, Australia, as the killer wind of Cyclone…
Monterey Pop Festival (1967) The most memorable musical event of 1967 was the Monterey International Pop Festival, held in the Californian sunshine over three…
