Hyde Park goes wireless but not for the penniless

WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2005

This link will take you to the site for the big music events over the next couple of weeks here in London. Great line-ups, cheaper than Glastonbury, but a far cry from the old Hyde Park events of yesteryear. It has also made the preparations for Live8 (which comes bang-smack in the middle of the season) somewhat easier. Frankly, I am pissed off!

I live on the south-western edge of London's Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens space. A good friend lives in Marble Arch - on the north-eastern corner of that same area. At this time of the year, the walk between the two is usually pleasant, but in any event allows me to bypass the awful traffic pollution in this city. The same route is also a shortcut to the city centre. Every summer in recent years there have been music events in the park, which usually mean taking a slight detour but otherwise still enjoying the green space. It's even possible to sit and listen to events if you're happy to be a bit more distant from the performances than those in the paid enclosures. It is a compromise that suits the promoters and keeps the locals equally happy.

No such luck this year. With multiple stages and a constant relay of events, our park has effectively been hi-jacked. So much for public space - but then again it is owned by the queen and she simply gives us license to use it. I am now deprived of even the illusion of a pollution-free environment.

In days which now feel very long past indeed, we were entertained by major bands like the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd in this same park. Those events were free to all and still served a commercial purpose by giving the musicians exposure and community credibility. In a slightly more innocent way, it was the same motive that is now drawing the rock 'n' roll (?) elite to the Live8 call.

The one star missing from all this will of course be Micheal Jackson. He's obviously too exhausted to take advantage of what would be some positive publicity for a change. You don't need me to tell you about yesterday's aquittal, but given the degree of persecution he's been subjected to, I was astonished by the "not guilty" verdict on all ten counts. That a jury of "middle american" citizens came to this decision in the new moral climate of the Bush regime is significant. No wonder the government prefers to keep less fortunate individuals locked up without trial at all.

Also in London, the three-day "Internet World" show starts today at Earls Court. Strictly speaking it's a trade event, but I gather theres public admission available too.

Later.