Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto
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Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto was a benefit rock concert that was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 30, 2003. It was also known as "Toronto Rocks," "SARSStock," "SARSfest," "SARS-a-palooza," the "SARS concert," or, more descriptively, "The Rolling Stones SARS Benefit Concert." Estimated to have between 450,000 and 500,000 people attending the concert, it is the largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history, and one of the largest in North American history.
It was organized in about a month, upon the suggestion of headliners The Rolling Stones, who wanted to help revive Toronto's economy after the SARS outbreaks earlier in the year. (The Rolling Stones have a longstanding tradition of living in Toronto during rehearsals for each new tour.) When The Rolling Stones announced the concert, Toronto was still under a SARS warning from the World Health Organization. The publicity garnered by the SARS outbreak led to a downturn in Toronto's tourism industry, which the concert was intended to help revive.
The concert was held at Downsview Park in northern Toronto, a former military base which also accommodated 800,000 people when Pope John Paul II visited the city in 2002. The concert was hosted by actor/singer Dan Aykroyd, and vendors also sold Alberta beef in support of the Canadian beef industry, which had recently suffered because of a single case of mad cow disease. North York General Hospital, which had been hit the hardest by the SARS outbreak in previous months, provided emergency on-site hospital services. The Toronto water department was initially supposed to provide free water by tapping the groundwater at the site, but were unable to do so due to health concerns; instead bottled water was given away, resulting in mountains of empty bottles for attendees to traverse on their way out. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and cable music station MuchMoreMusic provided coverage of parts of the concert throughout the day, including the end of The Rolling Stones' set.
The concert opened in the afternoon with the Have Love Will Travel Revue (Aykroyd and Jim Belushi), Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards, La Chicane, The Tea Party, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan, The Isley Brothers, and Blue Rodeo. Each band had 15-20 minutes to perform.
The second part of the concert began later in the afternoon and lasted into the night and included Justin Timberlake (who was bottled by the crowd), The Guess Who, Rush, AC/DC, and The Rolling Stones. The Stones performed a much longer 90-minute set to end the concert.
Notable was that Justin Timberlake was booed heavily by a largely rock and roll audience who hurled water bottles, muffins, and other items at the stage during his performance. He later returned to duet with Mick Jagger on "Miss You" An upset crowd was harangued into accepting Timberlake by a visibly angry Keith Richards.
A television documentary DVD, Toronto Rocks, was released in 2004 showing highlights of the event.
