The Concert in Central Park attendees. Although rain fell throughout the day and continued until the start of the concert, an estimated 500,000 audience members made this the seventh-largest concert attendance in the United States in history. The stage backdrop depicted an urban rooftop with water tank and air outlet, symbolic of New York's skyline. At twilight, the backing band went onstage, followed by New York's mayor, Ed Koch, who announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Simon and Garfunkel!" The duo entered through a side stage door, took center stage amid audience applause, looked at each other and shook hands, and began the concert with their 1968
Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast was a one-hour, commercial-free benefit concert television special that aired simulcast worldwide on September 9, 2005 at 8 p.m. ET/CT live (with a 30-second tape delay) from New York City and Los Angeles and tape delayed in the Mountain Time Zone and Pacific Time Zones. The special raised money for the relief efforts from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was broadcast in over 100 different countries. All proceeds went to the American Red Cross or The Salvation Army. The