Paul McCartney, who last week was reported to be looking to stage his own benefit in New York City, has agreed to play “The Concert for New York” to raise awareness of the fundraising efforts on a broader scale.
VH1, Cablevision and Miramax Films will join together on Saturday night, October 20th at New York City’s Madison Square Garden to present LIVE “The Concert for New York,” a one night only music event to benefit the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City. The concert also will pay tribute to the rescue workers who worked tirelessly to save the lives of others.
PAUL McCARTNEY: “I’m doing this benefit concert because, in short, I love New York. I was there when the tragedy occurred and I witnessed the last moments of The World Trade Center twin towers. Heather and I were sitting on a plane at the airport, waiting to take off. Suddenly the captain announced that all the planes had been grounded. From our side of the plane we could see the Towers smoking and in flames, we couldn’t believe what had happened.
“A tragedy like this affects everyone and everything. A few days after the attack we went down to the Canal Street area and you could smell it and feel it, people were still in a daze.
“At first I felt useless. I thought ‘what can I do?’ I knew I had to do something to help. So I’m going to do this concert. Although the events are dreadfully sad, in a way I was glad I was in New York when it was all happening because I was able to witness the tremendous heroism that has come out of the city since the disaster.
“This concert will honour those heroes and heroines and I’m very proud to be doing that. It will benefit the families of the victims, including the families of the firefighters involved. I feel a connection with the firefighters because my Dad was a volunteer fireman in Liverpool during World War Two.
“So I’m going to do this benefit show to show solidarity. The thing is that people may disagree with how we live, but this attack has crossed the line; it is a real no-no and you have to show the people who have done this that we are not going to put up with it.
“You’ve got to stand up and do something. I can’t fight fires, but I can do a concert. It will be a difficult night, but it needs doing and I hope to help raise a lot of money for the families of the victims.”
Tickets for “The Concert for New York” go on sale Sunday, October 7 at 12 noon through Ticketmaster phones, outlets and www.ticketmaster.com.
