Local stars surf The Wave to combat climate change

Event date: 5 December 2009 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Cost: N/A
Contact: Niall Bakewell
Location: Bank Square, Belfast

The Wave event

Singer/songwriter Ken Haddock, folk songstress Juliet Turner, violinist/composer Ruby Colley and multi-cultural music collective Beyond Skin will all perform at the event, compered by Radio Ulster DJ Joe Lindsay. 

The afternoon's entertainment will culminate in Belfast Lord Mayor Naomi Long encouraging everyone in the crowd to hold aloft something blue in order to form The Wave, a vast, undulating sea of colour, representing the rising tides caused by climate change, but also the rising tide of support for global action to reduce CO2 emissions. 

The event has been organised by Stop Climate Chaos, a coalition of over twenty environmental and development groups who all wish to see Northern Ireland play its full role in combating runaway global climate change. 

Similar events are taking place in Dublin, Glasgow, London, Paris, Brussels and Berlin.  There will also be various rallies, marches and other actions taking place across the world [7], all putting pressure on governments meeting in Copenhagen. 

Frances McCandless of Stop Climate Chaos said:

"Come along and bring your friends.  The Wave will be an enjoyable occasion for all - maybe even a welcome break from some Christmas shopping.  It will also demonstrate that the people of Northern Ireland are looking for leadership on climate change from politicians in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and around the world."

Joe Lindsay, presenter of the eclectic After Midnight radio show, added:

"We all have to do our bit for our planet and Stop Climate Chaos is going a long way to help us achieve this.  I'm very proud to be involved with The Wave project.  It's getting an important message across the best way, with a bit of fun and music - and to be honest I've always wanted to orchestrate a Mexican wave!!!"

Maurice Maxwell, Head of the European Commission Representation in Northern Ireland, said:

"The EU is playing a leading role in the Copenhagen negotiations - the strength of our position is built on the support of member countries. Events such as the Wave are happening all across Europe, demonstrating the widespread public desire there is for strong and coordinated action."

Bank Square is behind Tesco and Primark in Belfast city centre.  Entertainment starts at 1pm and the event will finish at 3pm.  As well as music, there will be face-painters, jugglers and stilt-walkers.  Everyone is asked to bring and/or wear something blue.

For more information, please visit www.stopclimatechaosni.org.

Stop Climate Chaos would like to thank its sponsors: Belfast City Council; The European Commission; RES; and Translink.

ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Rosemary McNicholl at WWF Northern Ireland, rmcnicholl@wwf.org.uk, 07824416735. 

For more information on Stop Climate Chaos Northern Ireland please visit www.stopclimatechaosni.org

More information on Wave events can be found at http://the-wave.org.uk/

The UN Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen will run from 7 - 18 December 2009.  These are the most important climate change talks since the meeting at Kyoto in 1997, which resulted in the Kyoto Protocol that set international emissions targets up until 2012.  For more information on the talks, go to http://en.cop15.dk/

For more information on Stop Climate Chaos GB please visit www.stopclimatechaos.org

For more information on Stop Climate Chaos Ireland please visit www.stopclimatechaos.ie

Stop Climate Chaos Northern Ireland has launched a campaign, "Get in the Game," in order to achieve a Stormont Climate Change Bill, which would complement the Westminster Climate Change Act, by ensuring that Northern Ireland delivers a proportionate share of the cuts in UK CO2 emissions.  More information on this campaign can be found on the coalition's website.

For a full list of events taking place globally go to www.globalclimatecampaign.org

The wave, Belfast Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169306608001&index=1#/event.php?eid=169306608001&index=1  

Please note the SC NI website is hosted by NICVA and requires registration/login to participate in the petition.