On This Day, June 11, 1988 …
Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Dire Straits were among the artists who performed at the 70th birthday tribute concert for anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.
The concert took place at London’s Wembley Stadium and also featured performances by Simple Minds, Joe Cocker, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Steven Van Zandt, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eurythmics and more.
The concert was broadcast to over 60 countries, with an estimated 600 million people tuning in.
Mandela was still imprisoned in South Africa at the time of the concert. He was later released in February 1990. A second concert celebrating his release, Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa, took place at Wembley in April 1990.