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World Environment Day 2021

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4th June - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

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4th June - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

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International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression | United Nations

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The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This day affirms the UN's commitment to protect the rights of children.

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Bike around Kos town

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Appreciate All Parents Throughout the World

Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.

Emphasizing the critical role of parents in the rearing of children, the Global Day of Parents recognizes that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children. For the full and harmonious development of their personality, children should grow up in a family environment and in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.

Designated by the General Assembly in 2012, Global Day of Parents provides an opportunity to appreciate all parents for their "selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship."

Greater support needed for working parents as COVID-19 takes hold

Families bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the anchors of the family and the foundation of our communities and societies, parents have the responsibility of sheltering their families from harm, caring for out-of-school children and, at the same time, continuing their work responsibilities. Without support from parents, children's health, education and emotional well-being is at risk. By introducing family-friendly workplace policies and practices, companies and organizations will be in a better position to promote children's safety and wellbeing and provide systematic support to employees.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its exponential growth, a technical note from UNICEF, ILO and UN Women on family-friendly policies and other good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19 shows that it is essential to support working families to minimize negative consequences for children.

Background

During the 1980's, the United Nations began focusing attention on the issues related to the family. In 1983, based on the recommendations of the Economic and Social Council, the Commission for Social Development in its resolution on the Role of the family in the development process ( 1983/23) requested the Secretary-General to enhance awareness among decision makers and the public of the problems and needs of the family, as well as of effective ways of meeting those needs.

In its resolution 44/82 of 9 December 1989, The General Assembly proclaimed 1994 as the International Year of the Family; and in resolution 47/237 of 1993, the General Assembly decided that 15 May of every year to be observed as the International Day of Families.

In 2012, the General Assembly proclaimded 1 June as the Global Day of Parents, to be observed annually in honour of parents throughout the world.

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Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.

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American Greetings - World's Toughest Job

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VideoLink lets you share videos on YouTube easily, without distracting third-party content or advertisements.

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12th April - International Day of Human Space Flight

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12th April - International Day of Human Space Flight

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On World Health Day, 7 April 2021, we will be inviting you to join a new campaign to build a fairer, healthier world. We'll be posting more details here shortly, but here's why we're doing this:

Our world is an unequal one.
As COVID-19 has highlighted, some people are able to live healthier lives and have better access to health services than others - entirely due to the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age.

All over the world, some groups struggle to make ends meet with little daily income, have poorer housing conditions and education, fewer employment opportunities, experience greater gender inequality, and have little or no access to safe environments, clean water and air, food security and health services. This leads to unnecessary suffering, avoidable illness, and premature death. And it harms our societies and economies.

This is not only unfair: it is preventable. That's why we are calling on leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. At the same time we urge leaders to monitor health inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them.

COVID-19 has hit all countries hard, but its impact has been harshest on those communities which were already vulnerable, who are more exposed to the disease, less likely to have access to quality health care services and more likely to experience adverse consequences as a result of measures implemented to contain the pandemic.
WHO is committed to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can realize the right to good health.

Work hand in hand with affected communities and individuals to address the root causes of inequities and to implement solutions - within and beyond the health sector - to address them. The impact will be greatest when governments and communities work together, in a coordinated approach.

Ensure collection and use of timely and reliable health data - disaggregated by gender, age, income, education, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant to the national context. Only then is it possible to assess inequities across population subgroups and take actions that have impact.

Adopt a whole-of-government approach to t ackling the root causes of inequities and increase investment in primary health care. This is key to meeting today's challenges of ensuring Health for All and to building the resilience of tomorrow.

Act beyond national borders. For example, only when we can protect, test and treat the whole global population can we end the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as assuring an equitable supply of vaccines, tests and treatments, we must strengthen national and international mechanisms and build community trust and participation into their delivery and uptake to ensure access for all globally.

Find out more about our work to improve health equity here

Message from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

World Health Day 2021: It's time to build a fairer, healthier world for everyone, everywhere.

World Health Day 2021 in the WHO regions

Facts and feature stories:

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On World Health Day, 7 April 2021, we will be inviting you to join a new campaign for a fairer, healthier world.

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6th April - International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

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6th April - International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

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International Day of Sport for Development and Peace | United Nations

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The purpose of the day is to recognize the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development.

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5th April - International Day of Conscience

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5th April - International Day of Conscience

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Promoting a Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience

The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of humankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people." Moreover, article 1 of the Declaration states that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

The task of the United Nations to save future generations from the scourge of war requires transformation towards a culture of peace, which consists of values, attitudes and behaviours that reflect and inspire social interaction and sharing based on the principles of freedom, justice and democracy, all human rights, tolerance and solidarity, that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation and that guarantee the full exercise of all rights and the means to participate fully in the development process of their society.

Conscious of the need for the creation of conditions of stability and well-being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, the General Assembly declared 5 April the International Day of Conscience.

The General Assembly invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as the private sector and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to build the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience in accordance with the culture and other appropriate circumstances or customs of their local, national and regional communities, including through quality education and public awareness-raising activities, thereby fostering sustainable development.

Origins of a Culture of Peace

The concept of a culture of peace emerged from the International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Côte d'Ivoire in July 1989. Since then the promotion of a culture of peace has increasingly been seen as a worthwhile objective of the international community. The evolving concept has inspired activities at so many levels and in so many regions with the full participation of civil society that the culture of peace is gradually taking on the characteristics of a global movement.

Within the United Nations system, the concept dates back to the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adopted more than 50 years ago, wherein that organization is called upon to construct the defences of peace in the minds of men because "a peace based exclusively upon the political and economic arrangements of Governments would not be a peace which could secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the world, and ... the peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind".

Building a Culture of Peace

The task of constructing a culture of peace requires comprehensive educational, cultural, social and civic action, in which each person has something to learn and something to give and share. It addresses all ages and all groups; it is an open-minded global strategy with a specific purpose, namely, to make a culture of peace inseparable from culture per se and to take root in people's hearts and minds. Peace is not only the absence of differences and conflicts. It is a positive, dynamic, participatory process linked intrinsically to democracy, justice and development for all by which differences are respected, dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are constantly transformed by non-violent means into new avenues of cooperation.

Based on this broadest and most positive meaning of peace, a culture of peace is a set of values, attitudes, traditions and customs, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reflect and are directed towards respect for life, for human beings and their rights, the rejection of violence in all its forms, the recognition of the equal rights of men and women, the recognition of the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, opinion and information, attachment to the principles of democracy, freedom, justice, development for all, tolerance, solidarity, pluralism and acceptance of differences and understanding between nations, between ethnic, religious, cultural and other groups and between individuals.

The UN and a Culture of Peace

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations play an important role in fostering the intercultural dialogue. They conduct activities related to the culture of peace and non-violence and make efforts in promoting a culture of peace through a number of practical projects in the areas of youth, education, media and migration, in collaboration with governments, international organizations, foundations and civil society groups, as well as the media and the private sector.

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International Day of Conscience | United Nations

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The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of humankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people."

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2nd April - International Children’s Book Day

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2nd April - International Children’s Book Day

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When we read, our minds grow wings.

When we write, our fingers sing.

Words are drumbeats and flutes on the page,

soaring songbirds and trumpeting elephants,

rivers that flow, waterfalls tumbling,

butterflies that twirl

high in the sky!

Words invite us to dance---rhythms, rhymes, heartbeats,

hoofbeats, and wingbeats, old tales and new ones,

fantasies and true ones.

Whether you are cozy at home

or racing across borders toward a new land

and a strange language, stories and poems

belong to you.

When we share words, our voices

become the music of the future,

peace, joy and friendship,

a melody

of hope.

Written by Margarita Engle

Poster illustrated by Roger Mello

Download Poster here

Download Message here

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When we read, our minds grow wings. When we write, our fingers sing. Words are drumbeats and flutes on the page, soaring songbirds and trumpeting elephants, rivers that flow, waterfalls tumbling, butterflies that twirl high in the sky! Words invite us to dance---rhythms, rhymes, heartbeats, hoofbeats, and wingbeats, old tales and new ones, fantasies and true ones.

