Live Aid + Phil Collins + Brigadoon 2020

This week celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Live Aid benefit concert.

Live Aid left an indelible impression on me.

In that year of 1985, I would have completed the eighth grade and would be entering my freshman year of high school in just a few weeks time.

Not only was this a hopeful and endless time of wonderment and possibility in my life, but there was a concert which would gather some of the world's top musicians and entertainers in the noble effort to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia, where hundreds of thousands of people were starving to death.

Not only was this a worthy cause, but the organizers of the concert had massive ambitions calling for concerts and performances to be staged in Philadelphia and London.

It is no wonder in the days leading up to the Live Aid benefit concert on Saturday, July 13, 1985, young people like me were being told that this was our generation’s Woodstock.

One massive display of moxie from the Live Aid experience which has never escaped me was the ambitious execution and instant classic performances.

One of the biggest was Phil Collins.

Phil Collins had the ambition of performing two sets on Live Aid on each side of the Atlantic, at both London's Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's JFK Stadium.

After finishing his Wembley set, Collins headed to a helicopter, which flew him to Heathrow Airport, where he then caught a supersonic Concorde jet to New York City and then grabbed another helicopter to Philadelphia.

Amazing.

Prior to boarding the Concorde jet to New York City, Collins reflecting on the question regarding performing two sets across the Atlantic in one day, remarked to a reporter, "We thought if it could be done, wouldn't it be good to do it."

So it is with that spirit of Live Aid and Phil Collins we present Brigadoon 2020.

Brigadoon is organizing its first streamed gathering of entrepreneurs and thought leaders this fall.

For one day in September, join Brigadoon - digitally - as we bring together a sensational mix of doers and dreamers discussing emerging issues shaping commerce and culture.

In a first for Brigadoon, we go all-digital in a program that will have 20 20-minute conversations beamed from whereabouts all across the world.

Prepare for nearly 7 hours of hearing from the top professionals shaping commerce and influencing culture.  

Brigadoon 2020 is going to be unlike anything we have ever curated before in terms of format, but the event will still be powerpoint free and focused on the power of conversation. Plus, we will be able to bring in voices from across the world.

In these extraordinary times, it essential that Brigadoon continues to gather participants committed to civic engagement, solving problems, the power of conversation, embracing curiosity, and building businesses.  

Quick details:

- Saturday, September 19, 2020

- Streaming starts @ 12:00 Noon ET

- Watch Live or On-demand

- Tickets starting @ $20.20

Website:

www.thebrigadoon.com/2020

Current conversations with:

AJ Schnack - Independent filmmaker + director of “Long Gone Summer”, an official selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, which chronicles Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s storied 1998 home run chase

Melanie Brock - Australian businesswoman and former diplomat living in Tokyo

Christine Baratta - Managing Editor for Bloomberg Television + Radio in DC

Kirk Cheyfitz - Storyteller, narrative strategist, writer for progressive causes + candidates

Gerald Ashley - Adviser, speaker + writer on risk + uncertainty

Virginia Heffernan - Author, Los Angeles Times opinion columnist, and contributing editor @ Wired

Fergus Connolly - Coach, teacher, mentor, author, speaker, and expert in team sport + human performance

Matt Hranek - Explorer, eater + drinker + founder + editor of Wm Brown magazine

Frederik De Pue  - Award-winning executive chef + owner @ Flamant

Ian Macallan - former police officer working for the Met's Serious Crime and Operations Command in London and conservationist in Zambia

Tatum Neill - DJ + creative director of Paris Parker Salons + North American Artistic Director, Social Media for Aveda

If you want to be more then a participant or have an idea on a conversationalist, drop me a note.

Thanks for supporting Brigadoon.

-Marc

Marc A. Ross is the founder of Brigadoon and a communications strategist and business advisor working at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics.  Ross specializes in communications, marketing, and advocacy for economic diplomacy and global commerce.