Legendary rocker Bob Geldof returns to Irish Village on March 14 for yet another special St Patrick’s Day show.

The Boomtown Rats star will entertain crowds as he has done year on year in Garhoud, and we’ve got a pair of tickets to giveaway for the gig.

Speaking ahead of his appearance, Geldof said: “I’ve been coming to Dubai for St Patrick’s Day for many years. I’m always excited to perform at Irish Village. It’s the perfect venue.”

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the gig, simply fill out the form below before Wednesday March 12 at 3pm, and be able to collect the tickets from Media City before Thursday March 13 5pm. Usual terms and conditions apply.

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY

The Irish Village, Garhoud, Dubai. Friday March14, doors open 7pm for 9pm show, Dhs75. Taxi: The Irish Village. theirishvillage.com

It’s almost 30 years since Sir Bob Geldof galvanised the world to help the starving in Ethiopia through the massive Live Aid concerts. As Sir Bob makes his welcome return, our friends at Hype takes a look at some stars who’ve made (or are making) a difference in the world. From sports scholarships and music therapy to fundraising events and eye-watering donations, these are just some of the generous chart-toppers who’ve put their hand in their pocket to help others…

THE MAN HIMSELF
Biggest hit:I Don’t Like Mondays (with the Boomtown Rats)
The cause: Third world poverty, global injustices and Africa
Why: Back in the ’80s Bob was sent on a charitable mission for UK charity Comic Relief to highlight the plight of starving kids in Ethiopia. The trip changed his outlook on the world forever.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Teaming up with Midge Ure, Sir Bob was the driving force behind Live Aid in 1985, a dual-venue concert that took place at Wembley Stadium in London and the John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. The world’s biggest artists played for free and 1.9 billion people watched the live broadcast.Twenty years on, Geldof took it further with Live 8, linking ten concerts in ten different cities worldwide. The massive event, starring the likes of Bono, Pink Floyd and Madonna, was designed to put pressure on world leaders at the G8 summit to increase aid to poor nations. It worked. The G8 summit announced an extra $50 billion in aid for African nations just days after the simultaneous concerts ended.
The result: The original Live Aid raised £150 million and G8 leaders doubled the aid to poverty-striken nations.

U2 AND BONO
Biggest hit: Still Haven’t Found (What I’m Looking For)
The cause: Irish band U2 and frontman Bono have used their influence to benefit many worthy causes including poverty in Africa, tackling the spread of disease, social problems in Ireland and music therapy charities.
Why: Bono was inspired by The Secret Policeman’s Ball, in 1979, which raised awareness for Amnesty International. Bono then had a life-changing trip to Ethiopia in 1986 courtesy of World Vision.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Just last month the band released charity single Invisible as a free digital download through iTunes for 24 hours, with the Bank Of America donating $1 to Bono’s RED charity for every download. Bono also helped organise Live 8 in 2005.
The result: Invisible has raised $2 million and the band has pledged to raise £7million by 2015 to help Irish music charities.

MICHAEL JACKSON
Biggest hit: Billie Jean
The cause: His career may have been overshadowed by various allegations, but as well as creating some truly unforgettable music, Michael Jackson was never slow to help others. He was known to even hand out money to homeless people on the street.
Why: Michael came from a disadvantaged background in Middle America. Nicknamed ‘The King Of Pop’, Michael spread his message of acceptance through tireless charity work and supported nearly 50 charitable organisations.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Donating proceeds from the Bombay leg of his History World Tour to a hospital; co-writing charity single We Are The World with Lionel Richie in 1985; donating $1.5 million earned from Pepsi endorsements to a children’s burns centre and founding the Heal The World Foundation.
The result: It’s hard to keep track of how much MJ donated to charities over the years with much of it done anonymously. However, it’s rumoured that he gave away around $500 million in his lifetime.

TAYLOR SWIFT
Biggest hit: Fearless
The cause: Ms Swift is a tireless fundraiser for young people battling cancer, global poverty and music therapy. She’s not shy either when it comes to supporting victims of natural disasters and was named the most charitable celebrity of 2012 and 2013.
Why: Taylor had a good upbringing and lived a young life full of fine schooling and horse riding. The well-raised country girl is simply kind-hearted when it comes to giving some of her vast fortune away and has supported nearly every type of charity you can think of at one time or another.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Taylor has worked hard for many charities but recently donated $4 million to the Country Hall Of Fame Museum, in Nashville, to create an education centre.
The result: The starlet has brought in around $10 million for her various charities, earning a Ripple Of Hope Award from the Robert F Kennedy Centre for justice and human rights.

