Stars mobilise in defence of party island | The Sunday Times
02/02/14 10.21
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Stars mobilise in defence of party island A celebrity army has gone to war over the decision to allow oil drilling off Ibiza Jessica Brinton Published: 2 February 2014
WHEN the Spanish government gave permission for an oil company to start prospecting in the Mediterranean waters around Ibiza, it reckoned without the opposition of some of the world’s most glamorous islanders. Residents and regular visitors such as Jade Jagger, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Paris Hilton are using their considerable celebrity wattage to try to stop what they see as the desecration of their Balearic paradise. The campaign is fast becoming an object lesson in the art of celebrity endorsement. Hilton has tweeted about it six times to her 12.5m followers. The rap artist P Diddy sent a picture of the campaign poster to his 9.5m Twitter followers. Moss roused herself from her sick bed to sign a petition against the drilling and send it around to her friends while Jagger helped mastermind the campaign from India, where she was on a work trip. The singer James Blunt posted a selfie of himself with a campaign poster. The celebrities hope to stop exploration off Ibiza (Jorg Greuel)
The documentary maker Bruce Parry, the DJs David Guetta and Pete Tong, the actress Jaime Winstone, the TV presenter George Lamb and the pop star Sophie Ellis Bextor have all posted selfies online, next to the slogan “Ibiza says no”. “I’ve worked in PR for two decades,” said Susie Pearl, who is helping to promote the campaign. “I have never in my life seen a campaign fly so fast as this one. The goodwill, the passionate feelings, the fast spin and cooperation of so many people around the world . . . it’s amazing and quite breathtaking.” In 2011 the Spanish government invited energy companies to bid for the right to explore an area of less than a square mile in the Gulf of Valencia with a view to drilling for oil. The government claims the lease was granted by the previous administration and that reneging on the agreement would incur a hefty, though unspecified, compensation claim from Cairn Energy.
Jade Jagger helped mastermind the campaign while on a trip to India (Dupuy Florent)
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/People/article1370636.ece
The protesters argue that compensation would not have to be paid if the plans were shown to be environmentally unsound. They say the survey areas are foraging and feeding grounds for many marine Side 1 af 2
Stars mobilise in defence of party island | The Sunday Times
02/02/14 10.21
birds, particularly the threatened balearic shearwater, and are also on the migratory path of the endangered fin whale. For once, the factions of Ibizan society, who are often at odds over the development of the island, are in accord. A year ago a consortium of businesses, politicians, residents and non-governmental organisations formed the Alianza Mar Blava (Catalan for Blue Sea Alliance) to investigate Cairn’s activities. This was funded by the Ibiza Preservation Fund, which was co-founded by the environmentalist and financier Ben Goldsmith. On December 24 a law was passed giving Cairn permission to drill. When the Spanish returned from their holidays, resistance began in traditional style. There was a march, and pictures featuring members of the local football team, SA Portmany, naked but for “Ibiza says no” signs, went viral. Sienna Miller is deploying her celebrity wattage (Ian West)
a head of steam.
In the past week, as news has spread among the island’s celebrity residents, the campaign has built up
By Friday a petition for a public consultation was being circulated. The petition must be submitted by February 13. The protest has also attracted the support of German, Norwegian and Russian billionaires. Obsessed with privacy and upset by the thought of the impact of the oil drilling on the value of their villas and fincas — rural cottages or farmhouses — they have begun to call their influential friends and to make it clear that they are not to be messed with. The company declined to comment, but a source said it was in the early stages of seismic data collection, which amounted to “a boat on the sea, letting off sounds”. But the protesters say the sound waves used are so powerful that they are harmful to marine life, particularly dolphins and other cetaceans, and are determined to stop the process. Ellis Bextor said: “I know Ibiza is perceived as a party island but this isn’t just a social issue; it’s environmental, and on our conscience if we don’t act. Now it’s time for us to say enough is enough.”
A selfie posted online by the pop star Sophie Ellis Bextor
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