Star Bamboo Singapore

I headed down to One Fullerton at 7pm on 07/07/07. I parked further away at Market Street as I was expecting a big crowd to turn up.

There were crowds indeed, but for the National Day Parade rehearsal at the floating platform just across the bay. The driveway at Fullerton Hotel was also packed with cars and guests for one of the many wedding dinners happening all over the island.

Volunteer helpers greeted us with markers at the pledge board, so I penned a short message:

“Save our Trees” (I should really improve my handwriting):

The live telecast of the Live Earth concerts were broadcast on a projector screen at a nearby marquee. The rows of plastic white chairs were mostly vacant, people were checking out the sponsor booths instead:

I suppose if they had wanted to just watch the concert, they could have done so in the comfort of their home.Flyers and freebies were being handed out.

I got a card that proclaimed “Vegetarianism – The Noble Way of Living”. Found out later it was some sort of spiritual cult, so into the bin it went.

Otherwise the event was pretty quiet. Perhaps the crowds would come after the NDP show is over but I had to rush off for a dinner appointment.

Caught the fireworks finale while cruising along Benjamin Sheares Bridge, what a lovely sight. The traffic police with their flashing sirens stationed along the road shoulders added to the spectacle.

So Live Earth came and went over the weekend. I don’t know if anything has changed, or if people treat it as a mega-party.

At the very least, there is definitely greater awareness of climate change and that can only be a good thing.

The big day is fast approaching, and there has been a lot of comments and discussions about Live Earth.

Not everyone supports the concert. The Today newspaper helpfully published letters from both sides of the debate.

Tan Chee Sean questions:

Beamed across eight cities, this concert will be watched by more than 2 billion people. At the same time, millions of television sets will be turned on for up to 24 hours, so viewers can watch their favourite artistes. Ironically, wouldn’t this contribute to even more global warming?

In an attention grabbing-ly titled letter, Eugene Tay (pdf link) asks us to:

Give up hope. Because when hope dies, action begins.

What he actually meant was that saving the environment starts with personal action and responsibility. We shouldn’t hang on to the wishful thinking that someone else will do the job for us.

The blogosphere is buzzing too. Below are just some of the varied responses from Singaporeans I came across:

Scott Thong is more annoyed at MediaCorp’s Live Earth “We are not exaggerating” advertising campaign than the event itself. I haven’t seen the TV advertisements myself, but hey Scott, don’t mistake the messenger for the message.

Ordie helpfully points out that Mediacorp is encouraging Singaporeans to wear green to show how much we love hugging trees. Not very imaginative but definitely easy enough.

Sharp-eyed Liang Cai noted that the language one gets on the Live Earth official web site when clicking on the Singapore flag is… Malay. Well yes, it is our national language but not many of the non-Malays here actually speak it. One of the little ironies of Singapore.

No matter your personal sentiments about it, Live Earth is indeed going ahead. So why not make the most of it and see how we can use this unique opportunity to raise awareness about climate change?

Question: What do the following names have in common?

1. Madonna
   
2. Sheryl Crow
   
3. Alicia Keys
   
4. Kayne West
   
5. Faith Hill
   
6. The Smashing Pumpkins
   
7. Kelly Clarkson
   
8. Black Eyed Peas
   
9. Bon Jovi
   
10. Red Hot Chilli Peppers
    
11. Beastie Boys
    
12. John Mayer
    
13. Foo Fighters
    
14. Kylie Minogue
    
15. James Blunt
    
16. Snow Patrol
    
17. Lenny Kravitz
    
18. Jennifer Lopez
    
19. Snoop Dogg
    
20. The Police
    
21. Duran Duran

Answer: They will all be performing at the series of Live Earth concerts.

Actually, there are another 130+ names but I don’t recognise them.

I was just thinking that it’s such a marvellous idea having 7 concerts held across 7 continents (Shanghai, Sydney, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, and New York – OK technically, Tokyo and Shanghai are both in Asia but who’s nitpicking?).

Yes, it is a truly global event.

But the best part that you can feature all these big-name artistes under the same banner and give each of them the limelight and attention they want. After all, who would merely want to be a supporting act?

And none of the singers would have to perform under a hot blazing sun, because each venue is in a different time zone. Although to a television viewer in, say Singapore, the concerts would be tightly synchronised to appear as a single event.

If you can’t stand the blazing hot sun expected on Saturday at One Fullerton, you can always catch all the action live on Channel5.

Catch Madonna performing at the new Wembley stadium, London.

p.s. It was just a throw-away comment about 07.07.07 being the perfect wedding date, but it’s apparent that many people take it very seriously indeed.

Hello everyone,

I’ve just received the programme schedule from SEC for the Singapore leg of the Live Earth event this Saturday. It’s just 4 days away!

Because of the time zone difference, the programme is spread out over 7 and 8 July. So there’s your entire weekend all planned out for you.

The Live Earth, ahem, live screening is interspersed with local performances and talks. Click on the thumbnails below to see the timings, so you can catch the items you want.

Hope to see you there!

Question: What is 07.07.07?

Answer: The perfect wedding date.

Just kidding. It’s also the date of Live Earth, a series of live concerts around the world to raise awareness of global warming.

It’s like Live Aid’s younger brother.

It’s also Al Gore’s latest project. Formerly known as the person who lost a US Presidential Election, he is now the face of the crusade against global warming:

The “7” in the dates also stands for the 7 continents where the various concerts will be held. Isn’t that cool?

As Star Bamboo is a Green Label recipient, I got an email on what’s happening in Singapore from our friends over at Singapore Environment Council (SEC):

Dear Green Label members and SEC Friends

On 7th July Saturday at Merlion Park One Fullerton, there will be a LIVE EARTH Satellite Concert Screening. (http://www.liveearth.org)

The screening will kick off in the morning (as Australia Sydney will be the first to start the ball rolling). We are pleased to have a big screen at One Fullerton to bring you the best from all over 7 continents. It is Free Admission.

The concert is set to feature over 100 headlining music acts, across all seven continents. Artists such as Madonna, Alicia Keys, The Smashing Pumpkins, Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue, Snow Patrol and Jennifer Lopez are among the big names who will grace the show.

If you are attending, as a please bring your own tupperware for drinks and food, as concert shows always produces a lot of trash.

Reduce Waste First, followed by Recycling.

The Singapore Environmental Council will also be there.

—
Singapore Environment Council
Website: www.sec.org.sg

So do mark down the date in your diaries/PDAs. Enjoy the free concert and make merry, hopefully we’ll remember the real message after the hangover wears off.