With the worldwide Live 8 concerts having put the African issue on page 1 in newspapers all over the globe, the G8 Gleneagles meeting has finished with the Group of Eight pledging to cancel the debt of 18 of the world’s poorest countries under good governance and doubling foreign aid to $50 billion (U.S.) in the next five years. Live 8 also made history as the biggest global event in rock history. Two million rock fans flocked to the Live 8 concerts in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Philadelphia, Barrie, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Moscow, while well over 2 billion followed the shows on TV and the Internet.
Our industry also showed its support. From sound companies such as Britannia Row Productions, Sonic Sound, Clair Bros., Jason Audio and Squelch, to name a few, to mic manufacturers Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and Neumann, to Midas and DiGiCo consoles and massive Electro-Voice P.A.s, the hundreds of performing artists and their engineers were able to have their voices heard.
