Oxfam Europe Tour Blog: 30 September 2008
From WikiColdplay
Green arena.
This one looks a bit like a giant turtle shell from the outside. Unlike many of the arenas we are doing on this tour, this was mostly standing, in one big oval hall, like a cake tin, with a few seats icing the edges. The standing masses gave a totally different edge to the atmosphere. More like a huge tent at a festival..
The waiting crowds always burst in and run to the front, as soon as they open, but here, the running kept going until the arena was half full. The fans are so passionate, and came for a party.. Complete with balloons bouncing off heads for hours before a single note was played, party hats, banners and flags. The place was jumping even before the band had hit the stage. In fact, probably whilst they were still in catering, or busy in another intense game of table tennis backstage.
UCODEP and Oxfam International in Italy, brought a fantastic group of volunteers. Full of energy the whole night. Just like the rest of the Coldplay fans here tonight. By the end of the night, our deposit box for signed Health and Education For All action cards, was full to bursting. We were squeezing the last ones in. A fantastic effort by the team. Elisa will count up tonight, so that Milan can compete with Bologna tomorrow!
It was hot today too. I even saw lizards scurrying about in the dusty hedges by the bus. The heat felt like we were back in those summer nights in Chicago and Boston. Italy is hanging on to the summer for one last gasp before we head into autumn and winter shows, where snow and ice is the order of the day at this time of night.
I’m back on the bus. Just a short hop to Milan tonight. See you there.
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=70
Milan.
I’m writing this one from the Oxfam and Ucodep stall on the concourse. The crowd are singing along to a special acoustic version of ‘The Scientist’..
The hallway just got cleared.. I know what that means! Here they come..
The band just ran past the Oxfam stall. Chris Martin waved at some of the volunteers who were standing here. That was a good moment for us to remember. They are now back on stage, playing ‘Politik’. The stobe lights are flashing, and Will Champion is beating the life out of those drums! “Open up your eyes!”.
Maybe that’s what our volunteers helped some of the crowd do tonight before they went in. Open up their eyes, on the issue of Health and Education For All (Salute Acqua Istruzione Per Tutti), in Italiano.
Elisa Bacciotti, the star of popular mobilisation for Oxfam International and Ucodep in Italy, is standing next to me, waiting for the volunteers to come back after the show for one last bit of campaigning, before hopefully, they all head home into the Milan night, with a big smile on their faces!
She very kindly translated my briefing earlier to the volunteers. My Italian is terrible. Here’s a few words from her..
“Come on Pete! My English is terrible too! We really worked well together. It’s really something exciting to be here! If I think back in 2003 when I saw Coldplay in Rome, I already worked for Ucodep and I was wondering what could these two horizontal lines on Chris Martin’s hand mean? (Oxfam Make Trade Fair symbol)…Oxfam was not in Italy at the time, Ucodep was a tiny NGO, and here we are, 5 years later, Ucodep and Oxfam at the Coldplay concerts, saying to everybody IL POTERE E NELLE TUE MANI / E ORA DI UN MONDO PIU GIUSTO (YOU‘VE GOT POWER. IT’S TIME FOR JUSTICE)…. Thanks to our 40 volunteers, they were fantastic, really. It was an incredible start up for our PER TUTTI (FOR ALL) campaign!”
I think that’s amazing. I totally agree that the volunteers have been great. However, there is one part I disagree with. Elisa’s English is great!
The volunteers are coming back now with more signed action cards for PER TUTTI. Which just launched here last weekend. These Coldplay fans tonight (cheering for the encore right now)..have the power together to help give us all a fairer world. I am sure that they can be the start of something big for this campaign here in Italy.
The curtain is coming down on the shows in Italy. Coldplay are rounding off another great night with those ‘Yellow’ lights.. It’s been amazing here. I am sad to be leaving so soon. But next up.. We have Oxfam Novib and Rotterdam…
The Oxfam sphere of being shown above the crowd as ‘The Escapist’ plays over the stereo, and the fans leave the venue. Great show. Great group of volunteers. Great night. Job done. Well.. almost.. it’s load-out time again.
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=71