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This year's message by Helen Mirren

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World Theatre Day - International Theatre Institute ITI

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International Theatre Institute ITI ITI Headquarters 1332 Xinzha Road, Jing´an, Shanghai, China 200040 Tel: +86 21 6236 7033 Fax: +86 21 6236 3053 info(at)iti-worldwide.org

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If only I were a candle in the dark

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Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning. On World Poetry Day, reflect on the power of language and the full development of your creative abilities.

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21st March -International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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21st March -International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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20th March -International Day of Happiness

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20th March -International Day of Happiness

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Emma Watson's speech on feminism

Do you have a gender-bias?

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March 7, 1948 marks a historic milestone for Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese islands. It is the day these islands, the last link in the chain of national integration and the establishment of the modern Greek state (Hellenic Democracy), became an integral part of Greece.

Throughout their long history, Rhodes and the Dodecanese, followed the fortunes of Hellenism. Eras of freedom and prosperity were followed obscure years of decline. Nevertheless, through the centuries their identity, the impetus of the Greek, remained intact. Fair in soul in unbearable situations, when the fullness of time arrived, they united with the free Fatherland.

The Integration with the Greek State came after many years of struggles and sacrifices of the enslaved people Dodecanese. The first attempt was made on June 4, 1912 when representatives of the islands, organized the Pan-Dodecanese Congress of Patmos and declared the independent State of the Aegean. But it was the defeat of the Nazis during the WW II where Greece fought decisively and with many loses, on the side of the Allied Forces, that led the way to the Integration. Below is a chronology of the major events of that time:

November 9, 1940: Constitution of the Regiment of the Dodecanese Volunteers with Ioannis Kazoullis initiator and first provisional commander Major Markos Kladakis from Symi and the participation of youth that manage to escape from the islands, under the Italian rule.

September 8, 1943: The fall of Mussolini on July 25, 1943 and the capitulation of the new Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio on September 8, 1943, also known as Armistizio, marks a series of dramatic developments in the Dodecanese. The administration of the Dodecanese is taken by the German General Ulrich Kleeman.

8 May 1945: The leader of the German occupying forces, General Wagener, signs in Simi the protocol of unconditional surrender of the Dodecanese to the British Allies Forces and the commander of the Ieros Lohos (a special Greek Army division), Colonel Christodoulos Tsigante.

9 May 1945: British forces (Indian battalions) and men of the Ieros Lohos are landed in Rhodes. The people of the town and villages, welcome the troops holding Greek flags. The period of the British rule of the Dodecanese begins.

June 27, 1946: The Council of Foreign Ministers in Paris decides the integration of the Dodecanese islands with Greece.

February 10, 1947: A peace treaty is signed in Paris between the Allied Forces (including Greece) and Italy under which Italy grants in Greece with full sovereignty of the Dodecanese islands and adjacent islets.

March 31, 1947: The British commander of the Allied Forces occupying the Dodecanese, Brigadier AS Parker, delivers the Administration to the Vice Admiral Pericles Ioannides. Begins the transition period of the Greek Military Administration.

March 7, 1948: King Pavlos (Prince Charles' uncle) and Queen Frederica, arrived in Rhodes in a frenzy of enthusiasm, accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister Constantine Tsaldaris, ministers and military to celebrate the official Integration of the Dodecanese islands with Greece.

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The Integration of the Dodecanese with Greece

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March 7, 1948 marks a historic milestone for Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese islands. It is the day these islands, the last link in the chain of national integration and the establishment of the modern Greek state (Hellenic Democracy), became an integral part of Greece.

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9th February - International Greek Language Day

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9th February - International Greek Language Day

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Did you know you speak Greek? - International Greek Language Day (February 9)

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VideoLink lets you share videos on YouTube easily, without distracting third-party content or advertisements.

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On 26 April 2006 the Council of Europe decided to launch a Data Protection Day to be celebrated each year on 28 January, the date on which the Council of Europe's data protection convention, known as "Convention 108", was opened for signature. Data Protection Day is now celebrated globally and is called Privacy Day outside Europe.

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27th January - Holocaust Remembrance Day

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27th January - Holocaust Remembrance Day

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https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/holocaustremembranceday

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Open up your heart ... and your arms, this January 21 for National Hugging Day! As you might guess, this day is an annual event dedicated to the underrated art form of the hug. We love all types of hugs, from the one-armed bro hug to full bear hugs. So let's get hugging!

When is National Hugging Day 2021?

The simplest and most effective way of expressing affection is celebrated on National Hugging Day on January 21. Even though a hug is one of the most natural gestures, it's not practiced enough these days! This holiday encourages hugging, as a therapeutic way to convey affection and emotions.

The best way National Hugging Day is celebrated is by spreading the love and offering a hug to your friends and family. It's amazing how much difference a simple hug can make. Spend your day letting your nearest and dearest know that you're there for them by giving them hugs and lifting their spirits.

12 hugs a day
You might not actively think about how many times you're hugging someone a day, but apparently, reaching a specific "hugging quota" is crucial for your development. Family therapist Virginia Satir says "We need four hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth." It sounds like a lot, but you might be fulfilling the numbers easily without even thinking about it on a daily basis! We can thank our friends, family, and loved ones for that!

32% stress-buffering
In a 2015 study involving 404 healthy adults, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University examined the effect of perceived social support and the receipt of hugs on the participants' susceptibility to developing the common cold after being exposed to the virus. People who perceived greater social support were less likely to come down with a cold, and researchers calculated that the stress-buffering effects of hugging explained 32% of that beneficial effect. Even among those who got a cold, those who felt greater social support and received more frequent hugs had less severe symptoms.

20 seconds for the perfect hug
Though the average hug with a friend or family member is about 3 seconds long (a quick embrace before continuing a conversation), longer hugs - 20 seconds is recommended - are beneficial to your health. During a hug, we release oxytocin, a hormone that relaxes us and lowers anxiety. It's often called the "cuddle hormone," and when it's released during these 20 second hugs it can effectively lower blood pressure and reduce the stress hormone norepinephrine.

National Hugging Day FAQs

Is there a National Hugging Day?

There absolutely is! National Hugging Day happens once a year on January 21. This year, the day is on a Tuesday

What happens when you hug someone for 20 seconds?

Studies show a 20 second hug relieves and reduces the harmful physical effects of stress and releases oxytocin.

Why are hugs so powerful?

The act of hugging can be incredibly soothing and healing, and is a physical way of confirming your presence in someone's life. It's why we hug when we're sad, when we've gotten great news, and after we've had a stressful day.

History of National Hugging Day

National Hugging Day was created in 1986 by Kevin Zaborney. His friend was the granddaughter of the proprietors of Chase's Calendar of Events. Zaborney chose January 21 because it was the time between the winter holiday season and the new year's birthdays, which he noticed was a time people tend to feel low in spirits. He also felt that Americans were often too embarrassed to show affection in public and hoped National Hugging Day would change that, though he never actually thought it would catch on.

The word "hug" is believed to come from the word "hugga" meaning "to comfort" in the Old Norse language, first appearing approximately 450 years ago. However, the history of hugging itself is a bit more uncertain. What is known is that it is only very recently (within the past 50 years) that we have seen a full acceptance of hugging in public, separating it from other distinguished displays of affection such as kissing. The widespread adoption of hugging over the recent years has been debated to be due to two primary reasons: the reduced formality of dress code and manners between relationships, along with the changing behaviors of political figures in pursuit of a more relatable, warm-hearted perception to the public.

Nowadays, we don't even think about the fact that hugging in public was considered indecent PDA. We hug to greet friends and family, to say goodbye, or to congratulate someone. To console someone or to show support. We hug before sports and performance teams begin their match, and to show a general sign of affection between intimate relationships. There are also Free Hugs charity fundraisers!

National Hugging Day timeline

Derived from the Old Norse word "hugga" or to comfort, the OG hug enters vocabularies around this time.

