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Stars Not Coming Out for Earth Summit
August 27, 2002 06:10 PM ET
By Toby Reynolds
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - The sun may have shone on the Earth Summit but the stars have definitely not come out in Johannesburg.
"Where have all the big names gone?" is the protest lament in South Africa as not only President Bush but also the green stars of the entertainment world who graced the event in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago have been conspicuous by their absence.
"It's off the radar screen," was the dismissive verdict at the offices of big-selling British celebrity magazine Hello.
"Not a word has been uttered about it."
That may be bad news not just for gossip columnists but for the U.N. summit organizers anxious for coverage around the globe to raise awareness of poverty and environmental dangers.
Sting, John Denver and the Beach Boys serenaded delegates who flocked to Brazil and the delights of Copacabana beach for the first Earth Summit in 1992. It is hard to find one A-list music industry celeb in Johannesburg.
Irish rock third world warriors Bono and Bob Geldof are not here, despite a long record of raising money and publicity for Africa's debt problem and famines.
South Africa's aging "White Zulu" Johnny Clegg is top of the bill at summit music venues. West Africans Salif Keita and Femi Kuti played at a summit concert last week.
In Rio, as politicians basking in the afterglow of Cold War peace debated ways to save the planet, Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine joined soccer legend Pele and Tibet's Dalai Lama to help raise consciousness on the issues.
This time round, "Titanic" star Leonardo DiCaprio pulled out of appearing in Johannesburg in support of a project to save great apes, citing contractual obligations in the United States.
NO NOOR
And Tuesday at the Rio follow-up Jordan's glamorous Queen Noor became the latest in a long list of celebrity cancellations and no-shows when she pulled out of an event next week to promote parks and conservation with Nelson Mandela.
"She is definitely not coming. We do not know why," a Jordanian Embassy spokeswoman said in Pretoria.
The world's most famous South African, former president Mandela has also been absent from the biggest event the country has hosted since the end of its apartheid-era isolation in 1994. Billed to appear at an opening ceremony for campaigners gathered to lobby their governments at the summit, thousands were disappointed when the 84-year-old Mandela failed to show. His spokeswoman said he was out of town working on his book, although he is due to make a low-key appearance Wednesday.
About 100 world leaders will jet in for a day or two next week but even their numbers will be depleted, notably by the absences of Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While some have speculated that northern hemisphere summer vacations and Johannesburg's unenviable reputation as one of the world's most crime-ridden cities may have contributed to the beautiful people staying away, some campaigners have a more worrying explanation as far as the planet is concerned.
"Rio had a much broader appeal because it was new," Achim Steiner, Director-General of environmental group IUCN, told Reuters, lamenting the "cynicism" leading up to Johannesburg.
"Ten years ago people thought the governments really wanted to change the world," Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth said.
"There has been a huge growth in cynicism since then. Now the public expectations for the summit are that it won't achieve a great amount and people don't really want to be too clearly associated with it."
Stars Not Coming Out for Earth Summit
August 27, 2002 06:10 PM ET
By Toby Reynolds
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - The sun may have shone on the Earth Summit but the stars have definitely not come out in Johannesburg.
"Where have all the big names gone?" is the protest lament in South Africa as not only President Bush but also the green stars of the entertainment world who graced the event in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago have been conspicuous by their absence.
"It's off the radar screen," was the dismissive verdict at the offices of big-selling British celebrity magazine Hello.
"Not a word has been uttered about it."
That may be bad news not just for gossip columnists but for the U.N. summit organizers anxious for coverage around the globe to raise awareness of poverty and environmental dangers.
Sting, John Denver and the Beach Boys serenaded delegates who flocked to Brazil and the delights of Copacabana beach for the first Earth Summit in 1992. It is hard to find one A-list music industry celeb in Johannesburg.
Irish rock third world warriors Bono and Bob Geldof are not here, despite a long record of raising money and publicity for Africa's debt problem and famines.
South Africa's aging "White Zulu" Johnny Clegg is top of the bill at summit music venues. West Africans Salif Keita and Femi Kuti played at a summit concert last week.
In Rio, as politicians basking in the afterglow of Cold War peace debated ways to save the planet, Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine joined soccer legend Pele and Tibet's Dalai Lama to help raise consciousness on the issues.
This time round, "Titanic" star Leonardo DiCaprio pulled out of appearing in Johannesburg in support of a project to save great apes, citing contractual obligations in the United States.
NO NOOR
And Tuesday at the Rio follow-up Jordan's glamorous Queen Noor became the latest in a long list of celebrity cancellations and no-shows when she pulled out of an event next week to promote parks and conservation with Nelson Mandela.
"She is definitely not coming. We do not know why," a Jordanian Embassy spokeswoman said in Pretoria.
The world's most famous South African, former president Mandela has also been absent from the biggest event the country has hosted since the end of its apartheid-era isolation in 1994. Billed to appear at an opening ceremony for campaigners gathered to lobby their governments at the summit, thousands were disappointed when the 84-year-old Mandela failed to show. His spokeswoman said he was out of town working on his book, although he is due to make a low-key appearance Wednesday.
About 100 world leaders will jet in for a day or two next week but even their numbers will be depleted, notably by the absences of Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While some have speculated that northern hemisphere summer vacations and Johannesburg's unenviable reputation as one of the world's most crime-ridden cities may have contributed to the beautiful people staying away, some campaigners have a more worrying explanation as far as the planet is concerned.
"Rio had a much broader appeal because it was new," Achim Steiner, Director-General of environmental group IUCN, told Reuters, lamenting the "cynicism" leading up to Johannesburg.
"Ten years ago people thought the governments really wanted to change the world," Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth said.
"There has been a huge growth in cynicism since then. Now the public expectations for the summit are that it won't achieve a great amount and people don't really want to be too clearly associated with it."
