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Organizers of the global music concert – punctuated by swearing from presenters and performers – had predicted massive viewing figures.
BBC’s live afternoon television coverage attracted an average British audience of just 900,000. When coverage switched from BBC2 to BBC1, the figure rose to just 2.7million.
Live 8 peak audience…..
This year peak audience: 4.5 million
Two years ago: 9.6 million
Live Aid in 1985: 10 million
BBC blamed the poor figures on Saturday’s good weather, while critics claim the public snubbed the event because they thought it was hypocritical.
Musicians Bob Geldof, Roger Daltrey and the Pet Shop Boys pointed out that a concert highlighting climate change had itself generated huge carbon emissions. The BBC’s coverage, also sparked dozens of complaints about bad language.
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