National Hugging Day is Born

According to one of the top Detroit PR Firms, National Hugging Day was first celebrated on January 21, 1986 in Clio, Michigan

Chris Christie and Barak Obama share a brief embrace on the President's visit to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy.

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NATIONAL HUGGING DAY - January 21, 2021 | National Today

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Open up your heart ... and your arms, this January 21 for National Hugging Day! As you might guess, this day is an annual event dedicated to the underrated art form of the hug. We love all types of hugs, from the one-armed bro hug to full bear hugs.

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27th December - International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

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27th December - International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

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https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2020/12/27/default-calendar/international-day-of-epidemic-preparedness

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As exemplified by the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic major infectious diseases and epidemics have devastating impacts on human lives, wreaking havoc on long-term social and economic development. Global health crises threaten to overwhelm already overstretched health systems, disrupt global supply chains and cause disproportionate devastation of the livelihoods of people, including women and children, and the economies of the poorest and most vulnerable countries.

There is an urgent need to have resilient and robust health systems, reaching those who are vulnerable or in vulnerable situations.

In the event of the absence of international attention, future epidemics could surpass previous outbreaks in terms of intensity and gravity. There is great need of raising awareness, the exchange of information, scientific knowledge and best practices, quality education, and advocacy programmes on epidemics at the local, national, regional and global levels as effective measures to prevent and respond to epidemics.

It is important to strengthen epidemic prevention by applying lessons learned on epidemic management and how to prevent the stoppage of basic services, and to raise the level of preparedness in order to have the earliest and most adequate response to any epidemic that may arise, and recognizing also the value of an integrated One Health approach that fosters integration of human health, animal health and plant health, as well as environmental and other relevant sectors.

International cooperation and multilateralism play an important role in the response to epidemics. We need to stress the significance of partnership and solidarity among every individual, community and State, and regional and international organizations, in all stages of epidemic management, as well as the importance of considering a gender perspective in this regard.

The United Nations system, in particular the World Health Organization, plays a pivotal role in coordinating responses to epidemics, in accordance with its mandate, and in supporting national, regional and international efforts to prevent, mitigate and address the impacts of infectious diseases and epidemics in accordance with the goal of advancing the 2030 Agenda.

We need to recognize the primary role and responsibility of Governments and the indispensable contribution of relevant stakeholders in tackling global health challenges, especially women, who make up the majority of the world's health workers.

UN member states commit to ensure inclusive, equal and non-discriminatory participation, with special attention to those, who are vulnerable or in vulnerable situations with the highest chance of epidemic infection.

The UN General Assembly invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other global, regional and subregional organizations, the private sector and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, individuals and other relevant stakeholders to observe the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness annually in an appropriate manner and in accordance with national contexts and priorities, through education and awareness-raising activities, in order to highlight the importance of the prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics.

COVID-19 is a human tragedy. But it has also created a generational opportunity. An opportunity to build back a more equal and sustainable world. The response to the pandemic, and to the widespread discontent that preceded it, must be based on a New Social Contract and a New Global Deal that create equal opportunities for all and respect the rights and freedoms of all.

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nelson Mandela Lecture: "Tackling the Inequality Pandemic: A New Social Contract for a New Era

Documents

Useful links

UN observances related to health

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International Day of Epidemic Preparedness | United Nations

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In the event of the absence of international attention, future epidemics could surpass previous outbreaks in terms of intensity and gravity. There is great need in awareness-raising, the exchange of information, scientific knowledge and best practices, quality education, and advocacy programmes on epidemics at the local, national, regional and global levels as effective measures to prevent and respond to epidemics.

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21st December - Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

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21st December - Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

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(CNN)The two largest planets in our solar system are coming closer together than they have been since the Middle Ages, and it's happening just in time for Christmas -- hence the nickname of the "Christmas Star."

While it's not an actual star, the two planets will certainly make a bright splash in the night sky.

On the night of December 21, the winter solstice, Jupiter and Saturn will appear so closely aligned in our sky that they will look like a double planet. This close approach is called a conjunction. The fact that this event is happening during the winter solstice is pure coincidence, according to NASA.

Great conjunction - Wikipedia

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Today's great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will be highly conspicuous in the west just after sunset. The pair will be only 0.1 degree apart at the exact moment of the conjunction. Some say they will look like an elongated star. Will they? Or will they look like a double planet?
Read more: Will Jupiter and Saturn look like one star in 2020?
What if you're clouded out? How can you watch online? The Virtual Telescope Project in Rome will be showing the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction today, starting at 16:00 UTC; noon on Monday EST; translate UTC to your time. In the telescopic view, you'll see both planets and some of their moons. Click here to view online.

Astronomers use the word conjunction to describe meetings of planets and other objects on our sky's dome. They use the term great conjunction to describe meetings of Jupiter and Saturn, which are the two biggest worlds in our solar system. Though the two planets will appear spectacularly close together on the sky's dome now, Jupiter and Saturn are actually 456 million miles (734 million km) apart. Saturn is nearly twice as far away as Jupiter.

Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions happen every 20 years; the last one was in the year 2000. But these conjunctions aren't all created equal. The 2020 great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will be the closest since 1623 and the closest observable since 1226! 2020's extra-close Jupiter-Saturn conjunction won't be matched again until the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of March 15, 2080.

For all of the reasons above, Jupiter and Saturn are now an appealing and mind-expanding sight. Don't miss them!
Wow! Your most recent photos of Jupiter and Saturn
At the 2000 great conjunction, 20 years ago, Jupiter and Saturn were near the sun in our sky and difficult to observe. We're due for a more observable great conjunction. Jupiter and Saturn are up every evening now - not far from the sunset glare - easily visible and exceedingly noticeable as two bright objects near each other. Plus, in the days prior to the conjunction (last week), the young moon appeared appearing in the evening sky, pointing the way to the planets.

Jupiter is brighter than any star. Saturn isn't as bright as Jupiter, but it's as bright as the brightest stars and shines with a distinctly golden color. Saturn is just to the east of Jupiter on the sky's dome. The two are noticeable for their brightness and nearness to each other.

While you're looking at them, you might notice that - unlike the twinkling stars - Jupiter and Saturn both shine steadily.

In November - during the period when the moon swept past Jupiter and Saturn (about November 16 to November 21) - the two gas giant planets were some 3 degrees apart.

Over the time between November 21 and the day of the conjunction itself, December 21, Jupiter will travel about 6 degrees and Saturn 3 degrees on the sky's dome. That movement will mean that Jupiter bridges the 3-degree gap between itself and Saturn.

Bingo! Great conjunction! See the image below for Jupiter's movement over just a few days in December.
The 2021 lunar calendars are here! Order yours before they're gone.
Saturn is the sixth planet outward from the sun. It's the farthest and slowest-moving planet that we can easily see with the eye alone. Dazzling Jupiter, the fifth planet outward from the sun, is the second-slowest bright planet, after Saturn. It's by virtue of their slow motions in front of the constellations of the zodiac that Jupiter and Saturn have the least frequent of bright-planet conjunctions.

Saturn takes nearly 30 years to go around the sun, while Jupiter takes nearly 12 years. Thus, every 20 years, Jupiter catches up to Saturn as viewed from Earth.

From the years 2000 to 2100 inclusive, as viewed from our planet Earth, these Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions (in ecliptic longitude) happen on these dates:

May 28, 2000
December 21, 2020
October 31, 2040
April 7, 2060
March 15, 2080
September 18, 2100

Now, here's why these great Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions happen every 20 years. Each year, Saturn completes about 12 degrees of its orbit around the sun, whereas Jupiter completes about 30 degrees. Therefore, in one year, Jupiter closes the gap between itself and Saturn by about 18 degrees (30 - 12 = 18 degrees).

In a period of 20 years, then, Jupiter gains 360 degrees on Saturn (18 x 20 = 360 degrees), therefore lapping the ringed planet once every 20 years.

So start watching Jupiter and Saturn now! And mark your calendar for the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21, 2020.

