Sir Bob goes mental. “Everyone in this country knows why it’s wrong”. OK, fair enough, re-selling charity gig tickets is a bit dodgy. Except this isn’t a charity gig, it’s an awareness raising event. The money being spent on eBay isn’t money that could have been spent on actual tickets, it’s not money that would have gone anywhere. If Geldof had charged £50 a ticket for Live8 he’d have raised £7.5 million in a day, just like that – but he didn’t because the event isn’t about cash. Unless it’s people spending their own cash to go to an event they were unlucky to miss out on – in which case suddenly it’s evil.
I mean, come on, a child could have told him this would happen. You put together a monster line-up, you make tickets available free but via a lottery – this is payday for every would-be tout in the world!
I’m not going to make any more Live8 posts because I’m letting my irritation with Geldof’s public persona override my admiration for his aims and drive, and that’s stupid. But the man’s tactic of putting on his ‘sweary Bob’ hat every time the huge holes in the planning come to light is bloody annoying.