In the past few weeks there has been an enormous media frenzy over the Live 8, a series of concerts to be held around the world on July 6; the date coincides with the G8 summit where G8 nations are being called upon to forgive debt in Africa. Bob Geldof recently announced that a Canadian concert will be held in Barrie.
With all the hype over the international performer line-up, which includes U2, Paul McCartney and Madonna, there is concern that the purpose of the concerts will be lost. Once people are at the event, organizers and performers should take the opportunity to educate their audiences.
The line-ups seem to be aimed at an older demographic. While they do form the majority of the voting population and are the main source of donations and funding, it would also be worthwhile to engage the younger generation as political change is the aim of this musical campaign. It must, however, be acknowledged however that “younger” performers were invited, but due to prior scheduling engagements—which Live 8 organizers should have anticipated—they could not attend. At the same time, aside from the African Guitar Summit and DobaCaracol featuring Kna’an, there is currently a lack of diversity in the Barrie event that is supposed to be calling attention to autonomy and diversity.
Hopefully, the Live 8 will be as intended: a call on the G8 to provide aid and remove African debt and not just an event of mass consumption.
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