On 21 December Jupiter and Saturn will be at their closest separation in the sky since 1623, at just 0.1° apart! In this new to-scale animation I follow the mid-point between them in the sky #GreatConjunction2020 pic.twitter.com/KXJVBn2KDz

- Dr. James O'Donoghue (@physicsJ) December 19, 2020

Want to see more planets? Check out our latest video project below. It summarizes EarthSky's monthly guide to the bright planets. Let us know how you like it and how we can make it even better!

Bottom line: Jupiter and Saturn will have their 2020 great conjunction today, which is also the day of the December solstice. These two worlds will be visibly closer in our sky than they've been since 1226. At their closest, Jupiter and Saturn will be only 0.1 degree apart. Charts and info in this post.

See more Jupiter-Saturn photos here.

View Jupiter and Saturn online on December 21, via Virtual Telescope.

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jupiter-saturn conjunction december 21 solstice 2020

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All you need to know: 2020's great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn | EarthSky.org

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Today's great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will be highly conspicuous in the west just after sunset. The pair will be only 0.1 degree apart at the exact moment of the conjunction. Some say they will look like an elongated star. Will they? Or will they look like a double planet?

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18th December - International Migrants Day

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18th December - International Migrants Day

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https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/migration/index.html

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds the Guinness World Record as the most translated document. Yet, far too many people are still unaware of their basic rights as human beings.

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8th December - Remembering John Lennon On The 40th Anniversary Of His Death

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8th December - Remembering John Lennon On The 40th Anniversary Of His Death

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' Gimme Some Truth' appears on John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, and in a sense it serves as the aesthetic and ideological counterbalance of that album's legendary title track.

'Imagine' evokes a utopian world in which our heightened consciousness would make everything that oppresses us wither away, 'Gimme Some Truth' looks our real troubled world square in the eye and demands answers right now. If one song floats like a feather on a piano melody as gentle as an evening breeze, the other rides a droning, distorted guitar line and a searing slide-guitar solo. If one vocal sounds as intimate as your good angel speaking to you from someplace inside your own mind, the other pins you against the wall, so impassioned that the singer can barely take the breaths he needs to spit out his lyrics.

Those are two of the many sides of John Lennon, two expressions of the many truths that he came to know. These days we live in a world that to value an unthinking consistency above all other virtues. If you hold an opinion that contradicts something that you said twenty years before, it's not assumed that you've simply matured or reconsidered your earlier views for perfectly good reasons. No, you're a waffler, a hypocrite, a flip-flopper. People are not encouraged to 'contain multitudes', in Ralph Waldo Emerson's immortal phrase. They are encouraged to be as small and one-dimensional as possible if they want to avoid controversy.

Lennon did not see himself or his world in those terms. He thought of his songs as snapshots of what he was thinking and feeling at the moment of composition. He believed that the one quality his calling as an artist demanded of him was complete emotional and intellectual honesty. And from his earliest years, he had no interest in disguising what he had to say to bring it into conformity with what anyone else thought his ideas should be, or even with points of view he may have felt at one time himself. If he was true to the emotion that had given birth to the song, that was enough.

'I made the decision at sixteen or seventeen that what I did, I wanted everybody to see,' Lennon explained in 1980. 'I wasn't going after the aestheticism or the monastery or the lone artist who supposedly doesn't care what people think about his work. I care a lot whether people hate it or love it, because it's part of me and it hurts me when they hate it, or hate me, and it's pleasing when they like it. But, as many public figures have said, "The praise is never enough, and the criticism always bites deep."'

From his undying love of rock'n'roll to his songs of social consciousness, from his devotion to women and family, to his eventual understanding of the fragility of all our lives, Lennon devoted his genius to chronicling the unvarnished experiences of one man's journey through life. Whatever truths he found, he shared, and they are embodied in his songs. Well beyond his own tragic end, and even our own lives, they are his unending gift to us, and to everyone who comes after.

For better or worse, very few things remained constant in John Lennon's life. In his early years that was not his fault. His mother and father bolted unpredictably in and out of his life, and then his mother was killed in a car accident when he was seventeen. After that he trusted very few people, fearful that they would leave him, so that truly loving anyone was an enormous risk, until he fully settled into his marriage to Yoko Ono.

But one love that lasted throughout Lennon's life was rock'n'roll. In December of 1970, Lennon did the interviews with Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone that would eventually be published as the book Lennon Remembers. Having just undergone primal-scream therapy and completed his fiercely autobiographical Plastic Ono Band album, Lennon was subjecting every aspect of his life to unforgiving self-examination. Rock'n'roll, however, emerged unscathed.

When Wenner asked him, 'What do your personal tastes run to?' Lennon replied, '" Wop-bop-a-loo-bop ", you know? I mean I like rock'n'roll, man, I - I don't like much else... That's the music that inspired me to play music.

There's nothing conceptually better than rock 'n' roll. No group, be it Beatles, Dylan or Stones, has ever improved on ' Whole Lotta Shakin' (Goin' On) ' for my money.

Maybe I'm like our parents, that's my period. I dig it and I'll never leave it.' It's no surprise then that when Lennon attempted to communicate the depths of despair in his song ' Yer Blues ', he sang, 'Feel so suicidal, even hate my rock'n'roll'. From his standpoint, what could be worse than that?

Earlier in that Rolling Stone interview, Lennon explained that 'I only liked simple rock and nothing else.' However, for Lennon, there was really nothing simple about rock'n'roll. For him, it was a style of music that got directly to the essence of things, without pretence or affectation. As ambitious as he became as an artist and activist, there was always part of him that grew impatient with overwrought complexity - whether embodied in the tangled, allusive lyrics of Bob Dylan; the semi-classical aspirations of George Martin (and Paul McCartney); or the endless realpolitik arguments of the best and brightest in government for why nations couldn't achieve peace.

A product of the tough port city of Liverpool, Lennon prided himself on his no-nonsense demeanour, and he eventually became a New Yorker, a breed not exactly known for restraint in their opinions. In interviews and conversations, when he encountered overly elaborate explanations, Lennon would start to wonder if he was being conned. He came to view obscurantist "literary" writing as a form of dishonesty, a means of shielding yourself from the consequences of just saying what you mean. If everything in a lyric was open to interpretation then you didn't have to take responsibility for it. Apart from a brief psychedelic period in the mid-to-late Sixties, Lennon always strove for honesty and directness in his lyric writing. He inherited that standard from the rock'n'roll songs he grew up loving. They were the core of his musical DNA.

'I remember the old rock songs better than I remember my own songs,' Lennon said in a 1980 Interview. 'If I sat down in a room and just started playing, if I had a guitar now and we were just hanging out singing, I would sing all the early and mid-Fifties stuff - Buddy Holly and all. I remember those. I don't remember the chords or the lyrics or anything of the Beatles stuff. So my repertoire is that. I still go back to the stuff the Beatles performed before they wrote, you see. I would still enjoy doing it.'

But simplicity was far from the only gift Lennon received from early rock'n'roll. Even if lyricists like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Buddy Holly didn't write lyrics that aspired to the sort of literary effects typical of the poetry Lennon might have read in school, they helped teach him about playfulness and a love of language purely for its own sake.

Lennon loved children's poems, fairy tales, Mother Goose rhymes and the zany nonsense literature of such writers as Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. He read them voraciously as a child, and retained his fondness for them into adulthood. They are primary sources for the punwielding, wild and whirling words of his two splendid books of stories and drawings, In His Own Write (1964) and A Spaniard In The Works (1965).

So no wonder Lennon answered 'Wop-bop-a-loo-bop' when Wenner asked him about his 'personal tastes'. Songs like Gene Vincent's ' Be-Bop-A-Lula,' Lee Dorsey's ' Ya Ya' and Larry Williams's ' Bony Moronie ' all revel in silly rhymes, light-hearted neologisms, and childlike, sing-song syllables. It was music that seemed to Lennon at once innocent and rebellious. In their playfulness such songs evoked the freedom of childhood, and in their raucous rhythms and refusal of adult language and decorum they posed an implicit - and occasionally explicit - threat to the established order. That grown-ups not only mocked the music but tried to stamp it out only provided undeniable proof of its power. That was another lesson from the early days of rock'n'roll that Lennon never forgot.

