Abbey Aid
Encyclopedia
Abbey Aid was an open-air pop concert held at the Abbey Stadium
, Cambridge
, England
in May 2006. It was the first of its kind in Cambridge
, targeting pop fans as opposed to the more established Cambridge Folk Festival
which targets a substantially different audience. It was a huge flop.
__FORCETOC__
project to help see Cambridge United F.C.
through a tough economic situation that had existed for many years, but came to a head in the summer of 2005, when debts escalated to an unmanageable level forcing the Club into administration
. To help the club through what looked like being a long summer (as source of income virtually dry up during this non-playing time for most football
clubs), the club started to arrange a concert to be held at its stadium over the first weekend in July 2005.
The original nature of this concert was that it would be three sessions long, starting on the Friday night with a 'Party on the Pitch' followed by a series of local bands performing on the Saturday afternoon and culminating in a pop concert on Saturday evening. Due to the club's precarious financial state preparations for the concert progressed at an extraordinarily fast rate considering the total lack of experience of the organisers in this field; logistics were arranged, local acts booked and a headline act found in the shape of pop artist Natasha Bedingfield
.
However, just when the concerts seemed to be heading in the right direction, the unlikely stumbling block of world poverty
halted progress. With the G8
summit at Gleneagles
scheduled for the week following the concerts, the nation's media had focussed on the growing campaign to focus these talks on ending world poverty, and taking this lead Bob Geldof et al. had organised a series of concerts around the world under the banner of Live 8
for the same weekend as Abbey Aid. Despite initially claiming that the concerts would carry on regardless, after poor ticket sales the event was eventually cancelled/postponed citing support for the Live 8 concerts as part reasoning.
Abbey Aid was re-scheduled and took place on Friday 26 May (under the banner 'Party on the Pitch') and on Saturday 27 May 2006, with the following acts playing:
The concert had a capacity of 7,000 despite the stadium's larger capacity, as all tickets were to stand on the pitch. None of the stands at the ground were in operation due to the club's failure to gain a safety certificate for the concert due to the way they were constructed for football matches
rather than pop concerts. In the end this was a moot point as only around 1,000 paying spectators attended each concert, well short of the organisers' expectations, and the event ended up losing money.
Abbey Stadium
The Abbey Stadium, known as R Costings Abbey Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 9,617 spectators...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in May 2006. It was the first of its kind in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, targeting pop fans as opposed to the more established Cambridge Folk Festival
Cambridge Folk Festival
The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is renowned for its eclectic mix of music and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. It occurs...
which targets a substantially different audience. It was a huge flop.
__FORCETOC__
History
As the name suggests, Abbey Aid was originally designed as a fundraisingFundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
project to help see Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
through a tough economic situation that had existed for many years, but came to a head in the summer of 2005, when debts escalated to an unmanageable level forcing the Club into administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
. To help the club through what looked like being a long summer (as source of income virtually dry up during this non-playing time for most football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
clubs), the club started to arrange a concert to be held at its stadium over the first weekend in July 2005.
The original nature of this concert was that it would be three sessions long, starting on the Friday night with a 'Party on the Pitch' followed by a series of local bands performing on the Saturday afternoon and culminating in a pop concert on Saturday evening. Due to the club's precarious financial state preparations for the concert progressed at an extraordinarily fast rate considering the total lack of experience of the organisers in this field; logistics were arranged, local acts booked and a headline act found in the shape of pop artist Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
.
However, just when the concerts seemed to be heading in the right direction, the unlikely stumbling block of world poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
halted progress. With the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
summit at Gleneagles
Gleneagles
Gleneagles may refer to the following:*Gleneagles, Scotland**The July 2005 G8 Summit held at Gleneagles, Scotland*Gleneagles Agreement*Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder*Gleneagles Hotel, Torquay, the inspiration for Fawlty Towers....
scheduled for the week following the concerts, the nation's media had focussed on the growing campaign to focus these talks on ending world poverty, and taking this lead Bob Geldof et al. had organised a series of concerts around the world under the banner of Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
for the same weekend as Abbey Aid. Despite initially claiming that the concerts would carry on regardless, after poor ticket sales the event was eventually cancelled/postponed citing support for the Live 8 concerts as part reasoning.
Abbey Aid was re-scheduled and took place on Friday 26 May (under the banner 'Party on the Pitch') and on Saturday 27 May 2006, with the following acts playing:
- Kings of Queen
- ChicoChico SlimaniYousseph "Chico" Slimani is a Welsh born singer of Moroccan descent who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor. In 2006, he had a number 1 hit on the British charts entitled "It's Chico Time"...
- Journey SouthJourney SouthJourney South are an English singing duo, consisting of brothers Andy and Carl Pemberton. They are originally from Middlesbrough, Teesside, and performed in pubs and clubs throughout the United Kingdom for over eight years, prior to achieving third place on the second UK series of television talent...
- Lee RyanLee RyanLee Ryan is an English singer-songwriter, actor and member of the British boy band Blue.-Early life:...
- Liberty XLiberty XLiberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor...
The concert had a capacity of 7,000 despite the stadium's larger capacity, as all tickets were to stand on the pitch. None of the stands at the ground were in operation due to the club's failure to gain a safety certificate for the concert due to the way they were constructed for football matches
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
rather than pop concerts. In the end this was a moot point as only around 1,000 paying spectators attended each concert, well short of the organisers' expectations, and the event ended up losing money.