"Glastonbury is special", said Oxfam's Roger James, "Oxfam and the festival have a long term relationship which has not only raised huge sums to alleviate poverty but has also campaigned for greater justice in the world".
Oxfam provides over 800 volunteer stewards for the event, helping raise 705,000 for Oxfam since 1993. We feature campaign marquees by the main stage and in the Green Field. We have celebrities and films on the Pyramid Stage and articles in the programme. Many thousands of supporters have joined Oxfam at the festival supporting campaigns on aid, education, fairtrade, conflict and arms control.
"Peoples' lives all over the world have been touched by the festival" says Roger. "£19 protects a child from malaria which kills over a million a year, £40 will buy a thousand bricks to build a school to help educate generations of children, £1000 buys a water tank to provide clean water for thousands of people, preventing massive loss of life". The total raised in 2000 was enough to support Oxfam's entire programme in Haiti, which is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
In past years breaches of security have put the world famous festival at risk. Oxfam wishes the festival well. Lives could be put at risk in many poor communities around the globe if the festival is unable to continue in the future.
For further information please contact:
Regional media: Roger James in Bristol 0117 916 6473 mobile 0778 6660422
National media: Lysbeth Holdoway in Oxford 01865 312 484 mobile 07778 482 867
For more information on Oxfam's work, view our website http://www.oxfam.org.uk
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