For many in attendence LiveEarth wasn’t about showing your support for Al Gore’s fight against the terrors of global warming. Most were there to see some of England’s and the world’s most-popular, chart-topping acts. For others, it was to see England’s latest white elephant, the £800 million ($1.6 billion) Wembley Stadium.
For the princely sum of £65 ($130) you could enter Wembley, admire the beautiful arch that adorns the City’s skyline and listen to the likes of Metallica, The Black Eyed Peas, Foo Fighters, Bloc Party and Madonna. If you were particularly eager a spot at the front was destined for you and the few others lucky enough to be able to see the acts on stage. The remaining 80-odd thousand settled for the big screens. And that was it. Nothing else. OK, you also got 20 minutes of Spinal Tap.
Not any information on eco-friendly charities you could sponsor or schemes that could help calm your climate woes. Al Gore’s LiveEarth was a big hypocrisy. The majority of the acts in the UK were flown in from aboard, the big screens constantly flickered with the names of people who texted their details to LiveEarth and all the while the sun’s painful glare did its best to remind people that climate change is here, it’s hot and it’s fucked-off.
You could buy a beer imported from Denmark for £3.50 or a pizza for £4.50 that has accumulated more air miles than the entire population of Senegal or The Ivory Coast (not including their football teams, of course). What a shameful sight it was not seeing any locally farmed produce or lager on offer, or any recycling facilities, or any inspiring. No wonder Al Gore never won a major US election.