Glastonbury fest keeps up tradition of activism

06/23/2007 12:00 PM, Reuters


Glastonbury, the world's biggest green field arts and music festival, has a history of political activism and this year was no exception with campaigns about climate change and big business.

The festival says the "Left Field" venue "aims to reaffirm the spirit of political debate" and show that "music can make a difference" with discussion forums, Fair Trade shopping and films to raise awareness of political issues.

"We've put a lot of effort into focusing Glastonbury on the environment and climate change this year," said festival organizer Michael Eavis, who was this month given an award for services to music by Queen Elizabeth.

Alongside top bands and performers such as the Who -- headlining the finale on Sunday -- the Killers, the Manic Street Preachers and the Arctic Monkeys, there were a host of high-profile campaigners and activists.

"Nowadays kids are politicized in a way the world has never seen," fashion designer Katharine Hamnett told Reuters, adding that at the same time young people felt powerless.

Real change only came when people knew "how to protest effectively" using the tools of democracy, said Hamnett, known for wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "58% Don't Want Pershing" when she met then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, referring to U.S. nuclear missiles.

Her latest T-shirt, with the slogan "REVOLTING YOUTH" on the front and on the back details about how to pursue one's local member of parliament to press for change, is proving popular at Glastonbury and the proceeds will go to a youth music charity.

The shirts were meant to get the message across to children as young as six that they were "the new electorate" and "they can start working now to use their vote" to address issues that concern young people, such as education, she said.

Some protested against the ethics of big business.

Britain's GMB union, conducting a campaign against private equity companies accusing them of layoffs, asset-stripping, dumping insolvent pension funds and poor industrial relations, invited festival-goers to choose their least favorite "rogue" businessmen from a selection of posters.

CLIMATE CHANGE

On site, Glastonbury's "I Count" campaign, aims to get 100,000 festival-goers to sign up in support of preventing climate change.

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, all of which benefit from funds from the festival.

An ecological theme ran throughout the muddy pastures.

There were solar powered showers and wind turbine mobile chargers available on site as well as free, recycled toilet rolls and the "Give Me Shelter" campaign which will hand over to the homeless tents left behind after the festival.

People are also being encouraged to leave their tents behind for re-use in countries in need.

Glastonbury 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.

The event, which started in the 1970s as a hippy musical haven at Eavis's farm, changed its name to the Glastonbury Festival in 1981 and that year was the first "Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) Festival."

This was the beginning of a strong relationship in which CND spread the Glastonbury word while receiving funds from the festival. More and more cash was funneled into Greenpeace, Oxfam and other charities in the 1980s as the venue grew.

Glastonbury gave money to the Sudan appeal in 2004 and also embraced the "Make Poverty History" campaign in 2005, when 1.35 million pounds ($2.7 million) went to charities and other causes.