The insurgent force of rock'n'roll originated as adolescent rebellion - anything that kids did was good, anything adults did was bad. As bracing as it was, the culture surrounding the music even had a nihilistic strain. It was associated with juvenile delinquency, and an appetite for destruction. Teenagers became a social class of their own, and youth was not merely a chronological time period, but a state of mind and a set of values, even if that mostly consisted of rejecting the tepid conformity of Fifties post-war life. Rock'n'roll's attitude was best summed by a line tossed off by Marton Brando in his role as Johnny Strabler, the leader of a motorcycle gang in the 1953 movie, 'The Wild One'. When a girl asks him, "What are you rebelling against, Johnny?" Brando offhandedly replies, "Whaddya got?"

Such scenes were thrilling and Lennon constructed much of his early identity on their basis. But as the Sixties counterculture began to take shape, and Lennon found himself as one of its leaders, it became evident to him that a more sophisticated approach to changing the world around him was necessary. At first the Beatles were encouraged by their handlers to avoid controversy at all costs, but their intelligence and desire to engage the issues confronting their generation finally made that patronising strategy impossible to sustain. Lennon's insistence on speaking his mind, beginning with his correct observation in 1965 that the Beatles were 'more popular than Jesus', generated shockwaves, and he came to understand that if his words were going to have such an impact, he needed to learn how to use that power to advance the ideals he believed in.

But first he needed to understand who he was, and that process of social, political and psychological self-discovery that makes such songs as 'Working Class Hero,' 'God,' 'Isolation' and 'I Found Out' absolutely gripping. Those songs all appear on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Lennon's first solo album after leaving the Beatles. It's an undeniable, acknowledged masterpiece, widely recognised as one of the greatest albums in the history of rock'n'roll. But even at that, its true significance is often not fully understood.

Among the album's many sources, Lennon's scarifying dive into the depths of himself in primal-scream therapy is the most obvious, which has lead to the album being heard almost exclusively in personal terms. But part of Lennon's daring was his willingness to explore how social forces shaped him as fully as the terror of abandonment he experienced as a child. In the absence of more substantive options for forging an identity, accepting the chains that society provides seems like a worthwhile choice - or, as Lennon succinctly put it, 'a working class hero is something to be.' Still, Lennon's songs didn't simply indict "the Man" or "the system", as so many protest songs did. Lyrics like 'Keep you doped with religion, sex and TV/And you think you're so clever and classless and free' exploded the pretences of counterculture hipsters, and challenged them to question how "liberated" and free they really were.

Of course, Lennon also understood that every movement needs its slogans, and he made use of and even coined some of the best of them. 'Give Peace a Chance' ' Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)', ' Power to the People' and the lovely 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' are all intentionally meant to preach to the progressive choir, to keep the spirits of activists up and their hopes high. But even those songs are often more complex than they are thought to be. The conviction that 'War is over if you want it' suggests that if war persists perhaps we have not sufficiently desired its end, or done enough to bring that end about. (Just this year Robert Randolph and the Family Band recorded a torrid cover of Lennon's anguished 'I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die' about very different armed conflicts than the Vietnam War that Lennon had in mind.

Similarly, 'Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)' is going to get friend and foe alike. If you want to "shine on" you need to make sure your actions keep you on the uplifting end of karma's ever-turning wheel.

Finally, 'Imagine', too, is not merely a pastel vision of a utopian world. It is a challenge and a responsibility, a sentiment akin to Mahatma Gandhi's statement that 'We need to be the change we wish to see in the world'.

Sometime in New York City (1972) is Lennon's most overtly political album, and its opening track, ' Woman Is The Nigger Of The World,' is one of its most compelling songs. Co-written with Yoko, It is perhaps the first feminist anthem recorded by a prominent male rock star, and it marks both the impact his marriage to Yoko had on his evolving political consciousness, but also the deepening of his own understanding of women's role in the world - and in his life. John and Yoko use of the charged term 'nigger' in the song was both a provocation and a deft bit of political analysis and guerilla marketing. Comparing the political oppression of women to the plight of blacks, and using the most racially incendiary term in the language to underscore the connection, incited heated and necessary debate, as it was intended to.

Lennon knew as well that no truth is absolute, and that the presence of love can excite our deepest fears.

Many songs have been written about jealousy, but none match Lennon's 'Jealous Guy' for insight and honesty. Declarations like 'I was shivering inside,' 'I was swallowing my pain' and 'I began to lose control' are rare in any style of popular music, let alone a delicate ballad. Lennon's ability to plumb the depths of himself and state his fears so directly - with such a raw, eloquent beauty is one of his most profound gifts.

Meanwhile, ' I'm Losing You ' explores those feelings of desperation in a musical context that reflects those emotions rather than soothes them. And, as always, Lennon could be caustic.

The fear of being abandoned and alone drives ' Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out) ', to its bitter conclusion: 'I'll scratch your back, and you knife mine.'

The serrated rhythms of ' Well, Well, Well ' capture the mood of a couple - guess who - who are "nervous, feeling guilty" and talking about revolution 'just like two liberals In the sun.'

Such moments of dread and self-doubt require the gentleness and encouragement of ' Hold On ' - 'hold on, John; hold on, Yoko; hold on, world: It's gonna be all right.'

The hard-fought optimism that love provides, the rock-solid conviction that, however difficult the struggle, you're not in it alone, leads to the sweetness of ' Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) ' - a paean to a true love child and the awareness, in one of Lennon's most memorable lines, that 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.' That acceptance of the world and its inevitable changes is the ultimate gift of love. The inability to control life makes it more precious, because it requires knowledge of life's evanescence, even as love has made life so much more desirable.

Which is the beauty and poignancy of ' Grow Old With Me ', Lennon's lovely, deeply felt wish for a long life with Yoko. The song was inspired by Robert Browning's poem 'Rabbi Ben Ezra', and replies to a song Yoko had written called 'Let Me Count the Ways', drawing on the well-known sonnet that begins 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways' by Browning's wife, Elizabeth Barrett. The nineteenth-century marriage of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning is among the most moving love stories in literary history, and John and Yoko clearly identified with them. Among the many reasons why 'Grow Old With Me' is notable is how strongly it counteracts the rock'n'roll mythology of living fast and dying young. It is a hymn to longevity, to the possibility that love can deepen and grow, that romance never has to end.

In one of his final interviews, Lennon described the central aesthetic question of his and Yoko's life this way. 'In a way,' he told the New York Times critic Robert Palmer, 'we're involved in a kind of experiment. Could the family be the inspiration of art, instead of drinking or drugs or whatever? I'm interested in finding that out.'

While one of the innumerable tragedies of John Lennon's death at the age of forty is that he never fully got the opportunity to answer that question, the fact that he asked it in the first place suggests that as far as he was concerned the 'experiment' he referred to had already reached an irrefutable conclusion. The life he had built with Yoko and their son Sean had provided plenty of material for great art. But as life became richer and more satisfying, its ephemeral nature became more apparent. When you're experiencing so many moments that you wish would last forever, you are inevitably haunted by the awareness that they can't.

The solution, Lennon understood, was a calm awareness that we are all living on ' Borrowed Time.' That song's gentle reggae lilt lightens the weight of its ideas, and captures the sense of wise acceptance that had increasingly come to be part of his world view. Lennon still lived his life with passion and intensity, still committed to his beliefs with conviction, but the anger that had been with him for so long had eased. Without question, there are many complex reasons for that welcome development, but the simplest reasons perhaps are the most determinative ones. He had settled into his marriage; he was enjoying fatherhood; he had come back refreshed to his music, and as he entered his forties, he had matured. He had discovered that many things could and should be important, but not everything had to be a matter of life or death. In short, he was happy.