50 CENT
Biggest hit: The Club
The cause: Promoting a safe future and helping eliminate poverty in the US and further afield.
Why: ‘Fiddy’ famously grew up immersed in a world of gang violence and crime, and is lucky to be alive having been shot nine times on the streets of Queens, New York. He’s seen the results of life on the wrong side of the tracks first hand.
Biggest fundraising achievement: 50 Cent travelled to Somalia and Kenya to feed starving children and pledged that he would feed a billion people from sales of his Street King energy drink. He also started the G-Unity Foundation that seeks to help impoverished people across the North American continent.
The result: It’s not known exactly how many mouths have been fed with Fiddy’s help, but the star pledged to continue the campaign for five years. His G-Unity Foundation has also granted tens of thousands of dollars for scholarship funds.

ONE DIRECTION
Biggest hit: What Makes You Beautiful
The cause: To raise as much money to help the plight of third world nations and disadvantaged people the world over through the UK’s Comic Relief charity.
Why: The cynic in us believes that the move to support Comic Relief would have been driven by the boy band’s management who no doubt weighed up its marketing and PR value. However, we like to think the lads themselves wanted to get involved for all the right reasons.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Releasing charity single One Way Or Another for Comic Relief in 2013 and becoming ambassadors for Cancer Research UK.
The result: One Way Or Another generated £2 million for Comic Relief, while the lads also raised over £800,000 for Cancer Research.

BEYONCE KNOWLES
Biggest hit: Crazy In Love
The cause: Children, equality and humanity are all high on Beyoncé’s priority list, but the biggest cause she’s been championing of late was to help victims of Hurricane Katrina that ravished Louisiana through her Survivor Foundation. She also recently set up Chime For Change to promote women’s rights.
Why: Many victims of Hurricane Katrina moved to Houston after the disaster took place. Beyoncé originally hails from Houston, along with her former Destiny’s Child band mates, and the Survivor Foundation charity is a branch of the Knowles-Roland Center For Youth.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Last year she headed up an all-star female cast at the Chime For Change gig in London, but also donated a large chunk of money to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund.
The result: Her personal donation to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund was around $100,000 in 2008, while the Survivor Foundation helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina through hands-on practical work.

JUSTIN BIEBER
Biggest hit: Baby
The cause: Love him or loathe him, baby-faced pop star Justin Bieber is really a kind-hearted soul and supports various charities. He may gain more headlines for racing his supercars and taking a swing at photographers, but the tearaway’s philanthropic side has rubbed off on his legions of Beliebers to positive effect.
Why: With zillions of fans hanging onto his every word, perhaps the Biebster felt it his duty to use his megastar status to some good.
Biggest fundraising achievement: The pop star raised a fortune for typhoon victims in the Philippines, has personally made people’s dreams realities and donated money to help build schools in Guatemala.
The result: With $1.16 million raised to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan through prizeo.com, Beiber personally made the dreams of 200 Make A Wish Foundation kids come true and has donated $100,000 to put homeless children through school.

SNOOP DOGG
Biggest hit: Drop It Like It’s Hot
The cause: Snoop’s charitable priorities are gang violence, youth problems and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Why: One of the most respected rappers of all time, Snoop grew up in the rough and disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Los Angeles’ ghettos before rising above a life of crime and gang-related violence to become a huge star.
Biggest fundraising achievement: Snoop’s done many charitable things over the years, including setting up the Snoop Youth Football League, donating to Jamaican children’s charities, hosting celebrity basketball games for his Save A Life Foundation and, recently, offering fans the chance to be his intern for the day by donating to his football league.
The result: It’s difficult to pinpoint in cash money but Snoop’s generous approach has helped lots of people over the years.

STEVE AOKI
Biggest hit: Wonderland
The cause: Coming from a background of social activism sparked by the LA punk scene, clubland DJ and producer Steve Aoki focuses his charitable efforts on a different cause each year through The Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, tackling homelessness, illness and medical research. This year his charity work concentrates on brain related conditions and research, and the DJ regularly ties memorabilia and paraphernalia auctions into his tours.
Why: Simple really: the raucous EDM kingpin has a heart of gold.
Biggest fundraising achievement: 2014 might still be relatively young but already this year Steve has donated to the American Brain Foundation, Brain Preservation Fund, Infusion and the University Of Rochester’s Medical Centre. And reportedly he slaps a $100 charity fine on his touring Dim Mak label mates if they don’t wake up for a morning workout regime.
The result: This year he’s already donated over $65,000 to charity.