Benedict Cumberbatch reads Mahmoud Darwish at star-studded Gaza fundraiser
Benedict Cumberbatch reads Mahmoud Darwish at star-studded Gaza fundraiser
Dozens of artists, speakers and activists appeared at a historic fundraiser for Gaza at the Ovo Arena Wembley in London on Wednesday night.
Ticket sales for the major event organised by British artist Brian Eno, called "Together for Palestine", raised £500,000 ($682,000) for Palestinian organisations including Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Palestinian Medical Relief Society and Taawon, which runs orphan care programmes for children in Gaza.
During the show itself, which lasted for over four hours and was livestreamed on YouTube, over £1.5m ($2m) was raised.
The show featured appearances from music stars including Damon Albarn, PinkPantheress and Hot Chip. Paloma Faith performed wearing a dress made from a keffiyeh.
Bastille sang Pompeii, the band's hit song about the historical destruction of an ancient Roman city by a volcano's eruption - although it was a suitably quieter and toned-down version of the original.
Famous actors also took to the stage to speak, including Ramy Youssef, Riz Ahmed, Florence Pugh and Guy Pearce.
Some took aim at other artists who have failed to speak out about the situation in Gaza. “Silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality. It is complicity," Pugh said.
Derry Girls and Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan added: "There are many artists that I love, and that I know you love, that have hundreds of millions of followers, and they’re saying nothing in this moment."
Benedict Cumberbatch, one of Britain's most famous actors, recited part of a famous poem by the Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, "On this land, there's what's worth living", although he missed out a verse about people ascending to heaven "with a smile", which reportedly appeared on his teleprompter.
Former footballer Eric Cantona and Love Island host Laura Whitmore also addressed the crowd, and Neneh Cherry performed her hit Seven Seconds.
Many Palestinians featured throughout the event: musician Faraj Suleiman played the piano, singer Nai Barghouti performed, and journalist Yara Eid spoke about the journalists Israel has killed in Gaza.
The fundraiser's artistic director was Malak Mattar, the renowned artist from Gaza. The set featured the work of eight Palestinian artists killed by Israel.
Other speakers included Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, and broadcaster Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo.
The concert was held at the same time as a royal banquet held in honour of visiting US President Donald Trump.
It came after the UN’s top investigative body on Palestine and Israel ruled on Tuesday that Israel is guilty of the crime of genocide in Gaza, in the most authoritative pronouncement to date.
Britain is poised to recognise a Palestinian state this weekend, just over a week on from Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosting Israeli President Isaac Herzog in London.
