MONTREAL - Canadian space tourist Guy Laliberte brought together entertainers and regular folk from around the world in a brew of star power, science lectures, poetry, song and dance to promote the bubbling issue of water conservation.
In the biggest show on -- or off -- Earth Friday night, people tuned in via TV and the Internet or showed up at a venues in some of the cities on five continents featuring live acts to take part in the artistic event dubbed "Moving Stars and Earth for Water."
Laliberte, who even doffed his trademark red clown nose at some points, hosted the event that has been dubbed "Spacestock" by some as he floated before video link cameras aboard the International Space Station.
Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore, singers Bono and Joss Stone, actors Salma Hayek and Matthew McConaughy, and environmentalist David Suzuki were among the parade of entertainers and activists who participated in the event in acts that came from 14 cities.
The general public also got involved, with a steady stream of Facebook chat messages running down the side of the website of the One Drop Foundation, which is Laliberte's platform for the cause.
"Water touched me and inspired me," Laliberte said from space. "Water is a source of life. When I learned a few years back that a child dies every eight seconds because of contaminated water I knew it was urgent to act."
One of the most anticipated segments of the evening was a chat between Laliberte and rock megastar Bono, who was performing with U2 at a concert in Tampa, Fla.
"You are the first clown in space and we think it's a great idea for you to give us your perspective on our little planet while you're not on our little planet and instead looking down on it," Bono said. "How do we look from there, how does our little planet look, Guy?"
Laliberte replied that "planet Earth looks so great but also so fragile."
Oddly the spectacular proceedings kicked off with a somewhat dry science lecture from former U.S. vice-president Al Gore and Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki, who recounted the threats to water on the planet.
"Perhaps it's time for us to pause and reflect," Suzuki said. "Perhaps it's time for us to change."
But the academic-style lectures seemed to perplex at least one Facebook friend.
"It's October 2009," wrote Gary Teran. "Why is the data from 2004?"
As well, Richard Osicki chipped in: "Most of these comments are from people who live where water is plentiful. Ironic?"
Most of the messages were supportive, however, with Jeffrey F describing the event as "unbelievable."
"Never seen anything like it."
Another, more critical, simply wrote: "ZZZZZZZZZ."
But the message did get through to Facebooker Sylvia Stoimenova, who described it as the "best awareness campaign I've ever seen."
In a preceding post, she implored: "Hey, Mike! Don't flush!"
The event, which was a combination of live and taped segments, began its more traditional Cirque du soleil spin when it switched from the two segments with Gore and Suzuki to Laliberte's hometown of Montreal, where internationally acclaimed writer Yann Martel and Canadian astronaut Julie Payette told a story about an argument between the sun and the moon, with water caught in the middle.
That was capped with dancers in aboriginal garb and a rain shower on the stage.
After that, it moved quickly around the world with a succession of concerts and performances, including a high-energy street dance performance in New York City.
The event capped off with a conversation with astronauts aboard the space station, who shared their perspectives and a discussion on research into water conservation. Laliberte, ever the performer, ended the bit by balancing drops of water floating in the air off his face.
Gaston and Blondine Laliberte, the space tourist's aging parents, watched the show from its Montreal venue, La TOHU, the home of one of the world's largest circus schools.
"I'm very, very happy of what he's doing," Gaston Laliberte said. "Blodine and I are very happy we brought him to life 50 years ago and I just hope that his children, at least one or two, will carry on the good he's doing in life."
In an email exchange with journalists earlier Friday, Laliberte said watching the Earth from up above had helped him appreciate the environment even more. He called his two-week trip to space a life-changing experience.
The high point of his visit came Friday night with the extravaganza, featuring U2, Shakira, Peter Gabriel and Gore, who thanked Laliberte during the broadcast for the chance to explain the danger posed by climate change to water.
"It threatens the future of our way of life as we know it on this planet," Gore said before reeling off facts and figures much as he did in his "Inconvenient Truth" climate change documentary.
Laliberte said in his email interviews that seeing the Earth from space "gives you an entire other perspective."
"First of all, it's so emotional. It's like living art in front of your eyes," Laliberte said earlier as he fielded emailed questions from journalists.
"But what really strikes me is you see that thin layer of protection. As much as I look away in space, or around, what you see there is absolutely fantastic -- and fragile.
"You see beauty (on Earth), but you see also its fragility within the universe."
Over the past few days, there have been dry runs and last-minute checks of satellite feeds to prepare for the two-hour show.
The production costs for the multilingual show are estimated to be between $6 million and $10 million -- which is on top of the US$35 million Laliberte paid to become Canada's first space tourist.
It was seen on the Internet beginning at 8 p.m EDT through the website of Laliberte's One Drop Foundation at www.onedrop.org.
Laliberte said he's been trying to savor every moment of his space trip -- even if it costs him a little shuteye.
"I'm not sleeping much. I don't want to sleep much. I'm only here for a short time, so I sleep the minimum amount possible. The moment I wake up, I stick my face in the window to look at the Earth, the stars, the moon," he said.
"This will be an emotion that will stay forever in me. . . It will definitely inspire me. It will definitely have an impact on the rest of my life -- in many aspects I think. Creatively, personally, in my family, in my relationships with people. You cannot do such a trip without having an impact on your personal life."
Laliberte said he's always appreciated the planet -- "and I love it more, even after this trip."
