Eight years after the first ever Live Earth event was held in countries across the globe, co-founders Al Gore and Kevin Wall have announced plans to bring back their eco-friendly worldwide festival in 2015 to mark the lead-up to the UN’s climate change conference in Paris, and Sydney has been named among the cities hosting events.
As ABC News reports, Wall and Gore announced the details of Live Earth 2015 during the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where they were joined onstage by hit-maker Pharrell Williams, who will serve as Live Earth’s creative director. No word was given on the lineup, only that “there are some interesting surprises coming up”.
According to Gore and Wall, over 100 artists will perform across seven continents, including Antarctica, on 18th June. The concerts will last four to six hours, taking place in New York, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sydney, Beijing, China, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Paris, where the climate conference will take place in December.
Williams, who previously performed in Rio during Live Earth 2007, would not comment on whether he plans to take the stage during this year’s event, insisting that the lineup is not as important as the festival’s purpose. “Instead of just having people perform, we literally are going to have humanity harmonize all at once,” he said.
The ultimate goal of the 24-hour festival is to collect one billion signatures urging world leaders to adopt a new climate accord at the Paris conference. “The purpose is to have a billion voices with one message, to demand climate action now,” said Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his campaigning on climate change.
“This is the year of climate,” he added. “The Paris negotiation is crucial. If we’re to ensure success, we need the political will.” The former US Presidential candidate predicted a TV, radio, and online audience of two billion for the event, with a view to increasing pressure on delegates attending the UN conference in December.
The first Live Earth event in 2007 also came to Sydney and featured over 150 acts, including The Police, Linkin Park, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Kanye West, Crowded House, the Black Eyed Peas, Genesis, and Madonna, though it received criticism in the media about the ecological footprint of the festival itself.
