Sport Aid (also known as Sports Aid) was a sport-themed campaign for African famine relief held in May 1986, involving several days of all-star exhibition events in various sports, and culminating in the Race Against Time, a 10 km fun run held simultaneously in 89 countries. Timed to coincide with a UNICEF development conference in New York City, Sport Aid raised $37 million for Live Aid and UNICEF. A second, lower-key Sport Aid was held in 1988.
Organisation
The event was organised by chairman and founder Chris Long, Bob Geldof (Band Aid and Live Aid) and John Anderson (Head of Global Special Events, UNICEF).
A central event was the lighting of a symbolic torch at the United Nations by Omar Khalifa, a champion Sudanese 1500m runner, to signal the start of the 10K races around the world. Khalifa began his journey to the UN on May 16, when he lit a torch from the embers of a fire in El Moweilih relief camp in the Sudan. He was then flown to Athens, where the torch of Africa and the Olympic torch were symbolically joined. This marked the first time the Olympic torch had been lit outside of an Olympic Games. Khalifa then ran through 12 European capitals, and was greeted by leaders such as Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, François Mitterrand, Helmut Kohl and Pope John Paul II.
The events in the United States were not widely publicized, due in part to the Hands Across America fundraiser, to fight hunger and homelessness, occurring around the same time. Sport Aid was scheduled to take place on the eve of a UN special session on Africa; therefore, the conflict could not be avoided.
Other events
Other events included the Ultimate Cricket Match between the West Indies and the Rest of the World, and a figure skating exhibition featuring Torvill and Dean. The charity run and the concert were broadcast in a two-hour programme and was expected to be viewed by 750 million viewers in 124 countries.
Race Against Time
Race
On Sunday, September 11 1988, runners around the world in 300 cities ran, jogged, or walked 5 kilometers, having collected sponsorships or donations to CARE to support African famine relief charities. The race began at 2:30 pm UTC. Celebrities like Madonna, Sting, Eurythmics, and Steve Winwood took part in the race as well.
Video game / aftermath
Also released was the video game tie-in The Race Against Time. The game is considered to have been a commercial failure; Sport Aid had predicted it would raise £1 million for the charity; it instead sold 25,000 copies. Following the game's failure, it was revealed in December 1988 that Sport Aid Limited had £2 million in debt.
See also
- Sport Relief
- Children in Need
- Band Aid
- USA for Africa