Live Earth was a one-off event developed to combat climate change. The first series of benefit concerts were held on July 7, 2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in twelve locations around the world which were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio, and streamed via the Internet.
Overview
The umbrella organization for the event was Save Our Selves, founded by Kevin Wall (Executive Producer), and included major partners such as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, Earthlab, MSN, and Control Room, the production company that produced the event. The logo for the event was the Morse code distress signal. Brand Neutral, the environmental business strategy firm, served as the worldwide sustainability strategy and services partner for Live Earth, developing the overall sustainability strategy, staffing all members of the global "green team," creating the overall master plan for resource management, and supervising the execution of the Live Earth environmental strategy. Leading sustainability expert John Picard served as chief environmental and efficiency counsellor for the event.
The worldwide producer of talent and venue programming for all of the events was Aaron Grosky. The worldwide producer of events was Lily Sobhani. Live Earth produced 60 short films, directed by leading filmmakers from the worlds of films, music videos, commercials and animation. The worldwide producer of Live Earth films was Kit Hawkins. The 22-hour global TV broadcast (world feed) and satellite distribution, as well as radio, internet and mobile production was overseen by Executive in Charge of Production André Mika and produced and directed by Paul Flattery. Ryan Polito also directed the worldwide feed. Unlike the similar Live 8 concerts, which were free, Live Earth charged admission but the event was made broadly available via television and the Internet. Matthew Pohlson and Ryan Cummins served as directors for the concert.
The 2007 event set a new record for online entertainment with over 15 million video streams during the live concert alone. Television ratings were mixed, with 41% of households in Canada watching the concerts, while figures in the UK were characterized as a "flop". Television ratings in the United States were "dismal" as well; NBC's broadcast of Live Earth was the least watched network program between the Big Four Television Networks. On the other hand, Bravo, an NBC Universal property, reported the highest Saturday ratings in the network's history. Live Earth also performed very well on television ratings in Brazil, reaching 37% of households via Rede Globo, and in Germany, reaching 20% of households through the N24 broadcast.
Background The plans for the Live Earth concerts were announced at a media event in Los Angeles on 15 February 2007 by Al Gore, Kevin Wall and other celebrities.Lee, Ken. (15 February 2007) People.com. Retrieved on: 2 August 2007. The event was claimed to be carbon neutral, and organisers said they would purchase carbon credits to offset the environmental impact of the flights associated with the events.
In addition to raising awareness of global warming, on 28 June 2007, it was revealed that Live Earth was to be the launch event for the Live Earth Call to Action.Al Gore, Kevin Wall issue far-reaching Live Earth Call To Action, Live Earth, published 2007-06-28, accessed 2007-07-03 During the concerts people were asked to support the following 7-point pledge:
To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth; To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become 'carbon neutral;' To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2; To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation; To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal; To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and, To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
In subsequent interviews Al Gore indicated that the concerts would mark 'the beginning of a three-year campaign worldwide to deliver information about how we solve the climate crisis'[news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm Live Earth a climate 'SOS'], BBC, published 2007-07-03, accessed 2007-07-03Moving Beyond Kyoto, New York Times, published 2007-07-01, accessed 2007-07-03 and that 'the prospects for every future generation depend on us understanding, hearing and acting upon this information.'
Live Earth's supporters included climate change activists in New Zealand's Climaction Coalition, who praised concert organisers, stating "Climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity today." Climaction spokesperson David Colyer said the concert presented "a great opportunity to join our voices with theirs" and called on people who could not attend a concert to participate in local events to raise awareness about climate change.
Further information on the issues raised by the concerts are published in The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, written by environmentalist David Mayer de Rothschild.The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills To Stop Climate Change, author: David de Rothschild, publisher: Rodale Books, Rodale Books to publish the official Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, Live Earth, published 2006-05-16 Profits from the book are donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, as are some of the profits from the concerts.Live Earth switch-off is vetoed, BBC, published 2007-06-04, accessed 2007-07-03
Antecedents for the style of concerts
The concert series followed in the tradition of many benefit events staged in the preceding decades:
The aspect of multiple concerts on a single day followed two events conceived by Bob Geldof—two Live Aid concerts staged on July 13, 1985, and eight Live 8 concerts staged on July 2, 2005. The aspect of a series of rock concerts for a single cause taking place in multiple nations across the planet echoed the twenty concerts presented in 1988 on Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! World Tour - a tour conceived by Jack Healey and Martin Lewis.
