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Live Earth

Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment.

Live Earth
The Live Earth logo representing the "S.O.S." message.
GenrePop / Rock
Dates7 July 2007
Location(s)Sydney, Johannesburg, New Jersey, Rio de Janeiro, Antarctica, Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai, London, Hamburg, Washington, D.C., and Rome
Years active2007
FoundersAl Gore, Kevin Wall
Websiteliveearth.org

Background

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Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action. Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media, and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.[1]

Live Earth 2007

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Main article: Live Earth (2007 concert)

The 1st series of benefit concerts were held on 7 July 2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world and were broadcast to a mass global audience through television, radio, and live internet streams.[2]

Live Earth India 2008

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The second Live Earth concert was scheduled for 7 December 2008 at the Andheri Sports Complex on Veera Desai Road in Andheri West, Mumbai, India and was managed by Kevin Wall who, after a request from former U. S. Vice President Al Gore, planned to have the entire event take place in India.[3][4] In September 2008, Reuters stated that, "the December event will see U.S. rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan share the stage, and is described by organisers as one of the biggest events held in India."[3] Shekhar Kapur, Nobel laureate Rajendra Pachauri, Abhishek Bachchan, and Aishwarya Rai also planned to star in the event.[4] Additional acts included Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy,[5] Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta,[6] Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, will.i.am, Hard Kaur, and Anoushka Shankar.[6] Palash Sen stated that his band, Euphoria, was scheduled to launch a song written for the concert on the topic of global warming.[7]

Live Earth would have been broadcast by STAR TV (Asia), which works in conjunction with the STAR Plus channel (United Kingdom, Middle East) and the Star World Channel. MSN was "the exclusive global broadband partner for Live Earth India."[8]

The concert was cancelled shortly after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks on 26 November 2008. Wall, Gore, and Pachauri stated in a joint press release that, "due to circumstances far beyond our control, we are saddened to announce that Live Earth India has been cancelled. We will continue to work for solutions to the climate crisis for the good of the people of India and around the world. But for now, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone in India."[9][10] Some argued against the cancellation stating that "music could have helped fear-hardened Mumbai to ride the storm."[11] Jethro Tull and Anoushka Shankar, who also cancelled their 29 November Mumbai concert[12] after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, reorganized the performance as A Billion Hands Concert, a benefit performance for victims of the attacks, and held it in Mumbai on 5 December 2008.[13]

Dow Live Earth Run for Water

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The Dow Live Earth Run for Water took place 18 April 2010 and consisted of a series of 6 km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water) taking place over the course of 24 hours in countries around the world, featuring concerts and water education activities aimed at igniting a tipping point to help solve the water crisis. Jessica Biel, Alexandra Cousteau, Pete Wentz, Angélique Kidjo and Jenny Fletcher were due to lend their names and their time in support.[14]

Controversy

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Before and after the event, there was concern over the sponsorship of the Run For Water by Dow Chemical. Their sponsorship of this event has been described as "the ultimate in greenwashing", given Dow's ownership of Union Carbide, their refusal to clean up the Bhopal site, plus their direct responsibility for groundwater poisoning incidents in Morrisonville, Louisiana[15] and the Tittabawassee River in Michigan.[16] Their much-publicised water filtration plants in India have failed because the local population cannot afford to replace the expensive high-tech filters.[17][18] Furthermore, most of the Dow sponsorship for the event was spent on for-profits doing marketing, public relations, and event management (e.g., Ignition, Golin Harris, Active.com)[19] rather than the non-profits identified as "beneficiaries."

