| "It’s for a good cause. It’s for a good cause."
As long as you kept repeating that mantra, it was possible to witness last week’s SARS benefit concert at Toronto’s Downsview Park with some sense of equanimity. It was possible to bear the unimaginative and pointless puns on Woodstock – "Mickstock," "SARSstock" and so on – with a tolerant shrug. It was possible to stomach the Globe and Mail’s endless mythologizing of the Rolling Stones’ alleged love for Toronto – barely. It was even possible to sit through the tape-delayed broadcast of the Guess Who churning their way through – guess what? – "Takin’ Care of Business" one more time.
It was possible to do all this, and more, because the whole event was for a good cause. Two relief funds, set up by concert sponsor Molson Breweries, stood to benefit from the success of the show, each receiving a percentage of both ticket revenue and the sale of Rolling Stones T-shirts, ball-caps and other paraphernalia. And closer to home, of course, Alberta beef’s blighted image received a boost, as 16,000 people attended the free barbecue at the Saddledome’s taped showing of the concert.
So it’s possible to overlook the fact that this was definitely not, as one 18-year-old member of the Downsview crowd declared, "kind of our generation’s Woodstock." After all, the 1969 festival featured artists at or near the height of their creative and performing powers. By contrast, last week’s lineup was an odd smorgasbord, resembling the bargain bin at HMV more than a fair sample of contemporary music. The something-for-everyone approach may have been admirable in intent, but in practice, too many artists, each with too little time, tested the audience’s patience.
But again, maybe it wasn’t so much about the music – though this would be a strange admission for a music festival to make – as it was about having a good time, raising some money and restoring Toronto’s image. At least, that’s how the media had been spinning the event for weeks. And at just $21.50 per ticket, it’s really hard to argue that the crowd didn’t get their money’s worth.
So let’s leave aside the whole question of the music. Instead, let’s limit ourselves to the twin aims of the whole gig: raising money and restoring image.
One dollar of every ticket sold was to be donated to the Healthcare Workers Fund and the Hospitality Relief Fund. With ticket sales exceeding 430,000, this means that close to $500,000 in relief money was raised. Yet that also means that almost $9 million went elsewhere, presumably towards covering the concert’s costs. Those costs, at last estimate, were in excess of $15 million, shared by Molson ($7 million), the federal government ($5 million) and the Ontario provincial government ($3 million).
Math is by no means my strong point, but on the face of these figures it would seem that sponsors of the SARS concert invested $15 million in order to raise $500,000 in relief funds – a return of just over three per cent. In doing so, they also managed to lose some $6 million or so, or 40 per cent of the original amount invested.
I appreciate that things are not this straightforward. Some of the federal money, for example, was targeted to the production of a two-hour video of the festival to be featured and sold around the world to promote Canada. Still, whatever long-term economic gains Canada may reap from this investment, it is the Stones who stand to benefit most in the short term, receiving 90 per cent of all video revenues.
On the other hand, a study by the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association estimated that the concert would deliver a one-time economic boost of more than $52 million to the city, notably in the hotel and associated hospitality industries. If correct, this sum would more than offset any losses resulting from the concert itself.
So who gains and who loses from this money-go-round? Let’s leave aside the role played by Molson Breweries – as a private company, it is more or less free to do what it wishes with its own funds, and will reap the benefits or suffer the consequences accordingly. On the other hand, both the federal and provincial government committed – without consultation – substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money to subsidize a day of fun in the sun for those who made it to Downsview Park, to prop up the leisure industry of one of Canada’s wealthiest cities, and to pour a little more honey into the pot of the richest band in rock ’n’ roll history.
All of this, of course, was in the name of restoring Toronto’s SARS-tarnished image. "You’re here. We’re here. Toronto is back and it’s booming," shouted Mick Jagger from the stage last Wednesday. Yet it remains to be seen whether this is so. With the exception of CNN, U.S. TV crews were notably absent from the event, so presumably few potential American tourists now know it’s safe to return to Toronto.
Worse still, the absurd limits placed on CBC’s and MuchMoreMusic’s live coverage of the concert only served to underline the sense of exclusion that much of the rest of the country feels whenever Toronto mistakes itself for Canada. "Hello Toronto, Calgary loves you," hailed Mayor Dave Bronconnier in a message to the crowd at Downsview Park. But was anybody over there even listening? |
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