Humour, always an under-appreciated aspect of Lennon's music, was still very much a part of his new vision, hilariously, ' Crippled Inside ' takes the serious theme of the lies of the world - and ourselves - to hide our vulnerabilities and fears, and sets it to a tinkly, honky-tonk beat. The song in that sense mirrors its subject - a cheerful surface genially concealing a scarier reality.

Similarly, the jaunty ' Nobody Told Me ' comments on the confusion of living in confounding times ('Most peculiar, mama!') with such panache that it remains perfectly relevant as a soundtrack for today. 'Scared' and, particularly, the hauntingly beautiful 'How?' address the internal version of such confusion and terror, with characteristic honesty.

Perhaps Lennon's greatest philosophical song is 'Watching the Wheels', which appears on Double Fantasy. It can be thought of as his explanation of his life to fans who had wondered what he'd been doing since 1975 when he had stopped making albums and devoted himself to his life with Yoko and Sean. 'Ah, people asking questions, lost in confusion' Lennon sings. 'I tell them there's no problems, only solutions.' Given the tumultuous life he had lived to that point, that optimism was earned.

Without being at all self-righteous, the song also has a strong spiritual undercurrent. The wheel, being a circle, is one of the oldest symbols of unity in human history. The karmic wheel, the mandala, the wheel of fortune all spin, and, as the song suggests, peace of mind comes from neither panicking nor growing complacent with their turnings. That is the state of mind Lennon had achieved by the end of his life.

Acceptance is not necessarily passive. Lennon still believed the world could - be made a better place in both personal terms and for humanity at large. Speaking about Double Fantasy on the very day he was killed, Lennon describes himself as reconnecting with his audience in this way: 'I'm saying "Here I am now, how are you? How's your relationship going? Did you get through it all? Weren't the Seventies a drag? Here we are, well, let's try to make the Eighties good, because it's still up to us to make what we can of it."'

The confluence of those crucial events had a decisive effect on the remaining years of Lennon's life. For the next five years he would disappear from public life almost completely, devoting himself to raising Sean and re-immersing himself in his life with Ono. It was an unprecedented move for a rock star of his fame and stature, and he characteristically threw himself into it without reserve. When he re-emerged again in 1980 to do interviews for Double Fantasy, an album dedicated to the ideal of family and domestic bliss that he had embraced with Ono, Lennon delivered spontaneous lectures on feminism and the importance of sharing gender roles in relationships.

When a reporter from Playboy asked if Lennon had been working on any 'secret projects' during this period, Lennon made it decidedly clear that his personal life was the only project he had been interested in - or had any time for. 'Are you kidding?' Lennon replied. 'There were no secret projects going on in the basement. Because bread and babies, as every housewife knows, is a full-time job...And it is such a tremendous responsibility to see that the baby has the right amount of food and doesn't overeat and gets the right amount of sleep. If I, as housemother, had not put him to sleep and made sure that he was in the bath by 7:30, no one else would have...Now I understand the frustration of those women because of all the work. And there is no gold watch at the end of the day.'

As strong a personality as you could encounter even on his most cooperative day, Lennon couldn't stand the idea that some people viewed him as passively under Ono's spell. 'Listen, if somebody's gonna impress me, whether it be a Maharishi or a Yoko Ono, there comes a point when the emperor has no clothes,' he insisted. 'There comes a point where I will see. So for all you folks out there who think that I'm having the wool pulled over my eyes - well, that's an insult to me. Not that you think less of Yoko, because that's your problem; what I think of her is what counts! But if you think you know me or you have some part of me because of the music I've made, and then you think I'm being controlled like a dog on a leash because I do things with her, then screw you. Because - fuck you brother or sister, you don't know what's happening. I'm not here for you. I'm here for me and her and the baby!'

For John Lennon, the truth was not a fixed category, but a shifting one that took into account all of the factors that determine the circumstances of our lives. He lived by a code of honesty, of self-revelation, of the belief that the best songs he could write were the ones that communicated a clear picture of who he was at the moment of their creation. That process of speaking person-to-person is how the truth took shape for him. His life and his work were continual experiments in discovery and rediscovery. His values remained constant. What changed were the times, the ways in which those values could best be presented and transmitted, and the definition of those values given the current state of the world.

Whether he was singing rock'n'roll songs or writing songs that captured how fragile our lives are, whether he was extolling the virtues of women or railing against the evils perpetrated by our governments, Lennon viewed his work as one rich story, one step on the journey to Creating a better world, one ongoing, never-ending search for truth.

'I always consider my work one piece...and I consider that my work won't be finished until I'm dead and buried - and I hope that's a long, long time,' he said on the last day of his life. 'So to me it's part of one whole piece of work from the time I became public to now...And the eighties is like, we've got a new chance.'

Every decade, every new year, every day, every moment constitutes a 'new chance.' As Lennon sings in 'Borrowed Time', 'Now I am older/The more that I see, the less that I know for sure/Now I am older/The future is brighter, and now is the hour.' Now, and whenever anyone hears any of these songs.

Written by Anthony DeCurtis
Originally published in the John Lennon 'Gimme Some Truth' 4 x CD Box Set

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' Gimme Some Truth' appears on John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine , and in a sense it serves as the aesthetic and ideological counterbalance of that album's legendary title track. 'Imagine ' evokes a utopian world in which our heightened consciousness would make everything that oppresses us wither away, 'Gimme Some Truth' looks our real troubled world square in the eye and demands answers right now.

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December

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https://video.link/w/ES45b

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2nd December - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

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2nd December - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

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https://video.link/w/ZUg4b

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World AIDS Day on 1 December brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic.

The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care around the world. It has become one of the most widely recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have died, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services.

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World AIDS Day on 1 December brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care around the world.

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The Wall is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30th November 1979 by Harvest and Columbia Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded Rockstar whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society forms a figurative wall. The album was a commercial success, topping the US charts for 15 weeks, and reaching number three in the UK. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found it overblown and pretentious, but later received accolades as one of the finest albums of all time.

Bassist Roger Waters conceived The Wall during Pink Floyd's 1977 In The Flesh tour, modelling the character of Pink after himself and former bandmate Syd Barrett. Recording spanned from December 1978 to November 1979. Producer Bob Ezrin helped to refine the concept and bridge tensions during recording, as the band were struggling with personal and financial issues at the time. The Wall is the last album to feature Pink Floyd as a quartet; keyboardist Richard Wright was fired by Waters during production, but stayed on as a salaried musician. Three singles were issued from the album: " Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" (the band's only UK number-one single), " Run Like Hell", and " Comfortably Numb". From 1980 to 1981, Pink Floyd performed the full album on a tour that featured elaborate theatrical effects. In 1982, The Wall was adapted into a feature film, for which Waters wrote the screenplay.

The Wall is one of the best-known concept albums. With over 30 million copies sold, it is the second best-selling album in the band's catalogue (behind The Dark Side of the Moon) and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Some of the outtakes from the recording sessions were used on the group's next album, The Final Cut (1983). In 2000 it was voted number 30 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2003 and 2012, it was included in Rolling Stone's lists of the greatest albums of all time. From 2010 to 2013, Waters staged a new Wall live tour that became the highest-grossing tour by a solo musician.

In 1977, Pink Floyd played the In the Flesh Tour, their first playing in stadiums. Bassist and singer-songwriter Roger Waters despised the experience, feeling the audience was not listening and that many were too far away to see the band. He said: "It became a social event rather than a more controlled and ordinary relationship between musicians and an audience." Some audience members set off firecrackers, leading Waters to stop playing and scold them. In July 1977, on the final date at the Montreal Olympic Stadium, a group of noisy and excited fans near the stage irritated Waters so much that he spat on one of them.

Guitarist and singer-songwriter David Gilmour refused to perform a final encore and sat at the soundboard, leaving the band, with backup guitarist Snowy White, to improvise a slow, sad 12-bar blues, which Waters announced to the audience as "some music to go home to". That night, Waters spoke with producer Bob Ezrin and Ezrin's psychiatrist friend about the alienation and despair he was experiencing, and he articulated his desire to isolate himself by constructing a wall across the stage between the performers-himself, along with the rest of the band-and the audience.

