Celebrities and activists call for action on world hunger
David Beckham, Bill Gates and Danny Boyle are set to address a rally against global hunger in London’s Hyde Park ahead of the G8 summit.
Thousands are expected to attend the demonstration, hosted by campaign group Enough Food For Everyone IF, which marks the countdown to the meeting of the world’s eight wealthiest countries in Northern Ireland in ten days.
The event on Saturday coincides with a “hunger summit” called Nutrition for Growth, co-hosted by the British and Brazilian governments, which aims to bring business leaders, scientists, politicians and civil society groups together to promote investment in nutrition in the developing world.
The campaign will feature a “visual petition” of 250,000 spinning flowers, featuring two million petals to represent the numbers of children who die from malnutrition each year.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and director Danny Boyle are expected to adress the rally. Other speakers included the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, while recorded messages from David Beckham and Eddie Izzard will be broadcast to the crowd.
It’s the silent scandal of our generation and we plan to make enough noise about hunger so that world leaders have to sit up and take action. Sally Copley
Sally Copley, spokesman for Enough Food for Everyone IF, said: “The UK public is demanding change because they know it’s high time we address both the causes and the consequences of the hunger crisis.
“It’s the silent scandal of our generation and we plan to make enough noise about hunger so that world leaders have to sit up and take action.
“The Hunger Summit and the G8 summit following it must take ambitious action to end hunger. That means clamping down on tax dodging in poor countries, tackling malnutrition, and cracking down on land grabs. We can eradicate hunger, but it needs real political leadership to do so.
“We’re demanding action, not words and a lot is riding on what can be delivered in the next 10 days.”
Last year at the Olympics we showed what made Britain great. Now tens of thousands of people across the UK are harnessing that spirit, energy and passion in the fight against hunger. Danny Boyle
Boyle, the artistic director of the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, said: “Last year at the Olympics we showed what made Britain great. Now tens of thousands of people across the UK are harnessing that spirit, energy and passion in the fight against hunger. And it’s a fight we have to win. It’s staggering that 1 in 8 people around the world go to bed hungry.
“We need to change that – and show again how we can do something amazing when we all come together… We can be the generation to end global hunger.”
Mr Cameron’s Nutrition for Growth summit, which is being co-hosted with Brazil, is due to discuss hunger and look at ways to “end the cycle” by bringing together business leaders, scientists, government and civil society.
Hunger is due to be the subject of a push by Britain at the G8 summit in Lough Erne on June 17 and 18.