LIVE 8 was:

[trace_of_scarlet]

Not just a sea of hands, but an ocean. Making Ricky Gervais from The Office do That Dance. Knowing Pete Doherty was utterly shambolic but dancing anyway because it was Children of the Revolution and he sang it with Elton John, dammit. U2 releasing a hundred doves from the stage without being mawkishly sentimental. Giving Bob Geldof a massive cheer when he sang 'I Don't Like Mondays' even though 90% of the audience probably thought he was rubbish.* Seeing Pink Floyd reform for the first time in 20 years and probably the only time ever. 205 thousand people singing 'Angels' with Robbie Williams. Seeing almost the entire crowd in tears or on the verge of same when they showed pictures of the Ethiopia famine and brought a survivor on stage. Madonna singing to said girl with her arm around her. Making Peter Kay sing 'Amarillo'. Thinking Mariah Carey was awful but cheering anyway because she had an African children's choir as her backing group. Annie Lennox kneeling down beside one of them and giving him her mic in The Big Finale. Knowing that 2.5 billion people (or so) would kill to be where you are. One quarter of The Beatles (The Beatles!!) singing their best songs, at one point with George Michael. Everyone singing the chorus from 'Hey Jude' for at least fifteen minutes. Clicking your fingers simultaneously with millions of people round the globe. Singing along to everything. Kofi Annan at a pop concert. Paying £10 for a programme and £5 for a smallish polystyrene dish of chicken stirfry and not minding. U2 singing 'Beautiful Day' and meaning it despite the sky being leaden grey. Dancing to the Scissor Sisters singing their best songs. Praying all this would make a difference to G8 despite what the critics say. Knowing that you have to get Keane's album. Travis singing 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' even though it wasn't and didn't. Spontaneously booing when Dubya's picture was shown on the big screen. Bono from U2 proving once again that he is probably the coolest man on earth. Robbie Williams stealing the show from legendary global icons. The Who rocking so very hard (and so very incredibly) despite only two of them being still alive. Not getting anything stolen even though we weren't really watching our bags half the time. Wondering what the hell Elton John thinks is so great about Pete Doherty. The most buzzing atmosphere you could imagine. Ignoring David Beckham to chant for Robbie. Scissor Sisters being the best act- until Robbie came on. The merchandise stall completely selling out of everything but programmes. Doing 'Queen claps' until- and even though- your arms ached, when Robbie did maybe the best cover ever of 'We Will Rock You'. Madonna proving she definitely hasn't 'lost it'. Mariah Carey proving she definitely has. Thinking Snoop Dogg was a great performer even though you can't stand his music. Elton John playing the piano like a man possessed but never hitting a wrong note. Sting singing 'We'll Be Watching You' to the G8 leaders. Standing for the better part of ten hours and not minding. Never wanting to leave even though your feet were aching and your calves threatening to drop right off from your knees. Feeling that you would never, ever stop smiling again. Over-running by two and a half hours and loving every minute of it. Walking for three miles through a completely unfamiliar part of London at 1am to get to our hotel, and knowing that it was all completely, utterly worth it.

In short, it was ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AMAZING, and don't let anyone tell you different.

*For the record, I didn't.