[2] The concert 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 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 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 Have Love Will Travel Revue, including Aykroyd and James Belushi, Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards, La Chicane, The Tea Party, and The Flaming Lips who invited artists from backstage to dance on stage with them dressed in fuzzy animal costumes, Sass Jordan, The Isley Brothers, and Blue Rodeo.

We had been off the road for 8 months, our gear was in the warehouse, most of our crew was out on other tours, and even we were all over the place - Geddy with his family in France, Alex working in the studio mixing our Rio de Janeiro show, and me on my motorcycle in the California mountains.