Anti-Shell flashmob planned for end of Southbank concert series

Media Advisory: 7 June 2013

Anti-Shell flashmob planned for end of Southbank concert series

On Sunday, a flashmob of singers led by the ‘Shell Out Sounds’ campaign will protest Shell’s sponsorship of the arts at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

– Photo opportunity: 9 June 2013, 2.40pm, choral flashmob with singers and musicians. Large banners directly addressing Shell and Yoko Ono will be used. Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London.

– For more information, interviews, photos and footage call Chris Garrard on 07743197203 or email [email protected]

On Sunday 9 June, a choral flashmob will perform outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall before the last concert in this season’s Shell Classic International concert series. [1] This is the third performance by ‘Shell Out Sounds’, concertgoers protesting Shell’s sponsorship of the Southbank Centre. [2] The flashmob is also directed towards Yoko Ono, the curator of next week’s Meltdown festival at the Southbank. She is an outspoken critic of ‘fracking’, a controversial method of gas extraction which is widely used by Shell. The group intend to gain her support using a banner with her words: ‘Art is a means for survival’. [3]

Singers will perform an adapted version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, with lyrics highlighting Shell’s controversial activities around the world. These include Tar Sands extraction in Canada, ‘fracking’ in South Africa, failed attempts at Arctic drilling and human rights issues in Nigeria. [4] The group will give several performances around the Southbank on Sunday afternoon, raising awareness of these issues and distributing flyers.

The flashmob comes during an extended period of anti-Shell activity. Board members recently faced probing questions on their human rights and environmental record at their AGM in The Hague. Also, the University of Oxford recently faced controversy over a new funding partnership, with respected alumni having a letter published in The Guardian condemning the partnership. [5]

– ENDS –

Notes:

1. Details of the protest can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/516879531705368/
2. More details about previous protests can be found at: http://www.shelloutsounds.org
3. Yoko Ono’s ‘Artists against fracking’ has wide support in New York:
http://artistsagainstfracking.com/
Details of the Meltdown festival can be found here:
http://meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk/
4. Find out more at:
http://www.ienearth.org/docs/Risking-Ruin-Shell-forweb.pdf
5. Find out more at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/may/09/letter-opponents-oxford-partnership-shell

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