What do African bloggers think of Live 8?

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 5:59 AM on July 1, 2005.

The sequel to 1985's Live Aid, tomorrow's Live 8 concert is poised to become "the largest interactive event the world has ever seen." But what do African bloggers think of it? Ethan Zuckerman has the roundup and we have a roundup of the roundup:

• "Kenyan blogger behind Thinker’s Room isn’t just skeptical about Live 8 - he’s skeptical about Bob Geldolf...In his post 'Live Aid? Please!', Thinker raises two major concerns about the concert: Will it have any impact? and Where are the Africans?"
• "Sokari Ekine of Black Looks weighs in with a roundup of Live 8 skepticism in a post titled “Live 8419″. The title is a shout out to Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie of AFFORD, writing in Pambazuka, who proposes a festival to celebrate the aid Africa gives the North: natural resources at fire-sale prices, skilled health professionals who leave Africa to work abroad, and a market for subsidized agricultural goods."
• "Ethiopundit wishes Live 8 focused more on legitimate governments and fair elections as it did on aid...But s/he’s at least as concerned about Sir Bob’s decision to leave the Spice Girls off the program in favor of more 'serious' artists like Destiny’s Child, Duran Duran and A-ha, titling [the] post 'Geldolf vs. Girl Power'."

Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.