(07-20-2004) Bono speech, not music, will open World Affairs series - The Oregonian*

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Bono speech, not music, will open World Affairs series
The rock star's Oct. 20 address is expected to take the position that rich countries' policies hamper the fight against AIDS in Africa
DYLAN RIVERA



When Irish rock star Bono appears at Portland's Rose Garden Arena this fall, he won't sing while sprinting around a heart-shaped stage, as he did in an April 2001 show with his band, U2.

The World Affairs Council of Oregon has recruited the singer to kick off its 2004-05 International Speaker Series, the council will announce today.

Bono, a singer and activist for the world's poor, is expected to deliver an address on how rich countries' foreign aid and trade policies have hampered Africa's ability to fight the spread of AIDS. He won't sing at the Oct. 20 event, but, as with the three other speakers in the council's series, Bono will deliver a 45-minute address and take written questions from the audience.

The council views Bono as a speaker who can help the 54-year-old nonprofit reach young people.

"He's had more impact on saving lives and affecting public policy than many world leaders, more than many elected officials," said Maria Wulff, president of the World Affairs Council. "Not every kid may be a rock star, but every kid can make the world a better place."

The event, which Bono has asked to be limited to 4,800 attendees, will be the council's biggest engagement yet. Most of the council's large-scale speakers fill about 2,700 seats of downtown's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets for the series of four speakers go on sale today, and are available at www.worldoregon.org. Tickets for the single Bono event will go on sale through Ticketmaster Sept. 1.

"Bono is unique in that he has used his celebrity to focus the attention of the world on the tragedy in Africa," said Dr. Jerry W. Leach, president of the World Affairs Councils of America.

Bono's participation will be a rare speaking engagement for the singer, who in the last several years has made a few speeches at universities that were to more exclusive audiences. Tickets to the World Affairs Council series are open to the public. Under an exclusivity arrangement with the council, it likely will be Bono's only Northwest speech this year.

U2 became one of rock's hottest tickets in 1987, with the release of The Joshua Tree, an album that put the previously niche rockers on magazine covers worldwide. Bono's ability to reach a diverse audience helped U2 mark the second-highest gross sales of any rock tour in history in 2001.

As leader of U2, Bono has injected politics into music since the early 1980s, when the band became known for calling attention to the Catholic-Protestant conflict in Ireland. Tributes to Martin Luther King Jr., anthems condemning U.S. involvement in Central America and an appearance at the 1985 Live Aid Africa concert fundraiser also built the reputation.

But in recent years, Bono's activism has risen to world capitals. In March 2002, President Bush credited the singer with inspiring his proposal to boost U.S. aid to African nations by $5 billion over five years. Conservatives such as Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said the singer changed their views on AIDS and debt relief.

Bono's ability to influence both teenagers and global heads of state shows why he will be a compelling speaker, even for people who aren't U2 fans, said Bobby Shriver, a Kennedy scion who co-founded DATA, a nonprofit focused on debt relief with Bono, 44.

"Last time I checked, a Republican president acknowledging being influenced by a rock star on a $15 billion matter was a pretty unusual thing," Shriver said. "Can you imagine Nixon saying, 'I talked to Elvis therefore I'm spending $15 billion?' "

In recent years the celebrity activists realized they still weren't reaching middle America.

"We continuously encounter people saying, 'This is good, you guys are going to go to heaven, but no one cares about this in the real world,' " Shriver said. "We have to figure out a way to get into the so-called real world.' "

Oregon's status as a swing state in the coming presidential election means it can have a heightened impact on these issues, Shriver said.

"There are a lot of people who are doing good work there and the state has a tradition of being advanced on international issues," Shriver said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1090324868208901.xml
 
I saw that in the paper today as well. Since I'm just outside Portland I'm thinking about going. Should be very interesting.
 
:wink: Well, i can't go, but if you do, would you come back here and report everything to us? we'd really appreciate that!:yes: Would be really cool if alot of U2 fans around there showed up tho! Lend their support to Bono!:applaud: :heart:
 
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