It's that time of year again, so brush off your tents, dig out your wellies and put on a happy smile - because we are all off to Worthy Farm! This year the Glastonbury festival is going to be better than ever, thanks not only to a stunning line up but also to even more amazing festival experiences like the circus and cabaret!
More importantly, the festival this year marks a key point for Greenpeace to focus on the upcoming G8 summit at Gleneagles in Scotland.
This year let's Make Poverty History and Clean Energy our Future!
Ten days after you leave Glastonbury, eight men in suits will meet to discuss the future for two inseparable issues, climate change and poverty in Africa.
Climate change impacts on the world's poorest - first and hardest - bringing increased floods, drought and disease to those least able to protect themselves. Greenpeace believes that the G8 summit is the crucial moment to highlight the links between development and climate change and the actions needed to tackle both.
To do this, we need your help to send a message to Tony Blair, as he needs to realise that any success in alleviating poverty could be wiped out if he fails to take serious action over climate change. This is why we are asking him to stand up to climate criminals, including President Bush and oil companies like Esso that oppose action on climate change. We are demanding that climate criminals, like Land Rover, build fuel-efficient cars and that gas guzzlers are taxed off the road. We are also working to ensure that dirty and outdated coal-fired power stations are replaced with renewable technologies such as wind power.
What can we do?
It's easy to think that climate change is too enormous a problem and that we as individuals can't possibly do anything about it. But the opposite is true. We can use energy efficient lighting and appliances, drive fuel efficient cars, we can sign up to green renewable electricity tariffs in our homes and offices and we can take the train instead of planes for short-haul journeys.
In just about every aspect of our day-to-day lives, we can positively engage with the issue of climate change and we can really make a difference. The right decisions need to be made by governments, companies and ultimately us.
You can start by visiting Greenpeace at Glastonbury where you can play, learn, talk and take personal action. It's time to stand up for something or you could find yourself falling for anything.
Greenpeace at Glastonbury
For Greenpeace, the Glastonbury festival is an essential vehicle for us to share our positive message with people through real and practical solutions in the special festival atmosphere.
With over 800 new supporters recruited last year, it's a fantastic opportunity for us to make new friends and say hello to old ones. The festival enables us to keep everyone up to date with our current campaigns and to communicate the ideas behind new ones.
The festival is a vital tool to Greenpeace, not just as a method of communication but also as part of our fundraising, especially as Greenpeace relies solely on the very generous donations from individuals.
Last year the festival raised over ﾣ200,000 for Greenpeace alone, which is an essential contribution to our campaigns in the UK and across the world. Thanks to organiser Michael Eavis, Glastonbury also generously donates huge amounts of money to other organisations including WaterAid, Oxfam and good causes in the local area.
Down in the Greenpeace field this year we have a veritable smorgasbord of goodies for you including:
- Get on board with the Action Aid bus- which set off from Johannesburg in March on its 12,000km journey. Come and hear the stories and messages it has collected along the way and add your own. It's next stop... the G8 summit.
- Roll up, roll up to the climate criminals fairground, try your hand at hoop-la with a difference! Find out who is behind the greatest threat facing the planet and what you can do to stop them... using only rubber balls and life rings.
- Work off those carbon emissions at our climate gym, where our lovely personal trainers are on hand to guide you through the low carbon plan!
- Fancy yourself as Indiana Jones? Swing by our aerial rope-ways where our adventurers will tell you what hanging out with Greenpeace really means.
- Airside on the skate ramp - thrills and spills, graffart and sounds mean you and your board are always welcome.
- After a hard day's night, why not refresh yourself with a nice hot solar-assisted shower? Come and luxuriate in a tropical setting. You only need your towel as the friendliest lotions on the planet are provided to treat you.
- Soulmates returns... where the climate is always right. Co-run with our friends from The Guardian, turn up, sign in and we'll do our best to pair you up with someone to share those Glastonbury moments with.
- Late night romance can bloom in the Soulmates lounge where the Ministry of Fun conduct their uncivil service. Marriage vows can also be exchanged and renewed in a Sunday afternoon ceremony bigger than King Kong.
