Hello, well I was at the Live8 concert in Philadelphia today and was wondering about peoples view on the social significance of the concert? I mean does anyone really think it would draw attention thats not already known about Africa? Or do you guys feel its basically free publicity for "good intentioned" musical/movie celebrities. I was also thinking the musical acts was pretty biased, mostly American and European bands. Did'nt see one African band at all. I guess it was done that way to draw the crowds of that specific cultural area but then again that jsut means people came for the concert and see their fav. bands not the idea behind it. Please leave your opinions about this subject.
In order for a concert to be successful, the draw has to be the band -- not necessarily the "higher good" behind it. I don't actually know of any African bands -- do you?
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NOW IS THE TIME, THIS IS THE YEAR - OUR LEADERS HAVE THE POWER TO END POVERTY - BUT WE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE THEM USE IT https://www.live8live.com/whatsitabout/index.shtml |
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Firstly, can I just say I thought the performances that I saw on TV were terrible, the musicians, and some are amongst my favourite acts, appeared very flat and uniterested. This is purely my musical observation because they were great and generous to lend their support to this cause. Perhaps it was the sound setup?
I think the message is a very good one and to his credit George Bush expressed a willingness to bugde on free trade if Europe would match it. Lets hope this was a genuine desire to help the third world, but it was a promising start. Now Europe must also get its act together.
I think the shift to allowing African nations a chance to build their economy is a sensible move. Aid is necessary, but without making some of these corrupt governments accountable, it is perhaps being wasted. Allowing developing nations to build economies without ludicrous amounts of debt hanging over them is the only way forward for Africa. They need to be given the means and opportunities to help themselves. Debt must be cancelled and markets, especially in the agricultural sector, freed up.
Will the concert make a difference, perhaps not. But it should give the G8 leaders something to think about.
Edited: arvhic on 4th Jul, 2005 - 11:18am
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