Live 8

Live 8 A reporter on Channel 4 News earlier said that she felt that momentum which had been built up around tomorrow's G8 discussions regarding Africa have dissipated in the face of today's events because each of the leaders is looking across at the safety of their own capital cities. There is a determination for the prime minister to be back in town for tomorrow, and no matter what I might think of the man and his approach to internal politics, his is a noble quest, assuming he's prepared take things to their history making conclusion.

I could feel the momentum watching the final Live 8 concert in Edinburgh last night. The BBC's coverage was better this time -- more of the campaigning and lobbying mixed in with the music -- something which was really missing on Saturday and risked making that a vacuous experience. Of the two I think I enjoyed this more -- there was more of atmosphere -- people seemed to really feel that they could be a force for change, from the musicians and actors appearing to the people in the crowd. Plus Edith Bowman is a half-decent presenter and there wasn't anything funnier that watching her interview George Clooney. I haven't see googly eyes like that since Jamie Gertz in the Diet Coke break ads.

But from a musical point of view, the performances were more coherent. This was a big crowd and close, but the musicians weren't overwhelmed, with only the Sugababes looking small and delicate in the massive space. It was about interesting juxtapositions, so Jamie Cullum accompanied Natasha Beddingfield, Bob Geldof and Campino, Will Young joined James Brown, Bono backed up The Corrs and Midge Ure offered a heartfelt Vienna with Eddie Izzard noodling away on the piano.

But there were loads of what you could call Radio Gaga moments (and that included Chris Evens turning up and busking his way through the chorus to the Queen song). Peter Kay almost played The Carpenter's Top of the World on panpipes which led to the crowd waving their arms in the air in perfect unison; Bono talking about what had happened when he and Bob met with the G8 leaders ('We don't play golf in U2'), Annie Lennox's entire set. You won't see the like of this again, or for quite some time.

I'm just watching one of the nightly best of shows which is really illuminating. Did you know Mariza played The Eden Project? Good gracious that was a world music ghetto. Any chance that BBC Four might run the whole of that show one day? I htink I'll go off and email them and ask them.

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