LIVE EARTH is a 24-hour, seven continent concert series taking place on 07/07/07 that will bring together more than 150 of the world’s top music acts and 2 billion people (nearly two thirds of the current global population) to trigger global action against the greatest threat that humankind has ever faced – climate change. Led by Al Gore and Kevin Wall, Live Earth seeks to inspire its global audience to make meaningful and lasting changes in their lives and spur action by corporations and governments to turn the tide on global warming. “Music is an international language that has the power to move people,” Wall said. “Live Earth’s 24 hours of music spanning all 7 continents will move people in every corner of the planet to take action against global warming.”
Live Earth will be holding the African concert at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, showcasing the music of UB40, R&B singer and songwriter Joss Stone, Beninese four-time Grammy-nominated, singer, composer, and performer Angelique Kidjo, Senegalese master musician Baaba Maal, South African singer-songwriter Vusi Mahlasela and many others. The concert will bring an estimated 10,000 people together to raise awareness about the climate crisis. “Live Earth is taking place across all seven continents because the climate crisis affects us all – and all of us must be a part of the solution,” said Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore. Supermodel, actress, singer and author Naomi Campbell, who will be speaking from the stage at the Johannesburg concert, commented “I’m proud to be a part of Live Earth and I’m especially proud that we are joining forces here in South Africa”. “Live Earth Johannesburg will not only unify Africans on this issue, it will connect the crisis here with the rest of the world.”
The concerts will be among the most environmentally friendly events ever produced. Two of the single largest environmental impacts that events can have on the planet are the waste that is left behind, and the greenhouse gas emitted from travel and energy usage. A single concert can produce several thousand kilograms of waste in hours and emit upwards of 2,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The Live Earth Green Team is a group of green event experts from all over the world, including Gina Shoemaker of Top Turf and Mama She’s Waste Recyclers, each of South Africa, and Seven-Star Events Inc of Asheville NC, USA, who are working closely with a local nonprofit alliance The Climate Action Partnership to green the concert.
The concert will be carbon neutral and will feature a comprehensive landfill diversion program that will use recycling and composting practices on a massive scale. Almost all of the electricity used at the concert will come from generators running on a blend of biodiesel made from waste grease, and energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs donated by Philips will be installed not only at the concert venue, but also in the surrounding schools. The concessionaires will offer food and beverages in environmentally friendly plastic cups made from corn starch. The typical service ware products used at a concert event include plastic cups, fork & knives and plates, products that can persist in the landfill for over 450 years, often containing potentially toxic or hazardous chemicals. Bioware products on the other hand are made from materials that are 100% biodegradable and can be transformed into compost. All waste food scraps and bioware from the event will be collected and composted into a usable garden soil addition, and every item that can be recycled will be collected and sorted to be made ready for recycling. By taking these simple steps, the Live Earth Green Team estimates that it can divert 75% or more of the concert waste stream from going to the landfill, preventing the release of tons of Methane, an emission product of landfills that is known to be twenty three times more powerful a green house gas than carbon dioxide.
The Johannesburg Live Earth concert will showcase a system that will change the way concerts and events handle green house gas emissions and waste forever. “While the Live Earth concerts are an important tool in mobilizing people and governments to take the necessary actions to fight global warming, it is the legacy of change that the concerts leave behind that will really make the difference,” says Live Earth South Africa Greening Manger Elif Beall. When the event is over, when the dust has cleared, and Live Earth has left South Africa, Johannesburg hopes to show other South African cities that resource recovery is the new “green” face of event management, and that all it takes is a little planning and the inclination to make a difference.
For more information, visit www.liveearth.msn.com and www.liveearth.org
Tickets available from Computicket online: http://www.computicket.com, 083 915 8000, or any outlet country wide
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)