 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The future first clown in space to advocate for water
Montreal (AFP) Sept 2, 2009 Cirque du Soleil founder and soon to be space tourist Guy Laliberte will launch an art project promoting access to potable water for all when he blasts off for the International Space Station, he said Wednesday. The multimedia event is scheduled to start at 1200 GMT on October 9 and will touch 14 cities on five continents, he told a video press conference from Star City, Russia where he has been training for his 12-day stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. "It will start with the Moon, the Sun and a drop of water," he said, noting the life sustaining powers of water and threats to humanity such as water pollution and melting polar ice. Water woes are "the greatest challenge currently facing humanity," he said, adding that former US vice president Al Gore, singers Peter Gabriel and Shakira, Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki and astronaut Julie Payette, among others, have agreed to participate in the event from the ground. The Canadian billionaire is to become the first artist in space and the seventh space tourist to rocket into orbit when he joins the crew of a Soyuz space ship for a September 30 launch to the International Space Station. A former tightrope walker and fire-eater now dubbed the "first clown in space," he said he also hopes to turn cosmonauts into clowns by urging his Soyuz crew to don red clown noses during the trip. Born in Quebec, Laliberte in 1984 turned a small acrobatic troupe into a global entertainment empire that now employs 4,000 people and generates 800 million dollars in ticket and merchandise sales annually. He is now estimated to be worth 2.5 billion dollars, and is ranked 261st richest man in the world by Forbes magazine. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
Circus founder takes comic touch into spaceMoscow (AFP) Aug 27, 2009 When Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte flies as the latest tourist to the International Space Station (ISS) next month, he promises to bring a comic touch to the mission. Already his screen saver pictures his mission colleagues - US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and cosmonaut Maksim Surayev - in space suits and red clown noses, and he says he will bring six more clown snouts to those now ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook