Why Artists Like Ed Sheeran And Jessie Ware Have Been Performing In People's Living Rooms
Kind of made our lives a little...
Emily HooleyYesterday 1000 artists, including the likes of music royalty Ed Sheeran, Rudimental and Jessie Ware, put on a total of 300 gigs around the world... in people’s living rooms.
And the best part? It was all a show of solidarity for refugees around the world.
The global concert series, organised by Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds, was called Give a Home and went to 60 countries yesterday, bringing together refugee artists and activists with some of the most famous faces in music. All the money raised went to support Amnesty’s human rights work around the world.
Here's a bit of Ed doing what he does best.
Jessie Ware also did a live-stream of her performance on Facebook.
Let’s face it, governments haven’t been the most compassionate in reacting to what has been the biggest refugee crisis since WW2. Although the refugee crisis affects the lives of more than 22 million people worldwide, more than HALF of refugees are being hosted by just 10 out of the world’s 193 countries... and those 10 aren't even the world’s wealthiest nations!
That’s why Amnesty started their campaign ‘I welcome’ (which Give a Home is part of) – to call for a better reaction to the crisis from governments around the world who should be playing a more equal part in hosting refugees and helping them reach safety, rather than shutting them out.
Commenting on the concert series, Secretary General of Amnesty International (Salil Shetty) said, “Give a Home is about celebrating what people can do and are doing in support of refugees. Where governments are building walls, deploying warships and closing doors, we are singing a different song: We welcome refugees."
Yaas, we LOVED this campaign. Not just because some of our fave artists took part (also among the list of performers were Emeli Sandé, Jake Bugg, Tom Odell, JP Cooper, Gregory Porter and Hozier), but because it was all about people around the world opening their homes in a huge gesture of inclusion, solidarity and empathy for the millions of people out there who’ve been forced to flee their homes to reach safety.
To see more from the event and to contribute to Amnesty's campaign, click here.
Our Fave Celebs Fighting To Save The Planet
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Ian Somerhalder: The Vampire Diaries hunk formed the Ian Somerhalder Foundation to help protect and restore the planet, and he believes the environment and all its creatures are interconnected.Getty -
Shailene Woodley: “It’s more than just recycling or picking up a piece of trash, or turning off the water when you’re brushing your teeth. It’s about treating everything with compassion and love, including humanity.”Getty -
Adam Levine: “We’ve got to kick our carbon habit, and that means changing our culture. It’s always been young people who lead the way when it comes to new trends and styles and if you start making changes in your own life, the world will follow."Getty -
Jennifer Aniston: “When I learn about something new that I can do in my everyday life that... can help the environment, I do it. Eventually, it just becomes second nature. If we all… do, we just might be able to affect the world for the better."Getty -
Leonardo DiCaprio: “The environment and the fight for the world’s poor are inherently linked. The planet can no longer wait, the underprivileged can no longer be ignored.”Getty -
Selena Gomez: [About her trip with UNICEF as an ambassador] “You don't actually realise just how important simple clean water is, whether it's something you cook with, something you bathe in, you shower in."Getty -
Matt Damon: “Clean water is only as far away as the nearest tap, and there are taps everywhere… But the reality is, the water in our toilets is cleaner than the water that most people are drinking.”Getty -
Gisele Bundchen: “I have loved the environment since I was a small child… we are wasting the very resources that make life on this planet possible.”Getty
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