By Tim Saunders on
Sir Paul McCartney will appear in an advertising campaign in Britain this month to encourage people to support the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
The campaign, organized by ParalympicsGB, will ask people to donate cash to help disabled athletes who want to compete in the games, and McCartney hopes his input will help the future of disability sport.
“I met leading Paralympic dressage rider Sophie Christiansen and was completely blown away by her skill, dedication and the fact that she had won a gold medal for Britain, so I felt I had to do something,” said the 66-year-old ex-Beatle. “My suggestion was simple. Why not create an ad that would highlight the work of ParalympicsGB and call on the British public to donate much needed money.”
McCartney has also been on the campaign trail for Canadian Harp seals in the last few days. He appeared in a special video shown during an anti-seal hunting video played at a rally in Brussels on Tuesday, urging demonstrators fight for a European seal products import ban.
“Stopping the import of seal fur into the European Union could really put an end to this brutality once and for all,” he said. “Please ask the EU to ban this terrible trade today.”
It is not the first time the singer has campaigned for an end to the slaughter of thousands of Harp seals that takes place in Canada every year. He visited the country with ex-wife Heather Mills in 2006 to ask Prime Minister Stephen Harper to end the “heartbreaking” hunt that has left a “stain” on the Canadian character.
Other celebrities to support the end to the slaughter include Slash, Martin Sheen, Mick Jagger, and Brigitte Bardot.
Copyright © 2008 Look to the Stars