While Gilmour and Wright were in France recording solo albums, and drummer Nick Mason was busy producing Steve Hillage's , Waters began to write material. The spitting incident became the starting point for a new concept, which explored the protagonist's self-imposed isolation after years of traumatic interactions with authority figures and the loss of his father as a child.

In July 1978, Pink Floyd reconvened at Britannia Row Studios, where Waters presented two new ideas for concept albums. The first was a 90-minute demo with the working title Bricks in the Wall. The second was about a man's dreams across one night, and dealt with marriage, sex, and the pros and cons of monogamy and family life versus promiscuity. The band chose the first option; the second eventually became Waters's first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984).

By September, Pink Floyd were having financial problems and urgently needed to produce an album to make money. Financial planners Norton Warburg Group (NWG) had invested £1.3-3.3 million, up to £19.1 million in contemporary value, of the group's money in high-risk venture capital to reduce their tax liabilities. The strategy failed when many of the businesses NWG invested in lost money, leaving the band facing tax rates potentially as high as 83 percent. "We made and it looked as if we'd cracked it," recalled Waters. "Then suddenly these bastards had stolen it all. It looked as if we might be faced with huge tax bills for the money that had been lost. Eighty-three per cent was a lot of money in those days and we didn't have it." Pink Floyd terminated their relationship with NWG, demanding the return of uninvested funds. "By force of necessity, I had to become closely involved in the business side," said Gilmour, "because no one around us has shown themselves sufficiently capable or honest to cope with it, and I saw with Norton Warburg that the shit was heading inexorably towards the fan. They weren't the first crooks we stupidly allied ourselves with. Ever since then, there's not a penny that I haven't signed for. I sign every cheque and examine everything."

To help manage the project's 26 tracks, Waters decided to bring in a producer and collaborator, feeling he needed "a collaborator who was musically and intellectually in a similar place to where I was". They hired Ezrin at the suggestion of Waters's then-girlfriend Carolyne Christie, who had worked as Ezrin's secretary. Ezrin had worked with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Kiss, and Peter Gabriel. From the start, Waters made it clear who was in charge, telling him: "You can write anything you want. Just don't expect any credit."

Ezrin and Gilmour reviewed Waters's concept, discarding what they thought was not good enough. Waters and Ezrin worked mostly on the story, improving the concept. Ezrin presented a 40-page script to the rest of the band, with positive results. He recalled: "The next day at the studio, we had a table read, like you would with a play, but with the whole of the band, and their eyes all twinkled, because then they could see the album." Ezrin broadened the storyline, distancing it from the autobiographical work Waters had written and basing it on a composite character named Pink. Engineer Nick Griffiths later said: "Ezrin was very good in The Wall, because he did manage to pull the whole thing together. He's a very forceful guy. There was a lot of argument about how it should sound between Roger and Dave, and he bridged the gap between them." Waters wrote most of the album, with Gilmour co-writing " Comfortably Numb", " Run Like Hell", and " Young Lust", and Ezrin co-writing " The Trial".

The Wall is a rock opera that explores abandonment and isolation, symbolized by a wall. The songs create an approximate storyline of events in the life of the protagonist, Pink, a character based on Syd Barrett as well as Roger Waters, whose father was killed during World War II, which is where Pink starts to build a metaphorical wall around himself. The album includes several references to former band member Syd Barrett, including " Nobody Home", which hints at his condition during Pink Floyd's abortive US tour of 1967, with lyrics such as "wild, staring eyes", "the obligatory Hendrix perm" and "elastic bands keeping my shoes on". " Comfortably Numb" was inspired by Waters' injection with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the In the Flesh Tour, while in Philadelphia.

Pink is a rock star, one of the many reasons which have left him depressed. Pink imagines a crowd of fans entering one of his concerts, and we begin a flashback on his life, and it is revealed that his father was killed defending the Anzio bridgehead during World War II, in Pink's infancy (" In the Flesh?"). Pink's mother raises him alone (" The Thin Ice"), and with the death of his father, Pink starts to build a metaphorical wall around himself (" Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1").

Growing older, Pink is tormented at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers (" The Happiest Days of Our Lives"), and memories of these traumas become metaphorical "bricks in the wall" (" Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2"). As an adult now, Pink remembers his oppressive and overprotective mother (" Mother") and his upbringing during the Blitz (" Goodbye Blue Sky"). Pink soon marries, and is about to complete his "wall" ("Empty Spaces"). While touring in America, he turns to a willing groupie (" Young Lust"). After learning of his wife's infidelity, he brings the groupie back to his hotel room, only to trash it in a violent fit of rage, terrifying the groupie out of the room (" One of My Turns"). Pink, depressed, thinks about his wife, and feels trapped in his room (" Don't Leave Me Now"), and dismisses every traumatic experience he has ever had as a "brick" in the metaphorical wall (" Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3"), Pink's wall is now finished, completing his total isolation from human contact (" Goodbye Cruel World").

Immediately after the wall's completion, Pink questions his decisions, (" Hey You"), and locks himself in his hotel room (" Is There Anybody Out There?"). Beginning to feel depressed, Pink turns to his possessions for comfort (" Nobody Home"), and yearns for the idea of reconnecting with his personal roots (" Vera"), Pink's mind flashes back to World War II, with the people demanding that the soldiers return home (" Bring the Boys Back Home"). Returning to the present, Pink's manager and roadies have busted into his hotel room, where they find him drugged and unresponsive. A paramedic injects him with drugs to enable him to perform (" Comfortably Numb").

This results in a hallucinatory on-stage performance (" The Show Must Go On") where he believes that he is a fascist dictator, and that his concert is a Neo-Nazi rally, at which he sets brownshirt-like men on fans he considers unworthy (" In the Flesh"). He proceeds to attack ethnic minorities (" Run Like Hell"), and then holds a rally in suburban London, symbolizing his descent into insanity (" Waiting for the Worms"). Pink's hallucination then ceases, and he begs for everything to stop (" Stop"). Showing human emotion, he is tormented with guilt and places himself on trial (" The Trial"), his inner judge ordering him to "tear down the wall", opening Pink to the outside world (" Outside the Wall"). The album turns full circle with its closing words "Isn't this where ...", the first words of the phrase that begins the album, "... we came in?", with a continuation of the melody of the last song hinting at the cyclical nature of Waters' theme.

The album was recorded in several locations. In France, Super Bear Studios was used between January and July 1979, with Waters recording his vocals at the nearby Studio Miraval. Michael Kamen supervised the orchestral arrangements at CBS Studios in New York, in September. Over the next two months the band used Cherokee Studios, Producers Workshop and The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. A plan to work with the Beach Boys at the Sundance Productions studio in Los Angeles was cancelled.

James Guthrie, recommended by previous Floyd collaborator Alan Parsons, arrived early in the production process. He replaced engineer Brian Humphries, who was emotionally drained by his five years with the band. Guthrie was hired as a co-producer, but was initially unaware of Ezrin's role: "I saw myself as a hot young producer ... When we arrived, I think we both felt we'd been booked to do the same job." The early sessions at Britannia Row were emotionally charged, as Ezrin, Guthrie and Waters each had strong ideas about the direction the album would take. Relations within the band were at a low ebb, and Ezrin became an intermediary between Waters and the rest of the band.

As Britannia Row was initially regarded as inadequate for The Wall, the band upgraded much of its equipment, and by March another set of demos was complete. However, their former relationship with NWG placed them at risk of bankruptcy, and they were advised to leave the UK by no later than 6 April 1979, for a minimum of one year. As non-residents they would pay no UK taxes during that time, and within a month all four members and their families had left. Waters moved to Switzerland, Mason to France, and Gilmour and Wright to the Greek Islands. Some equipment from Britannia Row was relocated in Super Bear Studios near Nice. Gilmour and Wright were both familiar with the studio and enjoyed its atmosphere, having recorded solo albums there. While Wright and Mason lived at the studio, Waters and Gilmour stayed in nearby houses. Mason later moved into Waters's villa near Vence, while Ezrin stayed in Nice.

