Massive Attack, Nile Rodgers & Chic, and IDLES will take part in a series of low-carbon gigs this November in an attempt to test a number of proposals to radically decarbonise the events industry.
The Act 1.5 Presents events will take place at a renewable-powered site in Liverpool, the M&S Bank Arena, from November 28 to 30. The gigs have been announced amid the UK city being named the United Nations’ first Accelerator City, and each event will aim to cut audience transport emissions.
The site will also use a plug-and-play stage setup to reduce gear transport, while there will be zero landfill waste removal and the arena will be completely meat-free.
To cut emissions from fan transport – one of the greatest hurdles to event decarbonisation – the first set of tickets will be sold to Liverpool locals, with a fee added to grant buyers unlimited public-transport access on the day of the concert. There will also be public transport incentives in place for those, in the secondary ticketing block, who will be traveling from outside the city.
The events will follow a similar gig that Massive Attack headlined at Bristol’s Clifton Downs in August.
“Our recent Bristol show demonstrated beyond question that major live music events can be Paris 1.5 compatible,” Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja said in a press statement, referring to the Paris Agreement goal to prevent global heating beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius.
He added that Liverpool’s UN Accelerator City status is a chance to test “more dynamic pilots and experiments to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. This idea and this insistence are not going back in any box. We’re delighted to see artists like Coldplay testing elements like localised ticket pre-sales as recommended in the Tyndall Centre Paris 1.5 decarbonisation road map and encourage other artists to do so freely. The talking stage is over, it’s time to act.”
Find out how you can purchase tickets for the gigs here.
