The odour of celebrity mixed with charity is toxic

BOB GELDOF AND BONO are to take to the stage once more; this time on behalf of the victims of Ebola. In a reprise of the 1984 Band Aid concert, Bob and his mates are going to help source millions of pounds (none of it their own by the way) from taxpayers worldwide to help the victims of this disease – payment in advance is required, apparently.

            

           Well, I hope the public are cynical enough this time round not to bite, and give to charities such as the British Red Cross instead of, what? "Ebola Aid?" These celebrities enjoy free publicity enough whenever they take to a red carpet without giving them millions of pounds more  -  no doubt accompanied by a shoal of honours of varying quality up to and including knighthoods.

           

            Bono is a tax avoider. I do not criticise him for this. What he is doing is neither illegal or immoral (despite what the croakers on the Left believe). But if he came forth with his own personal multi-million pound contribution (like Bill Gates) to the cause he represents, then he deserves as much publicity as the event will surely provide.

            

            The same goes for Geldof and anyone else invited to this 'gig'. In fact, I would suggest that there should be a performer's entrance fee limit of £1 million before they could perform at the event; all proceeds going to the victims of Ebola. If not they should keep away and the invitation list should be published to see who kept their cheque books closed.

            

            Since the 1984 gig, there have been many a multi-billion pound entrepreneur gifting parts or the whole of their wealth to various causes, both human and animal; unlike the fraternity of celebrities, who consider their time a sufficient contribution. Well, in 1984 this would have sufficed, as far as a more naive public were then concerned.  If they buy it this time round, they deserve to be treated with derision.

           CELEBRITIES love charity work; Jimmy Savile kept himself out of prison by building on his popularity (and power) through his charity work. The culture of celebrity, if it were taught as an academic subject at a university (after all, it is not so farfetched - they teach media studies after all)  would direct its students who wished to pursue celebrity status, to the importance of charity work…which costs nothing to them financially – but only their time.

            

           Charity is the celebrities great pay-off. But when entrepreneurs rich beyond their dreams give hundreds of millions in aid through their foundations to the suffering of the world; they do not do it for publicity. Bill Gates does not need the publicity. Microsoft does not need the publicity. People buy Microsoft 8.1 because either Microsoft or Apple Mac are intrinsic to their lives regarding the Web. Their lives are made easier by innovation; not charity work.

            

            Entrepreneurs, are not like celebrities whose agents tell them of the rewards that they can accrue through publicity. When you become a multi-billionaire (which very few, if any celebrities do), then using your time means little. The foundations set up by the likes of Bill Gates is genuinely trusted, free of cynicism; and making a life changing contribution to the suffering in the world. To such people the amount of their wealth that transcends the need for publicity.

            

            Billionaires do not need the publicity – they have it in buckets because of their financial status as GEO's in such companies like Microsoft, Apple Mac, Google, Twitter and Facebook, that they run. They do not need to tout for personal publicity in such a tawdry fashion as the celebrities.

THE 'EBOLA CONCERT', if this is what it is to be called, will no doubt prove successful; purely because of the media hype that will promote it. Bob Geldof will once more rise to the challenge, accompanied by Bono, and festooned with dozens of modern celebrities, which I at 64, have little knowledge of…or wish to garner knowledge of.

            

            This concert if it ever happens, will not, hopefully, go the way of Band Aid in terms of its global success. It deserves failure, if only because of the ignominy it will bring to the disease's victims. For far too long celebrities have courted popularity through self-promotion. It is  about time that they were disabused of this cheap-skate way of adding to their wealth. This concert needs to fail, and fail abysmally, to restore sincerity back into giving for charity by the simple method of dropping coins into a collection tin or writing out a cheque , whether lean or fat, and sending it to the charity of your choice - I will listen to Bill Gates on this subject,­ but not the likes of Geldof or Bono