Coronavirus: Elton John-led concert raises $8m; Rihanna pitches in
The starry benefit concert featured Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys
The Elton John-led starry benefit concert that featured Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys on Sunday has raised nearly $8 million (Dh29.37 million) to battle the coronavirus.
The musicians performed from their homes for the hourlong event that aired on Fox and iHeartMedia radio stations. The money will go to Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation.
Other performers included Tim McGraw, H.E.R. and Sam Smith, who sang ‘How Do You Sleep’ in a cappella form. Dave Grohl sang ‘My Hero’ from his studio in Hawaii, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong strummed his guitar to ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, while Camila Cabello sang ‘My Oh My’ from Miami with a guitar assist from beau Shawn Mendes.
The event took place during the time slot that was to belong to the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Procter & Gamble donated $500,000, which Fox Corporation matched. YouTube, is streaming the concert on iHeartRadio’s YouTube Channel.
Elsewhere, Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation is donating $1 million in grants toward COVID-19 response — a number that is being matched by Jay Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation.
The combined $2 million will support undocumented workers, the children of front-line health workers and first responders and the incarcerated, elderly and homeless populations in New York City and Los Angeles.
Last week, the Clara Lionel Foundation gave $5 million to the response efforts against the coronavirus, with the money going to food banks, testing, health care worker training, virus prevention and distribution of critical respiratory supplies.