A concert as part of Rock’n EMU festival
Bob Geldof set for Famagusta concert
Musician and activist Bob Geldof is set to perform a concert within the Turkish Cypriot community of Famagusta this Friday.
According to media reports, the concert will take place at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Stadium in Famagusta with Geldof set to perform with his band – the Boomtown Rats.
The concert will be part of the ‘Rock’n EMU’ festival taking place in the north of Cyprus.
The ‘Rock’n EMU’ music festival is organised every year by the EMU and Friday’s event will be its seventh edition. Geldof and The Boomtown Rats’ concert will be opened by the Music Club of the DAU and the Famagusta Music Band.
Organisers say the festival will get underway on Friday at 7.30pm while admission to the concert will be free of charge.
Geldof is widely recognised more for his activism as opposed to his music, especially when it comes to raising awareness in the impoverished areas of Africa.
In 1984, he founded the charity super-group Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The group followed up the concert with Live Aid the following year and the Live 8 concerts in 2005.
Back in 2012, Julio Iglesias launched a lawsuit against the coalition in the north after claiming that he was duped into signing a contract to perform in the Turkish Cypriot community.
Iglesias’ management company had been calling for $10 million in damages, saying they had been “deceived” and that they did not know about political situation on the island.
In 2010, a concert by Jennifer Lopez, scheduled to take place in north of Cyprus, was cancelled after extensive campaigning by Greek Cypriot groups. Rihanna also cancelled a concert after a similar campaign.
