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Posted by Kate Butler Jul 11, 2007 |
Huge benefit concerts have always fascinated me: how organizers convince some of the biggest stars of the day to donate their time to trendy international issues never ceases to amaze. Therefore, I was unapologetically excited when I heard about the Live Earth day planned for this past Saturday, July 7th. The idea was that music stars from across the globe would take part in a truly worldwide experience in order to raise awareness and funds for environmental issues. As someone who considers herself to be relatively environmentally aware, I had big expectations for Live Earth.
From the very beginning, though, I began to suspect that this was not going to be particularly good viewing: the environment-focused videos were dull to watch from home and much of the music was surprisingly disappointing. The negative media coverage of the event, including numerous British reports on how un-environmentally conscious Madonna is, clouded my views on a usual favorite. The Police and Kelly Clarkson in New Jersey, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in London were particularly dull, even though they were some of the bigger names on the list. The Public Service Announcements by stars like Will Ferrell and Jennifer Garner were also rather painful to watch.
It seems as though I was not alone in my disappointment: American television ratings for the event, covered by NBC, were extremely low. Only 2.7 million Americans tuned in to the 3 hour broadcast, the least viewed American program of the evening. Internationally, British numbers were also low, while Germany was at least respectable, with the television network covering the event in that country taking 6.3 market share during their coverage. Apparently 9 million people watched the concert online (breaking the record of Live 8 in 2005), but this still does not make the event seem extremely successful by any standards.
This type of concert will undoubtedly go on, and I will admit that this is a good thing. However, Live Earth 2007 was surely a disappointment: may the next organizers learn from this failure and bring something new next time around.