THAILAND: MTV ASIA ANNOUNCES IT WILL TURN ITS ANNUAL AWARDS EXTRAVAGANZA INTO A GLOBAL BENEFIT FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS

Record ID: 388042

  • Title: THAILAND: MTV ASIA ANNOUNCES IT WILL TURN ITS ANNUAL AWARDS EXTRAVAGANZA INTO A GLOBAL BENEFIT FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS
  • Date: 20th January 2005
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JANUARY 19, 2005) (REUTERS) MTV ASIA CEREMONY IN BANGKOK PRESS AND THAI POP STARS LOOKING ON SOUNDBITE (English) PRESIDENT OF MTV NETWORKS ASIA, FRANK BROWN SAYING: "The way we see MTV role in the recovery effort, is really to empower the young people who want to do something to help, but don't quiet know what they can do, or how they can do, or where
  • Embargoed: 4th February 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Disasters,Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA41IUQXVZON0T5YXRQ1L48OV2L
  • Story Text: Pop video broadcaster MTV Networks Asia announced that it will turn its annual awards extravaganza to be held in Bangkok on February 3, into a global benefit for Tsunami victims, especially children.
    The annual MTV Asia Awards, featuring global and regional musicians, will now be called MTV Asia Aid, it was announced at a press conference in the Thai capital on Wednesday (January 19).
    "The way we see MTV role in the recovery effort, is really to empower the young people who want to do something to help, but don't quiet know what they can do, or how they can do, or where they can do it. We now really see a role as a global effort to let young people know what they can do to help, both financially and otherwise," said Frank Brown, President of MTV Networks Asia.
    MTV Asia, which claims 450 million viewers across the region, has chosen the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as a major recipient of funds collected from the event.
    "Well one of the reasons we are doing this, is that their was a huge frustrated desire from young people to get involved and do whatever they could do to help and really we see this as a way to give them a vehicle for them to help in a lot of different ways, both financially and otherwise. This has now become really the first step in a global effort that MTV is making and for MTV Asia it will really just be the beginning of an ongoing effort over months and perhaps years to support the rebuilding efforts and this is really where the focus is," said Frank Brown after the event.
    Dozens of Thai stars attended the MTV Asia Aid press conference, including Thailand's sexy singing sensation Tata Young.
    Despite being only 24, the ten year music veteran has already sold more then 12 million albums and established herself as a symbol of change fro the Thai music industry.
    She created a stir in Thailand last year when she released the hit titled, "Sexy Naughty Bitchy", as some conservatives criticized her for going against the Thai culture, because they felt it encourages a woman to have many lovers.
    "You know not only he artists want to help, MTV want's to help. You know this is MTV Asia Awards, everyone knows how big this is, and finally to change the whole concept and they only have 4 weeks to finally help the tsunami victims and all the children from UNICEF as well. That is something big, really big and MTV has made the right decision to make this happen. And me as an artist, i would do anything that MTV asks me to do to help," said an emotional Tata Young, who lost her mother 2 months ago due to illness and a close friend in the tsunami off Phuket. Thailand, particularly the resort island's of Phuket and Phi Phi, were badly damaged by the devastating December 26 Tsunami, with more than 5,300 recorded deaths in the country, many of them foreign tourists.
    "I would just like to say on behalf of UNICEF and on behalf of the United Nations, all the organizations involved in this particular operation, all the governments, all the people, it is just incredible how much solidarity people around the world have shown. If this could just be an example to us everyday of the year, for all the people in need, then maybe, i don't think anyone could say disaster is worth it, but maybe something really good could come out of this,' said Richard Bridle, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok.
    A total of 175,000 died in the tsunami disaster and many more have been left homeless around the region from Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia to the Maldives and Somalia.
    Pop stars have periodically used concerts and other musical events to raise funds for charities like the Bangladesh crises in 1972, the live aid benefit for Ethiopia in 1985 and more recently, the aftermath of September 2001 attacks in the United States.
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