NEW YORK, July 2 /PRNewswire/ — Tuesday night saw the launch of (RED)ZONES at the first U2 360 Degrees concert in Barcelona where U2 kicked off their new tour to a rapturous sold out crowd of 90,000 fans.
(RED)ZONES are prime location areas directly adjacent to the stage which will be present throughout the U2 tour. The tickets for the (RED)ZONES are available through auction with the band’s portion of the ticket sales going to the Global Fund to help fund AIDS programs in Africa.
“We’re really proud and grateful to have the support of U2 in our work. In a short time, (RED) has raised over $130 million for the Global Fund through partners and events and that money has already supported programs that have reached more than four million people,” said Susan Smith Ellis, CEO, (RED).
“(RED)’s contribution to the Global Fund in just three years is over $130 million. This is not only helping hundreds of thousands of people in Rwanda, Swaziland, Ghana and Lesotho where the money is at work on the ground but (RED), through its partners’ marketing efforts is also having a tremendous impact on public awareness of the HIV pandemic in Africa. We are honoured to have both the crucial support of the money flowing in, and the vote of confidence in the Global Fund’s way of providing aid,” said Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The U2 360 Degrees Tour will play 15 cities in Europe finishing at Cardiff’s Millennium on 22nd August before heading to North America, 20 shows starting in Chicago September 12th. In 2009, in just 44 shows the tour will perform for over 3 million fans. And (RED) will be at all shows, with our sister organization ONE, letting people know how they can get involved in both helping eliminate AIDS in Africa through (RED) and fighting extreme poverty through ONE. Along with ONE and (RED), the tour is also associated with the Burma Campaign, Amnesty International, Music Rising, the Angiogenesis Foundation and Mencap.
(RED)ZONES are a continuation of (RED)’s growing musical partnerships including (RED)WIRE (http://www.redwire.com/), an online music service that raises money for the Global Fund, and (RED)NIGHTS, a series of concerts that engages artists and their fans to raise awareness for the issue of AIDS in Africa.
About (RED)(TM) and (PRODUCT)RED(TM)
(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT)RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U.K. only), Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark, Dell, Windows and Starbucks. Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, more than $130 million has been generated by (RED) for the Global Fund. (RED) money is at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana and Lesotho. 100% of the (RED) money goes to work on the ground in Africa. For more information, visit www.joinred.com.
About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financer of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US $15 billion for programs in 140 countries. The Global Fund supports programs based on agreed performance targets and disburses money in response to proven results. At the end of 2008, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted more than 3.5 million deaths by providing AIDS treatment for 2 million people, TB treatment for 4.6 million people, and by the distribution of 70 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide. For more information visit www.theglobalfund.org.
SOURCE (RED)
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