The Week in Light & Sound
- Details
The quartet were one of several acts added to the Glastonbury line-up, as the festival revealed its full programme for 2022. Yungblud, AJ Tracey, The Libertines, Kae Tempest, Ziggy Marley and Little Dragon will join previously-announced headliners Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar. On the festival's second-biggest stage, The Other Stage, Pet Shop Boys, Megan Thee Stallion and Foals will top the bill.
Fighting Fund - Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian band which won this year's Eurovision Song Contest, have sold their trophy for £712,000 to raise money for the war in Ukraine. The crystal microphone was auctioned on Facebook, with the aim of buying drones for Ukraine's military. The sale coincided with the band's appearance at a charity concert at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. It aimed to raise money for medical care and supplies.
Speaking at the concert, band member Oleh Psiuk appealed for people not to get used to the war, which has left at least 4,031 civilians dead and 4,735 injured, according to the UN, along with an unknown number of combatants. “I think it should be on the front pages always, until peace comes,” comments Psiuk.
Kalush Orchestra will receive a new crystal microphone. “The winners of Eurovision 2022 Kalush Orchestra will receive a new crystal microphone,” says the official Youtube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Legal Action - Sir Van Morrison is taking legal action against Northern Ireland's Department of Health and its minister Robin Swann over an opinion piece in Rolling Stone magazine. In the op-ed article, first published in September 2020, Mr Swann criticised Sir Van's stance on Covid restrictions. A spokesperson for Sir Van confirmed the musician had issued legal proceedings. The Health Department said it would not comment on active legal matters.
In a statement to BBC News NI, Sir Van's spokesperson adds: "We confirm that legal proceedings have been issued against Mr Robin Swann MLA and the Department of Health as co-publishers of an op-ed in Rolling Stone." In the magazine article, Mr Swann said Sir Van could potentially damage public health messaging around Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.
Sustainability Campaign - Bristol's biggest music festival has launched a new sustainability campaign, banning single-use plastic and glitter. Love Saves The Day, being held at its new site at Ashton Court on 2 and 3 June, will also have compost toilets, women's urinals and eco-travel options.
The event, expected to attract 50,000 fans, plans to cut its environmental impact by 50 per cent by 2025. Sustainability manager Pauline Bourdon said they wanted people to have "empathy and identity" with the site.
A report by Vision 2025, a network of 500 outdoor events and businesses, found the UK festival industry creates around 25,800 tonnes of waste and uses 7m litres of fuel per year. Loves Saves the Day has partnered with Music Declares Emergency alongside other leading festivals, which is calling for urgent climate action through its No Music On a Dead Planet campaign.
Street Life - A voluntary code of conduct for buskers is being drawn up by Equity in a bid to protect performers that the union claims have come “under threat” in recent years. The union has committed to adopting a policy for street entertainment based on a voluntary code of conduct for buskers and sharing the policy with all local authorities. It has also pledged to oppose the introduction of legal measures to control busking, unless they are a final resort for infringements of the code.
(Jim Evans)
31 May 2022
