What a needlessly big fuss, but it's got Live 8 yet more publicity
which I'm sure was Geldof's intention.
People who entered with the sole intention of reselling tickets are
selfish but hardly evil incarnate. It's no more immoral than buying
an item in a charity shop to sell on. They've prevented music fans
who'd love to attend from winning, but unfortunately many people
enter competitions with the intention of selling the prize and people
who'd genuinely appreciate what's on offer miss out.
Live 8 has made their £3m+ from the text entries & what happens to
the tickets after that does not lose them money. If someone's
prepared to pay hundreds or thousands for a ticket that's their
choice. Some sellers were going to donate to charity so that's money
the charities would otherwise not have received, as well as ebay's
promised donation. Certainly some of the purported sellers didn't
have the tickets to sell but buyers should display the usual amount
of caution as with any ebay item.
It's certain performers who take a day off from counting their
millions & then expect us to bask in the sun that emits from their
backsides which should be questioned. I'm not saying they don't care
about the cause but equally they're aware it won't do their sales and
public profile any harm either. They're more in a position to make a
significant financial difference & invest their time than the average
Joe on the street who Geldof guilts into spending more than they can
afford on text lotteries, wristbands and the inevitable CD and DVD
boxset.
