LONDON RISING TIDE PROTEST AT SHELL GREENWASHING
Hot on the heels of their appearance at the Shell vs. Bodo case at the High Court, activists from London Rising Tide, staged a protest in and outside the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 23rd June, highlighting the greenwashing of shell’s tardy image through cultural sponsorship in their ‘shell classic international’ festival at the southbank centre.
At dusk prior to the Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela concert, activists gathered near their south bank target, and prepared their ‘Shell Hell’ face masks and grim reaper costumes. Shortly before seven, they formed a procession and swiftly made their way to the entrance of the Royal Festival Hall.
As the demonic figures processed “Shell- No More Greenwash” banners, handing out hundreds of leaflets, two insurgent clandestine reapers made their way onto each balcony in the auditorium. The leaflets reminded people how once, cultural sponsorship by ‘big tobacco’ was acceptable. Campaigners wish to make ‘big oil’ sponsorship unacceptable in the way that tobacco now is.
‘Big oil’ is an ecocidal industry wreaking climate change havoc, as well as destroying lives (literally in the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists), in Nigeria, Ireland, and Canada (where tar sands extraction covering the size of England is destroying the environment and indigenous lives and futures).
In order to ‘greenwash’ its image, Shell only have to channel the tiniest crumbs of its £35,000 per minute profits (2011) in order to cynically protect its image through cultural sponsorship.
Outside the Royal Festival Hall, the security men and women soon began to appear, drawn out by a second visit from Shell’s Hell Reapers, leaving those inside a clearer passage. After asking the costumed protesters to leave, despite some gentle passive resistance, the burly security men eventually dragged everyone away from the doors. So, as a mixture of genuine music lovers, and corporate f**kwits entered hall, they saw the costumes, and most people readily accepted the leaflets, often with very positive reaction.
Meanwhile inside, “Shell- No More Greenwash” unfurled from opposite balconies, the insurgent clandestine reapers began a dialogue across the auditorium.
Why are we here? To protest against Shell’s sponsorship of this lovely event!
Why shouldn’t Shell sponsor music? Because it serves to cover up their climate crimes?
What climate crimes? Oil spews and military bribes in Nigeria, bringing in toxic gas to Ireland, extracting toxic tar sands in Canada, causing exceptionally high rates of cancer!
What do we want people here to do? Enjoy the concert and afterwards think about what we said and rip the Shell logos out of the programmes!
A handful of the audience began booing but were drowned out by the remainder applauding them out in appreciation of said insurgent clandestine reapers.
After the intervention security was overhead reporting that activists had performed an ‘eloquent speech about music’s place in society and environmental crimes’. Shell’s greenwash is looking dirtier by the minute.
London Rising Tide,
c/o 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES;
tel: 07708 794665
www.londonrisingtide.org.uk
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Rising-Tide-UK/515246801
http://www.twitter.com/RisingTide_UK
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
