Live Earth Makes History as Largest Global Entertainment Event

Press release
Source: Sunshine, Sachs & Associates

“Live Earth rallied an unprecedented audience to take action to tackle the world’s paramount challenge – the climate crisis,” Live Earth Founder and Producer Kevin Wall said. “The climate crisis is a global problem that requires a global response – and that is just what we’ve received. Live Earth has established a deep foundation for the ongoing campaign that will continue to move people to help solve the climate crisis.”

“Live Earth is officially the largest global entertainment event in history,” Live Earth Partner and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said. “Live Earth is already the largest in history, and the numbers are still coming in.”

MSN, Live Earth’s official online partner, broadcast the entire concert series live and experienced more than 15 million video streams on its LiveEarth.MSN.com web site. Since the beginning of the concert Friday night, MSN has served more than 30 million live and on-demand streams of the Live Earth concerts for climate change.

Live Earth reached its massive audience through an unprecedented media architecture covering television, radio, Internet and wireless channels. Live Earth was broadcast across television networks in more than 100 countries. In the U.S. , NBC Universal dedicated all of its domestic networks to Live Earth on July 7 culminating with a Prime Time special that aired on NBC. More than 20 of the world’s leading broadcasters including NBC (US), Shanghai Media Group and CTV (China), BBC (UK), Pro Sieben (Germany), TVGLobo (Brazil), Fuji TV and NHK (Japan), South Africa Broadcast Company (South Africa) and Foxtel (Australia) dedicated a combined total of more than 100 channels to Live Earth concert coverage. Live Earth was broadcast via radio channels in more than 130 countries. Through a partnership with Premiere Radio Network, four separate radio broadcast programs at 18 hours each were heard on 200 syndicated stations in the U.S. Both XM and SIRIUS satellite radio devoted 8 channels each to carry all concerts and messaging in its entirety for 60 total hours of music. In addition, World Space satellite radio delivered 22 ½ hours of audio content across Africa, Asia and Europe in 134 countries. Beyond regular concert programming, each partnering radio station carried Live Earth PSAs and promotions to deliver the call to action and encourage listeners to take action.

Wall further demonstrated the global reach of the Live Earth message by announcing that millions of personal commitments have been made via the Web and SMS in 178 countries and 35 territories. Live Earth will continue to call on people around the world to commit to make immediate and lasting changes in six key areas of their lives – at home, at work, while shopping, in their transportation, in their communities and with their governments. Live Earth is offering people simple steps they can take – like using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances – and asking people to sign a far-reaching 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.

The names of people who made commitments and signed the pledge through their computers or mobile phones on July 7th were displayed on the Live Earth web site, on the screens at the concerts, and on the global television broadcasts. However, people can continue to make these important commitments and find solutions for the climate crisis at http://liveearth.org or http://liveearth.msn.com.

After the announcement of Live Earth in February, people and organizations all over the world asked to host their own events to support the cause, and the “Friends of Live Earth” program was created to support these efforts. More than 10,000 of these events were held in more than 130 countries ranging from gatherings in people’s homes to public screenings and music events exceeding tens of thousands of people. These large-scale music events, of which there were hundreds, occurred in international cities such as Zurich , Montreal , Malta , Jakarta and Singapore . While still calculating full attendance totals from around the world, Live Earth organizers estimate that more than 1 million people participated in this groundbreaking global grassroots program.

In addition, Wall noted that Live Earth has produced more than 60 short films, 30 PSAs featuring stars like Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz, and a book – The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook by David de Rothschild – to serve as lasting media that will echo the Live Earth call to action delivered at the concerts on July 7.

ABOUT LIVE EARTH
Live Earth was a monumental music event that brought together a global audience on July 7, 2007 to combat the climate crisis. Live Earth staged concerts in New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Hamburg – as well as special broadcast events in Antarctica, Kyoto and Washington, DC – and featured feature more than 100 of the world’s best music acts – a mix of both legendary music acts like The Police, Genesis, Bon Jovi and Madonna with the latest headliners like Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas and Jack Johnson.

Live Earth's 24 hours of music across 7 continents delivered a worldwide call to action and the solutions necessary to answer that call. Live Earth launched a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis. Live Earth is partnering with the Alliance for Climate Protection, Avaaz, The Climate Group (We’re in This Together), Stop Climate Chaos (I Count) and other international organizations in this ongoing effort. Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, CEO of Control Room, the company that produced the concerts globally. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection and a Partner of Live Earth.

Exclusive online media partner MSN is helping Live Earth reach people in every corner of the globe. Official Live Earth concerts were streamed live at http://liveearth.msn.com. MSN’s 39 localized web portals worldwide attract 465 million monthly users.

smart is the world's only automaker serving as an Official Partner. Unlike any other vehicle, the new smart fortwo combines a modern, individual lifestyle with environmental protection by setting the standard in urban mobility and offering the lowest CO2 emission of any vehicle on the market. smart responds to environmental demands with innovative, technologically sound solutions and as a result produces positive and credible answers to the question of ecological driving.

Philips, as the world’s leading lighting supplier, joined Live Earth as an Official Partner. Philips was the first to introduce the energy saving light bulb in 1980 and has put environmental product improvement at the heart of its business with its EcoDesign program since 1994, increasing its green product range year by year.

Live Earth partnered with companies on a local level who share the commitment to helping people live a more energy efficient lifestyle. PepsiCo, an Official Partner of Live Earth, is committed to making a difference with eco-friendlier packaging, energy and water conservation and waste reduction. It’s all part of PepsiCo’s commitment to Performance with Purpose -- to do better by doing better. Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, joined Live Earth as an Official Sponsor and is the latest extension of Esurance's efforts to conserve energy and preserve the planet's precious resources. For more than seven years, Esurance policyholders have helped save thousands of trees by buying their auto insurance online and using electronic documents. An official partner of Live Earth, The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc., a subsidiary of V&S Group, produces and markets ABSOLUT® VODKA, Level ™ Vodka, FRÏS® Vodka , Plymouth™ Gin and Cruzan® Rum. The Absolut Spirits Company focuses on reducing the impact on climate change, sustainable agriculture and optimizing use of natural resources as mandated by V&S Group. To view details on the company’s efforts to combat global warming, visit www.vsgroup.com and click on “Corporate Responsibility/Environment.” Intelsat, the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide, is the official satellite capacity sponsor to Live Earth, providing the global high definition infrastructure for an unforgettable viewer experience. Intelsat connects the planet to Live Earth through its network of 52 satellites and global terrestrial facilities.

For more information, visit www.liveearth.org or www.liveearth.msn.com.