Host cities

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The Dow Live Earth Run for Water was hosted by about 200 cities around the world, including: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Cape Town, Chicago, Chongqing, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jerusalem, Jimbaran, Karachi, Lima, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mexico City, Minneapolis, Monterrey, Montreal, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, San Diego, Santiago, Santo Domingo, Seattle, Singapore City, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington, D.C.[20]

Live performances

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Many of the cities featured live entertainment following the 6K run/walk. Artists include Melissa Etheridge in Los Angeles with The Roots; special guest John Legend in Brooklyn's Prospect Park; Rob Thomas in Atlanta; Collective Soul with special guest Sam Moore in Chicago; Kany García in Mexico City; Kevin Johansen and The Nada in Buenos Aires; and Slank in Bali.[21]

Cancellations and protests

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Demonstrations against the run had been planned by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.[22]

The Dow sponsorship of the Run For Water was protested by organizations representing the victims of the Bhopal tragedy, supported by Amnesty International.[23] Planned events were also cancelled in Milan.[22]

In New Delhi, the event[24] was protested by a group of activists[25] who disguised their involvement by creating a fictitious front organization, the Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance, to register their event with Live Earth.[26]

Beneficiaries

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Concert organizers solicited full proposals from a broad network of NGO partners including Global Water Challenge, A Child's Right,[27] Akvo,[28] Fondo Para La Paz,[29] Indonesia Water Partnership, Lien Aid, Pump Aid, Wildlands Conservation Trust,[30] and many others.[19] However, very little money was raised (approximately $50,000). Most of the Dow sponsorship was spent on for-profits doing marketing, public relations, and event management (e.g., Ignition, Golin Harris, Active.com). The remaining proceeds from the Dow Live Earth Run for Water were disseminated primarily to the Global Water Challenge.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ About Live Earth Archived 20 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine accessed 10 February 2010
  2. ^ 07.07.07 Archived 16 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine accessed 10 February 2010
  3. ^ a b Jamkhandikar, Shilpa (20 September 2008). "Live Earth show to help light homes with solar energy". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Next Live Earth concert in Mumbai". Times of India. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Bachchans, Hrithik, Preity & 'Rock On' team at Live Earth India concert". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Bollywood royalty lines up for Live Earth India concert], Agence France-Presse]". Google News. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  7. ^ Abhilasha Ojha (10 December 2008). "Who wants to carol in a slowdown". business-standard.com.
  8. ^ Bhushan, Nyay (19 September 2008). "Live Earth will have an encore in India". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  9. ^ "MarketWatch.com".
  10. ^ "NDTVMovies.com : Bollywood News, Reviews, Celebrity News, Hollywood news, Entertainment News, Videos & Photos". ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  11. ^ "The Hindu News Update Service". Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  12. ^ Balakrishnan, Ravi. "The flute of his labours". The Economic Times.
  13. ^ "'A Billion Hands' Concert". abillionhands.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011.
  14. ^ "Dow Launches The Dow Live Earth Run For Water - The Largest Global Water Initiative In History To Help Solve The World Water Crisis". wateronline.com.
  15. ^ Stevens, Rosemary; Rosenberg, Charles E.; Burns, Lawton R. (2006). History and Health Policy in the United States. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813538389.
  16. ^ Dow + "Live Earth" = the Ultimate in Greenwashing? (14 November 2009) Archived 10 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine accessed 11 February 2010
  17. ^ Bhopal: Generations of Poison (2 Dec 2009) Archived 17 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine accessed 11 February 2010
  18. ^ "Petition against Dow Live Earth". Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  19. ^ a b "PARTNERS | Live Earth". Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  20. ^ Live Earth - Run Archived 17 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 15 April 2010
  21. ^ Live Earth - Photos Archived 30 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 15 April 2010
  22. ^ a b Hackney gazette news story (accessed 20 April 2010)
  23. ^ Amnesty International website: News: Dow cannot run from the legacy of Bhopal by sponsoring 'Run For Water' events 16 April 2010 Archived 17 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 20 April 2010)
  24. ^ Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance-Aqua Justice Run Archived 15 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 3 May 2010)
  25. ^ Washasia (news on water supply, sanitation and hygiene in Asia): India: protests against Dow Chemical sponsorship of Live Earth 20 April 2010 Archived 30 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 20 April 2010)
  26. ^ Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance website: events Archived 29 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 20 April 2010)
  27. ^ "Splash - The NGO formerly known as A Child's Right". splash.org/. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  28. ^ Loic Sans. "Akvo.org".
  29. ^ "Fondo para la Paz - Quarterly Report". www.fondopaz.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011.
  30. ^ "Wildlands - Home". www.wildlands.co.za. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
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