There is no doubt about it that 20 years ago Live Aid took the world by storm in trying to make poverty history. On 2nd of July 2005, Bob Geldof attempted to create this phenomenon once more - only this time with the use of new technology, this event was going global. The effects were unbelievable.

Bob Geldof

How can western materialism and celebrity worship help those whose lives are ravaged by poverty, is a question asked by many cynics, but when ten cities in four continents, stood together and connected by video link, simultaneously clicked their fingers to represent the death of one child in Africa, when millions of people united to support one cause, in a world where war, disease, and killing are all very apparent, how can it not?

The purpose of Live 8 was not to raise money for these people in poverty, audiences were not asked to send in donations and give aid to these people. It was much more than that. Live 8 raised awareness of the situation, young people saw their idols in pop, rock and film take to the stage for this cause.

Generations of musicians joined together, singers that had graced the stage in Live Aid 20 years ago and singers who had hits in the charts today, a symbolic representation of how this cause needs support from every person, every generation.

The purpose of Live 8 was to send a message, a powerful message to the G8 leaders that the whole world is watching them.

"The most memorable moment of Live 8 had to be when Madonna and Birhan Woldu, survivor of the Ethiopian famine, had the stage."

Each moment of the concert will go down in history, and to pick the best few is an excruciatingly hard task but class acts, such as U2, Robbie Williams and Sting, are certainly deserving of a mention. However, the most memorable moment of Live 8 had to be when Madonna and Birhan Woldu, survivor of the Ethiopian famine, had the stage. After all this moment summed up why so many people were there.

When deciding if Live 8 was a success or a flop, it is easy to see that an event that unites so many people together in an imperfect world can never be seen as anything but brilliant. The entertainment was fantastic, the atmosphere buzzing and the cause extremely evident throughout. We now must wait for the leaders at the G8 conference and see if they are prepared to deliver and then we will see if democracy really does exist in our society.

This article is user-generated content (i.e. external contribution) expressing a personal opinion, not the views of the BBC West Yorkshire website.