Live 8 concerts call for debt relief
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The artists, playing for free, are heeding Bob Geldof’s call to urge world leaders to double aid, cancel debt and rework unfair trade laws to lift African nations out of poverty. Organiser Geldof promised to deliver “the greatest concert ever”. From Johannesburg to Philadelphia, from Berlin to Tokyo, musicians and fans gathered for a global music marathon to raise awareness of African poverty and pressure the world’s most powerful leaders to do something about it at the Group of Eight summit in Scotland next week. Paul McCartney and U2’s Bono rocked London’s Hyde Park to kick off the main event in the Live 8 extravaganza rolling around the globe from Tokyo to Toronto, Berlin to Johannesburg. A thunderous roar erupted from the crowd of about 150,000 as the two iconic performers belted out the first line: “It was 20 years ago today …” - a nod to the mammoth Live Aid concerts that raised millions for African famine relief two decades ago. The first concert kicked off in Japan, where Bjork and Good Charlotte joined local bands. It rolled on to Johannesburg, South Africa, then on to Berlin and to the Eden Project in southwest England for a show featuring African artists. In an open letter to the G8 leaders, which appeared in several British newspapers on Saturday, Geldof said the summit will disappoint the world if it fails to deliver an extra $25 billion in aid to Africa. No half-measures or politics “We will not applaud half-measures, or politics as usual. This must be a historic breakthrough,” the letter says. “Today there will be noise and music and joy, the joy of exuberant possibility. “On Friday there will be great silence as the world awaits your verdict. Do not disappoint us. Do not create a generation of cynics.” The G8 conference concludes on Friday. In Tokyo, Iceland’s Bjork made her first live performance in two years. “I feel there is not much hope to change anything, but when I heard that Bob Geldof was going to get all these people together I felt there was maybe 5% hope, and that’s better than zero,” said Bjork. “But at least the world is listening today and this has to change.” Source : english.aljazeera.net |