Moby is set to celebrate 25 years of Play with European dates for 2024. Picture: Press, Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Moby has announced European dates to celebrate 25 years since the release of his Play album.
The electronic musician achieved critical and commercial acclaim with the record, which was released in 1999 and included the singles Porcelain, Natural Blues and Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
Now the artist – whose real name is Richard Melville Hall – has confirmed he’ll be celebrating the record-breaking record, in shows which include a date at The O2, London on Thursday 19th September.
Announcing the news, he said: “It’s been over 10 years since I’ve toured, but someone reminded me that 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the release of ‘Play’, so it seemed like it might not be the worst idea to do a short European tour to commemorate and celebrate”.
The violence against humans and animals in Gaza needs to stop. Eurogroup for Animals joins the numerous voices demanding an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, and that aid is let through to alleviate the hunger and the suffering. Both humans and animals are lacking food, water and medicines, as well as access to shelter, health and veterinary care.
The violence against humans and animals in Gaza needs to stop. Eurogroup for Animals joins the numerous voices demanding an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, and that aid is let through to alleviate the hunger and the suffering. Both humans and animals are lacking food, water and medicines, as well as access to shelter, health and veterinary care.
UN Women reports that more than 24,620 Palestinians were killed in Gaza between 7 October 2023 and January 2024, of which 70% are estimated to be women or children. Over 1.9 million people, or 85 percent of the population in Gaza, have been displaced from their homes. It is almost impossible for aid to reach the humans and animals of Gaza, as the security situation is severe and entries are blocked, allowing only a small number of aid transports to enter.
The war spares no one; animals are no exception. There is no information about how many animals have been killed or died from thirst, starvation, untreated injuries, lack of veterinary care or being trapped under the rubble after the bombings.
Sulala Animal Rescue is the only organisation we know of that is active on the ground in Gaza, helping cats, dogs and working animals in spite of the severe and dangerous situation.
Our member Animals International collects donations for animals in Gaza. Learn more about their emergency grants.
In plenary today, Members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission (EC) to come forward with the outstanding legislative proposals on animal welfare, the future of which remains uncertain. They stressed that the delay is putting the credibility of European institutions in question, as citizens’ demands remain unanswered.
The EC had committed to publish four animal welfare proposals by the end of 2023, but backtracked from this promise by only publishing an unambitious Transport Regulation, and not putting forward the promised Kept Animals, Slaughter and Labelling regulations. The proposals were also set to include phasing out cages by 2027, in reply to the End the Cage Age ECI in which 1.4 million citizens asked for a transition to cage-free systems.
During the plenary today, a record number of MEPs (41) intervened in the oral question tabled by Neils Fuglsang (S&D, DK). 30 MEPs stressed that while the EC continues to delay action, millions of animals continue to suffer in horrible conditions across all stages of their lives; from farm to transport to slaughter. They criticised the EC for doing “very little”for animal welfare in the past legislative term, and questioned the democratic aspect of ECIs if policymakers do not react to the demands of the citizens. “You are letting down 3 million citizens,” many reiterated, making reference to the End the Cage Age and Fur Free Europe ECIs – both of which remain pending action by the EC.
They urged the EC to come forward with a concrete timeline and answer to the demands of millions of EU citizens.
Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, while admitting that more needs to be done for resilient food systems, said that work on these legislative files is “still ongoing”, and the EC “is analysing the best course of action”. She did not make any commitments on timeline.
In the run-up to the European Elections, Eurogroup for Animals has launched the Vote for Animals campaign which encourages candidate MEPs to take a pledge for animals, while informing citizens about the importance of these elections for progress on animal welfare.
The EC broke its promise on presenting the animal welfare legislation package. And while we wait for a clear timeline, millions of animals continue to live in cages, male chicks continue to be gassed at a day old, while chickens are bred to grow so fast their bodies cannot keep up. These animals deserve a legislative proposal, but there is none. We call on the EC to present a concrete timeline.
MEP Neils Fuglsang (S&D).
What has happened to the promised legislation?
What about the ban on cages?
We have been fighting for years.
How long will these animals have to wait? Not a day longer.
MEP Anja Hazekamp (The Left)
Not answering to the demands of ECIs would threaten the credibility of EU institutions – the animal welfare legislation should be a priority in the next mandate. We are disappointed – we need to see changes.
MEP Tilly Metz (Greens/efa)
The ECI is an excellent tool to improve democracy, but it only works if those who make the law react to what the citizens want. 1.4 million citizens asked for a ban on cages – more than four years have passed and 300 million animals continue to spend their lives in terrible conditions.
World Animals Voice 