The deployment of multiple pop and rock musicians and entertainers to promote awareness of a single cause has many antecedents - the principal examples being:
Two 1971 Concerts for Bangladesh - conceived by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Balls benefit shows staged from 1976 to 1981 - conceived by John Cleese and Martin Lewis Four 1979 No Nukes concerts - conceived by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt and John Hall Four 1979 Concerts for Kampuchea - conceived by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim
Friends of Live Earth Live Earth Alert, was a Netherlands contribution/concept,Live Earth Alert.nl (, partly in English) to the real program Live Earth on 07/07/07. In Westerpark in Amsterdam (NL) a parallel event had been organised which included a continuous 24-hour live broadcast program on Nederland 3 of live streams (in sequential order) from Live Earth events and reports from Dutch correspondents stationed on all 7 continents as well as an almost 12 hour side event at the home location with performances, artists and other side activities. Some parts of this Dutch program were included in the official Live Earth streams and broadcast worldwide.BNN: Live Earth on Nederland 3 (TV) and Radio 3FM (, partly in English) Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) in South Korea broadcast a special TV program named "Save The Earth - A Friend Of Live Earth",KBS 특별 생방송 지구를 살리자 - 환경콘서트 A Friend of Live Earth a live event of special presentations, performances, and concerts of the K-pop stars.
Locations The organizers intended to present concerts on all seven continents. They stated that the venues would use on-site power generation, efficient methods of energy utilisation and sustainable facilities management in an effort to minimise environmental impact.
Africa Coca-Cola Dome Randburg near Johannesburg North America Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ National Mall 1 Washington, D.C. South America Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro Asia Makuhari Messe Chiba near Tokyo Tō-ji Kyoto Oriental Pearl Tower Shanghai Australia Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Europe Wembley Stadium London HSH Nordbank Arena Hamburg Basilica of St. John Lateran Rome Antarctica Rothera Research Station British Antarctic Territory
The South African concert, originally scheduled for the Cradle of Mankind, was abandoned by local promoter Big Concerts, due to poor ticket sales, believed to be a result of the non-central nature of this landmark and poor planning by the promoter. The Coca-Cola Dome was settled on two days prior to the concert starting.
Washington D.C. venue It was only hours before the Washington D.C. concert was scheduled to begin that organisers were able to secure a venue for the last-minute addition to the schedule. The Washington Post reported the U.S. capital had been Gore's first choice for the main concert. However, the main concert was moved to New Jersey and Gore made a surprise announcement during a 6 July media interview that a concert would take place on the plaza of the Museum of the American Indian. "Some who don't understand what is now at stake tried to stop this event on the Mall, but here we are. [crowd is cheering] And it wasn't the cavalry who came to our rescue, it was the American Indians," Gore said during brief opening remarks carried live on the MSN website.
Performers
Wembley Stadium (United Kingdom)
SOS Allstars (led by Roger Taylor, Chad Smith, and Taylor Hawkins) Genesis Razorlight Snow Patrol Damien Rice & David Gray Kasabian Paolo Nutini The Black Eyed Peas John Legend Duran Duran Red Hot Chili Peppers Bloc Party Corinne Bailey Rae Terra Naomi Keane Metallica Spinal Tap James Blunt Beastie Boys The Pussycat Dolls Foo Fighters Madonna with Eugene Hütz & Sergey Ryabtsev
Presenters: Alan Carr Boris Becker Chris Moyles Chris Rock David Tennant Eddie Izzard Gerard Butler Geri Halliwell Ioan Gruffudd Jimmy Carr June Sarpong Kevin Wall Kyle MacLachlan Neve Campbell Ricky Gervais Rob Reiner Russell Brand Terence Stamp Thandie Newton
Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States)
Kenna KT Tunstall Taking Back Sunday Keith Urban with special guest Alicia Keys Ludacris AFI Fall Out Boy Akon John Mayer Melissa Etheridge Alicia Keys Dave Matthews Band Kelly Clarkson Kanye West Bon Jovi The Smashing Pumpkins Roger Waters The Police with special guests John Mayer and Kanye West
Presenters: Al Gore Cameron Diaz Dhani Jones Jane Goodall Kevin Bacon Leonardo DiCaprio Petra Nemcova Rachel Weisz Randy Jackson Robert Kennedy Jr. Rosario Dawson Tipper Gore
National Mall (United States)
Blues Nation Garth Brooks Native Roots Yarina Trisha Yearwood Presenters: Al Gore
Sydney Football Stadium (Australia)
Blue King Brown Toni Collette & the Finish Sneaky Sound System Ghostwriters Paul Kelly Eskimo Joe Missy Higgins The John Butler Trio Wolfmother Jack Johnson Crowded House
Presenters: Bruce McAvaney Jimmy Barnes Hamish & Andy Tim Ross Richard Wilkins Ian Thorpe
Coca-Cola Dome (South Africa)
South African Drum Cafe Team Danny K Angélique Kidjo Baaba Maal Vusi Mahlasela The Parlotones The Soweto Gospel Choir Joss Stone UB40 Zola Presenters: Naomi Campbell DJ Suga
Makuhari Messe (Japan)