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Wrapping up: the last blog of the tour
 Here I am, sat at my desk back in Oxfam HQ in Oxford. With only a couple of days left of 2005, and my time as Make Trade Fair Tour Co-ordinator finished, it seems appropriate to look back over the last few months and write a wistful review that should only be read with an appropriately melancholy soundtrack (I suggest Trouble!). So put on the CD, skip forward to Track 6, sit back and enjoy...
 It all began...
Only joking. I suppose the first thing to say is what an amazing experience it has been. Meeting so many people, visiting so many places, and witnessing so much support for the Make Trade Fair campaign has been really overwhelming. As volunteer opportunities go, this one's been pretty good! I seem to have developed a really deep relationship with the campaign - based on trust and affection for it, and supported by the inspiration that it provides. So much so, that just the mention of either 'make', 'trade' or 'fair' and my ears prick up. So you can understand why I got so excited when I saw Chris or Jonny talk about it, or hear 15,000 people cheer and applaud after the Oxfam video is shown, or see people rush over to a volunteer campaigner to sign the petition. It's great stuff!
 In every city, at every concert, there was something special that set that night apart from the rest. But the running theme was of friendliness, enthusiasm and excitement. Thanks to all the volunteers, to all the Oxfam staff around Europe, to all the other NGO staff, and most especially to all the Coldplay fans who took the time (only 1 minute!) to sign the petition, or come over to the stall for a quick chat. Before I descend into complete drivel, here's a few tour highlights:
Best gig: in terms of the music, Barcelona was pretty special. And the middle gig in London was also a blinder - the Madonna tribute was cool.
Best city: it was my first time in Scandinavia, and I loved Stockholm and Oslo. The people there were particularly friendly. But I think I'd probably say Madrid, where I was made to feel so at home, and so welcome and where the atmosphere in the city was brilliant.
 Most sign-ups: the truly magnificent Belgian campaigners collected a whopping 3692 at the 2nd concert in Antwerp. Amazing!
Best song: Yellow was always a crowd favourite, and a good one to sing along to. For me though, Clocks will always stick in my mind. At the end of the song, the boys crowd around the piano and get faster and faster - it's brilliant.
Funniest moment: a fair few of these. Coldplay being filmed for a Christmas special in Barcelona, playing along with The Muppets, was funny, if just for the ridiculousness of it all. And the time I rambled on in German to a gig-goer about why they should sign the Make Trade Fair petition, only to then remember we were in Italy. It had been a long night.
 Best memory: meeting the band for the first time has to be one of my favourite memories. I was really nervous, and struggled to keep my composure! And seeing the legendary piano, with the huge green equals sign on the back was awesome. But for pure excitement, it would have to be every time Chris put his left hand up for the camera and his hand would appear on the huge video screen behind the stage, with a beautiful MTF logo drawn on the back. I loved it!
And finally, the all-important number. The total number of concert-goers who showed their support for the Make Trade Fair campaign by signing the petition: 41,478!
So a massive thanks to everyone. And thanks to those of you who've been following this blog, and for the occasional comments. I'd love to hear if you've got any more comments. Maybe you saw the show too, and want to add your own thoughts? Or you've got an opinion on celebrities supporting campaigns? You can add comments by clicking the link below.
Keep your eyes on www.maketradefair.com and on Generation Why and, for one last time, make sure you've added your voice to the millions of people around the world who are calling on rich governments, international institutions and private companies to do the right thing, to help make poverty history, to change the lives of the world's poorest people... to MAKE TRADE FAIR.
posted at 1:51 PM
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