Article

This is an original article written by Owen Gibson as printed in the Guardian Weekly which is suitable for advanced comprehension classes.

Rock promoters pledge to turn festival green

With rock stars touring the world on fuel-guzzling private jets, and the sites of music festivals typically left strewn with acres of paper, beer cups, abandoned tents and mounds of rubbish, rock'n'roll has struggled to prove its environmental credentials.

Now the organisers of festivals and promoters behind some of the biggest acts have pledged to increase recycling, make greater use of renewable energy sources, and use less power.

Organisers of the industry's first Green World Awards at the Midem music industry festival in Cannes last month called on more festivals to follow the lead of European gatherings such as Roskilde in Denmark and Paleo Festival Nyon in Switzerland.

At Roskilde 90% of drink containers are returned for recycling and the festival-goers get free beer in return for handing in their rubbish. It has also developed a low-energy lighting rig.

Daniel Rossellat, president of Paleo, said his festival, which attracts 225,000 was entirely powered by sustainable energy and recycled 41% of its waste. "Today it's not exceptional to be eco-friendly, it's an obligation," he said.

Spurred by higher taxes for landfill rubbish and a desire to reflect the concerns of its young audience, Britain's Download Festival has also introduced a deposit on its drinks containers.

Harvey Goldsmith, the high profile promoter behind Led Zeppelin's live return and both Live Aid and Live8, said more artists were using low-energy lighting rigs and were at least considering green concerns.

John Probyn, UK production director at the world's biggest concert promoter, Live Nation, said artists playing the company's Download Festival also had to take more responsibility.

"Backstage, the generator for some of the tour buses is nearly as big as the one for the stage. Anything we can do to reduce the amount of power we're using has to be a good thing," said Probyn.

But David Campbell, chief executive AEG Europe, which owns the O2 arena in London, said that while the venue had embraced recycling initiatives there was still little co-operation between rival promoters on harmonising tour schedules to cut down on air travel.

Glossary

promoter

(noun) a person or company that organises festivals and concerts

fuel-guzzling

(adjective) when a vehicle, plane, etc uses a large amount of fuel

be strewn with something

(verb) covered with something

follow the lead of someone

(expression) copy the example of another person

festival-goer

(noun) a person who attends a festival

Questions

The questions below are divided into three groups - before, during and after reading the above article.

Before reading

The article is about rock festivals. Work with a partner. Ask and answer the questions below.

1. Have you ever been to a rock festival? If yes, was it a good or bad experience?
2. What do you think are the positive or negative things about these events?

Vocabulary from the article. Use the verbs below to complete the definitions - call on, cut down on, embrace, hand in, pledge, struggle

1. If you ___ to do something, you make a formal public promise to do it.
2. If you ___ something, you reduce the amount that you do it.
3. If you ___ to do something, you try hard to do it even though it is difficult.
4. If you ___ a lost wallet etc, you give it to a person in authority.
5. If you ___ a new idea, you accept it with enthusiasm.
6. If you ___ a person to do something, you formally ask them to do it.

Look at the headline, photo and caption. What do you think will be the main theme of the article?

1. Teenagers from Roskilde want to promote the idea of a green rock festival.
2. Rock promoters want to hold more festivals in the countryside.
3. Festival organisers plan to make events more environmentally friendly.
4. The European Community has forced promoters to make more festivals green.

Quickly read the first four paragraphs of the article to check your answer.

While reading

Read the first four paragraphs of the article again. Answer the following questions.

1. Why is it difficult for "rock'n'roll" to prove that it can be environmentally friendly?
2. What three things have rock promoters promised to do to help the environment?
3. Which rock festivals are positive examples of green events? Where do they take place?
4. How are some festival-goers encouraged to clear up their rubbish?

Read the rest of the article from paragraph five onwards. Which person might say the following things? Not the names against the sentences - David Campbell, Harvey Goldsmith, John Probyn, Daniel Rossellat, a Download Festival representative.

1. "Bands arrive in huge vehicles with massive generators - they should use less power."
2. "Promoters need to talk to each other and plan the tour routes of their bands."
3. "Being green nowadays is not an option, it's a necessity for everybody."
4. "We want to respond to the concerns of the young festival-goers."
5. "Low energy lighting is starting to become far more popular with bands."

After reading

Vocabulary related to the environment. Find words from the article to match the definitions below. Paragraph numbers are in brackets. Write the words in the form they appear in the text in the grid on the right. Find the word that runs down through all the words.

1. when an organisation promises publicly to help the environment, etc (2)
2. large piles of rubbish, stones, etc (1)
3. rubbish; things that are thrown away (5)
4. energy that replaces itself naturally or is easily replaced (2)
5. rubbish that is put in a big hole in the ground (6)
6. when a machine is supplied with energy by petrol, gas etc (5)
7. a thing or place that you get something from (2)
8. a general adjective to describe things that help the environment (3)
9. the process of treating old bottles etc so they can be used again (4)

Activity - presentation

Your local council wants to hold a "green" music festival this summer. In groups, prepare a presentation to persuade the council that your company should organise the event. Include the following:

• name, date, location and size of festival
• type of music and possible bands/acts
• green features such as recycling, renewable energy resources, green transport etc

Give your presentation to the group. At the end, choose the festival which sounds as if it will be both the most environmentally-friendly and the most successful.