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Flashing, feeling stupid and fair trade.
Once everyone had been introduced, the artists made their way into the room, where the press were waiting. It was just like I imagine film premieres are - suddenly a hundred flash bulbs went off and the photographers were shouting at the stars to look their way, or smile, or move a little this way or that. Everyone wanted Chris to do something different, so that in the end he hid behind one of the Oxfam Intermon displays to get away from it all!
When the photographers were happy, things calmed down a bit - we all returned to our seats and Chris, Jonny, Eva and Amparo joined Paloma (Campaign Manager for Comercio con Justicia at Intermon) on the front row of seats. The rest of the artists sat behind them, all sporting Make Trade Fair T-shirts.
Paloma began proceedings, speaking passionately about the campaign, the WTO Ministerial and the involvement of artists in the campaign. Paloma is incredible - everyone in the room was hanging on her every word. Obviously it was all in Spanish, so it wasn't always easy to know what was being said, but Paloma did a great job of translating for Chris and Jonny (and the few other English speakers in the room!).
 Chris then spoke about his own involvement, talking about his various trips with Oxfam to Ghana and Mexico amongst others. He said that he drew his motivation for the band's involvement with the campaign from meeting people in those countries face-to-face and learning of their plight. He said that he met one young man, a sugar farmer, who was exactly the same age as Chris, but simply because of where he was born he was struggling to survive.
A journalist asked him how he felt when he met people on the trips. One word: "stupid". He also felt angry, that world trade should be so unfair. Jonny echoed Chris' words. The two of them spoke so well, and are obviously very knowledgeable on this subject. But what really endeared them to the Spanish press was the jokes and laughs which they managed during the press conference. Chris, in his self-deprecating way, was particularly adept at making everyone in the room feel at ease, and had us all in hysterics at some points.
More about Chris' trip to Ghana >>
posted at 3:00 PM
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All the artists pose for photos
posted at 2:42 PM
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The press conference
So, finally, let me tell you about the press conference in Madrid on Tuesday.
Wow, what an afternoon it was! I made my way over to the hotel where the press conference was being held with my two red boxes in tow. The room at the hotel was a hive of activity, with loads of journalists, photographers and film crews buzzing about ready for the start of the press conference.
A huge array of stars of the music world were already mingling in the lobby. Eva Amaral, of the Spanish group Amaral, was looking particularly glamourous. She is a huge star in Spain and Latin America, and is a great asset to the Make Trade Fair campaign here in Spain. Amparo Llanos, of the group Dover (another huge band in Spain), was also there, along with many others.
And, of course, not forgetting our very own Chris and Jonny, who turned up looking very excited, and maybe a little bemused at all the attention they were receiving. The great thing about the Coldplay boys is that they are very unassuming, and really do seem genuinely surprised to receive such attention.
posted at 2:16 PM
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Crikey!
 News just in from Oxfam HQ in Oxford, and it's amazing.
The Make Trade Fair petition now stands at a whopping 11.6 million signatures!
That's 11.6 million people around the world who support the MTF campaign. 11.6 million people who have stopped what they're doing for a few minutes, and signed the petition. 11.6 million people who think world trade is unfair. 11.6 million people who want change. Now.
So come on Mandelson, Lamy et al. Take notice, and make next month's WTO Ministerial one to remember.
The people demand it.
posted at 2:08 PM
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Palacio Real de Madrid
This is the royal palace in Madrid. It's very big, and very impressive.
I took a wander round the city after spending the afternoon with Belen from Intermon Oxfam. She is a campaigner with the Make Trade Fair team in Madrid, and showed me round the offices and even took me out for a traditional Spanish lunch! Everyone at Intermon is very excited because they have just reached the landmark of 500,000 signatures in Spain for the Make Trade Fair petition. So today there is a big press conference with Coldplay and about 30 other Spanish artists/celebrities who have also been supporting the campaign. It is the first time I will have ever attended a press conference, so I'm really looking forward to it. More news later...
posted at 1:27 PM
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Here's the team in Barcelona.
posted at 1:24 PM
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No it's not, it's Oxfam green!
posted at 8:39 AM
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A few people came to see Coldplay in Barcelona
posted at 8:28 AM
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Goldfrapp
Here's Goldfrapp, the support act, playing in Barcelona. They're a great band, and the European audiences have been loving them!
posted at 8:23 AM
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Campaigners everywhere!
posted at 8:19 AM
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Exactly the reaction we like!
posted at 8:16 AM
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Barcelona breaks the record!
We have a new record for number of sign-ups at a gig...on Sunday evening the superb volunteers from Intermon Oxfam managed to get a whopping 2,026 people to join the Make Trade Fair petition. Excellent work Barca!
Here's some photos from the concert.
posted at 8:13 AM
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A Rose by any other name...
Here's a treat for Coldplay fans. These are the band's microphones carefully labelled ready for the show. I would make a joke about 'Chris 2' being me, but since there's another Chris in the crew (the very groovy Chris Wood, monitor technician to the stars) I'm actually Chris 3 on this tour. Well, to be honest, I'm called anything but Chris on account of being the youngest and newest member of the crew and therefore fair game for the rest of the crew. So far, names of choice are 'Jumble', 'half pint' and 'Oxo-boy', but soon I'm sure they'll call me Chris. Then tour will be over!
posted at 2:54 PM
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Hoy estamos en Barcelona!
We were in Barcelona yesterday as well, but today we're at the venue preparing for tonight's concert at the Palau Sant Jordi, in the Olympic Park on Montjuic Hill. There's a great view of the city from up here - I'll post a few photos later.
It's the biggest venue so far on this tour - 18,000 capacity! We've got a full compliment of 20 volunteers as well from Intermon Oxfam so I'm hoping for a good result tonight. A staggering half a million Spanish people have signed up to the Comercio con justicia campaign here in Spain - congratulations to Intermon! Plans are afoot for a special celebration of this...details to follow!
posted at 1:25 PM
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A photo from Friday night in Toulouse
posted at 1:21 PM
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