Band Aid announces 40th anniversary edition of "Do They Know It’s Christmas?"

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure originally spearheaded the campaign in 1984 to raise money for the Ethiopian famine, have re-recorded versions in 1989 and 2004, with the latter being altered to reflect the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. The 30th anniversary edition, released in 2014, featured the likes of Adele, Chris Martin of Coldplay, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, and Sinead O'Connor, helped to raise donations to tackle ebola in West Africa.

The 40th anniversary edition will combine different versions of the track, recorded over the years, featuring Harry Styles, George Michael, Sinead O'Connor, Seal, Kool and the Gang, Boy George, Sugababes, Sam Smith, Bono and Chris Martin. They will sing over music performed by a combination of artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Thom Yorke, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Jonny Greenwood, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

Band Aid is returning with a new version of 'Do They Know It's Christmas.'

Bono, Paul McCartney and Ed Sheeran all lend their voices to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the historic chart hit, which raised more than £8million back in 1984.@RichardAArnold has the latest. pic.twitter.com/q6f1rIi1KA

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) November 13, 2024

Oliver Murray, who created the video for The Beatles' 2023 single "Now And Then", is using archive footage of David Bowie introducing the song's stars and Michael Buerk's famous BBC news report about the 1984 famine in Ethiopia, to create a music video for the release.

It is estimated that Band Aid have raised more than £140m in total, especially as each version of the track has reached number on in the UK charts.