Brian Eno curated a four-hour charity concert for Gaza at London's Ovo Arena Wembley, featuring 69 artists, speakers, and activists. The event raised approximately £500,000 from ticket sales, which sold out in two hours, alongside online donations and merchandise designed by fashion figures including Bella Freud and Katherine Hamnett.
The bill included musical acts Damon Albarn, Bastille, PinkPantheress, Hot Chip, and Paul Weller, as well as actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Florence Pugh, Guy Pearce, and Ramy Youssef. Palestinian voices were prominent, with exiled artist Malak Mattar serving as artistic director, and performances from oud player Adnan Joubran, rapper El Far3i, and singer Nai Barghouti.
Outside the venue, a small group of pro-Israeli protesters faced a larger crowd of Palestinian flag-wavers, but police kept them apart. Inside, the mood was supportive, with cheers for mentions of genocide and fierce speeches, such as journalist Yara Eid's tribute to 270 journalists killed in Gaza. Benedict Cumberbatch omitted a line from a Mahmoud Darwish poem about the dead ascending to heaven 'with a smile', while Richard Gere abandoned his script to speak about a 'caravan of love and compassion'.
Highlights included Neneh Cherry joining Greentea Peng for 'Seven Seconds', and pianist Faraj Suleiman performing with a jazz-prog trio. By 10pm, many attendees left wearing Together for Palestine T-shirts, signalling the event's success as a fundraising exercise.
