Glastonbury, the world's biggest open air arts and music festival, on Thursday made environmental issues a pillar of the three-day event by launching its "I Count" campaign to stop climate change.
GLASTONBURY, England -- Glastonbury, the world's biggest open air arts and music festival, on Thursday made environmental issues a pillar of the three-day event by launching its "I Count" campaign to stop climate change. The target is for 100,000 festival-goers to sign up at the festival, which has a line-up of hot rock bands, comedians and circus performers at a farm in rural southern England, and each attendee gets a "We Can Stop Climate Chaos" wristband.
"We've put a lot of effort into focusing Glastonbury on the environment and climate change this year," said festival organiser Michael Eavis, who was recently given an award for services to music by Queen Elizabeth. "We hope to see at least 100,000 new supporters sign up to the 'I Count campaign' and I'll be the first to put my name down,"the 71-year-old bearded organiser and campaigner said.
Lucy Pearce, "I Count" campaign manager, described it as creating a "massive, popular, irresistible movement for change".
Three main campaign sponsors are charities Oxfam and WaterAid and environmental group Greenpeace.
John Sauven, representative for Greenpeace, described climate change as a "man-made disaster" and urged people to make "personal" changes in their lives as well as "putting as much pressure as we can on governments to act".
SOLAR POWERED SHOWERS
This year, Glastonbury Festival, set amongst the rolling hills of Somerset, also says it has the world's biggest solar powered mobile shower facility for festival-goers.
"The showers, located near the Worthy Farm farmhouse, are there as much to raise public awareness and demonstrate how simple and effective solar hot water is as to provide a warm and welcome relief for the hordes seeking a wash," organisers said.
The event aims to be as eco-friendly as possible with recycling facilities available throughout the site and "bags for life" being handed out as an alternative to plastic bags.
There are also several ecologically sound mobile phone chargers: a bike which charges festival-goers' telephones as they pedal as well as a wind-turbine charger tent.
Other green initiatives include supplying each festival-goer with their own roll of recycled toilet paper. There will even be "green police" to make sure people do the right thing.
People are being encouraged to leave their tents behind for re-use in countries in need.
However, with more than 100,000 people on site already, many of them eating at food stalls with disposable packaging, the amount of rubbish was bound to be large. About 177,500 people are expected, Glastonbury's biggest attendance.
Sixteen pieces of conceptual art are to be revealed on the back of "I Count" placards over the weekend and the first unveiled was painted by Briton Kurt Jackson, environmentalist and artist in residence at Glastonbury.
His painting was of himself and his wife Caroline planting vegetables in an allotment with the caption: "Cut your food miles ... get an allotment or buy local food."
Source: Reuters
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