Ezrin's poor punctuality caused problems with the tight schedule dictated by Waters. Mason found Ezrin's behaviour "erratic", but used his elaborate and unlikely excuses for his lateness as ammunition for "tongue-in-cheek resentment". Ezrin's share of the royalties was less than the rest of the band and he viewed Waters as a bully, especially when Waters mocked him by having badges made that read NOPE (No Points Ezrin), alluding to his lesser share. Ezrin later said he had had marital problems and was not "in the best shape emotionally".

More problems became apparent when Waters's relationship with Wright broke down. The band were rarely in the studio together. Ezrin and Guthrie spliced Mason's previously recorded drum tracks together, and Guthrie worked with Waters and Gilmour during the day, returning at night to record Wright's contributions. Wright, worried about the effect that the introduction of Ezrin would have on band relationships, was keen to have a producer's credit on the album; their albums since 1969's More had credited production to "Pink Floyd". Waters agreed to a trial period with Wright producing, after which he was to be given a producer's credit, but after a few weeks he and Ezrin expressed dissatisfaction with Wright's methods. A confrontation with Ezrin led to Wright working only at nights. Gilmour also expressed his annoyance, complaining that Wright's lack of input was "driving us all mad". Ezrin later reflected: "it sometimes felt that Roger was setting him up to fail. Rick gets performance anxiety. You have to leave him alone to freeform, to create ..."

Wright was troubled by a failing marriage and the onset of depression, exacerbated by his non-residency. While the other band members brought their children, Wright's were older and could not join as they were attending school; he said he missed them "terribly". The band's holidays were booked for August, after which they were to reconvene at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, but Columbia offered the band a better deal in exchange for a Christmas release of the album. Waters increased the band's workload accordingly, booking time at the nearby Studio Miraval. He also suggested recording in Los Angeles ten days earlier than agreed, and hiring another keyboardist to work alongside Wright, whose keyboard parts had not yet been recorded. Wright, however, refused to cut short his family holiday in Rhodes.

Accounts of Wright's subsequent departure from the band differ. In his autobiography, , Mason says that Waters called O'Rourke, who was travelling to the US on the , and told him to have Wright out of the band by the time Waters arrived in LA to mix the album. In another version recorded by a later historian of the band, Waters called O'Rourke and asked him to tell Wright about the new recording arrangements, to which Wright responded: "Tell Roger to fuck off". Wright denied this, stating that the band had agreed to record only through the spring and early summer, and that he had no idea they were so far behind schedule. Mason later wrote that Waters was "stunned and furious", and felt that Wright was not doing enough. Gilmour was on holiday in Dublin when he learnt of Waters's ultimatum, and tried to calm the situation. He later spoke with Wright and gave him his support, but reminded him about his minimal contributions. Waters, however, insisted that Wright leave, or he would refuse to release The Wall. Several days later, worried about their financial situation and the failing interpersonal relationships within the band, Wright quit. News of his departure was kept from the music press. Although his name did not appear on the album, he was employed as a session musician on the band's subsequent tour.

By August 1979, the running order was largely complete. Wright completed his duties at Cherokee Studios aided by session musicians Peter Wood and Fred Mandel, and Jeff Porcaro played drums in Mason's stead on " Mother". Mason left the final mix to Waters, Gilmour, Ezrin and Guthrie, and travelled to New York to record his debut solo album, Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports. In advance of its release, technical constraints led to some changes to the running order and content of The Wall, with " What Shall We Do Now?" replaced by the similar but shorter "Empty Spaces", and " Hey You" being moved from the end of side three to the beginning. With the November 1979 deadline approaching, the band left the inner sleeves of the album unchanged.

Mason's early drum sessions were performed in an open space on the top floor of Britannia Row Studios. The 16-track recordings from these sessions were mixed down and copied onto a 24-track master, as guide tracks for the rest of the band to play to. This gave the engineers greater flexibility, but also improved the audio quality of the mix, as the original 16-track drum recordings were synced to the 24-track master and the duplicated guide tracks removed. Ezrin later related the band's alarm at this method of working - they apparently viewed the erasure of material from the 24-track master as "witchcraft".

While at Super Bear studios, Waters agreed to Ezrin's suggestion that several tracks, including "Nobody Home", "The Trial" and "Comfortably Numb", should have an orchestral accompaniment. Michael Kamen, who had previously worked with David Bowie, was booked to oversee these arrangements, which were performed by musicians from the New York Philharmonic and New York Symphony Orchestras, and a choir from the New York City Opera. Their sessions were recorded at CBS Studios in New York without Pink Floyd present. Kamen eventually met the band once recording was complete.

"Comfortably Numb" has its origins in Gilmour's debut solo album, and was the source of much argument between Waters and Gilmour. Ezrin claimed that the song initially started life as "Roger's record, about Roger, for Roger", but he thought that it needed further work. Waters changed the key of the verse and added more lyrics to the chorus, and Gilmour added extra bars for the line "I have become comfortably numb". Wright's "stripped-down and harder" recording was not to Gilmour's liking; Gilmour preferred Ezrin's "grander Technicolor, orchestral version", although Ezrin preferred Waters's version. Following a major argument in a North Hollywood restaurant, the two compromised; the song's body included the orchestral arrangement, with Gilmour's second and final guitar solo standing alone.

Ezrin and Waters oversaw the capture of the album's sound effects. Waters recorded the phone call used on the original demo for " Young Lust", but neglected to inform its recipient, Mason, who assumed it was a prank call and angrily hung up. A real telephone operator was also an unwitting participant. The call references Waters' viewpoint of his bitter 1975 divorce from first wife Judy. Waters also recorded ambient sounds along Hollywood Boulevard by hanging a microphone from a studio window. Engineer Phil Taylor recorded some of the screeching tyre noises on "Run Like Hell" from a studio car park, and a television set being destroyed was used on " One of My Turns". At Britannia Row Studios, Nick Griffiths recorded the smashing of crockery for the same song. Television broadcasts were used, and one actor, recognising his voice, accepted a financial settlement from the group in lieu of legal action against them.

The album culminates with Pink's internal trial, leading to the collapse of his 'wall'

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The maniacal schoolmaster was voiced by Waters, and actress Trudy Young supplied the groupie's voice. Backing vocals were performed by a range of artists, although a planned appearance by the Beach Boys on "The Show Must Go On" and "Waiting for the Worms" was cancelled by Waters, who instead settled for Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and Toni Tennille.

Ezrin's suggestion to release " Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" as a single with a disco-style beat did not initially find favour with Gilmour, although Mason and Waters were more enthusiastic. Waters opposed releasing a single, but became receptive once he listened to Ezrin and Guthrie's mix. With two identical verses the song was felt to be lacking, and so a copy was sent to Griffiths in London with a request to find children to perform several versions of the lyrics. Griffiths contacted Alun Renshaw, head of music at the nearby Islington Green school, who was enthusiastic, saying: "I wanted to make music relevant to the kids - not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great - 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control ...' I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids."

Griffiths first recorded small groups of pupils and then invited more, telling them to affect a Cockney accent and shout rather than sing. He multitracked the voices, making the groups sound larger, before sending his recordings back to Los Angeles. The result delighted Waters, and the song was released as a single, becoming a Christmas number one. There was some controversy when the British press reported that the children had not been paid for their efforts; they were eventually given copies of the album, and the school received a £1,000 donation (£4,000 in contemporary value).

The album's cover art is one of Pink Floyd's most minimal - a white brick wall and no text. Waters had a falling out with Hipgnosis designer Storm Thorgerson a few years earlier when Thorgerson had included the cover of in his book The Work of Hipgnosis: 'Walk Away René'. The Wall is therefore the first album cover of the band since The Piper at the Gates of Dawn not to be created by the design group. Issues of the album would include the lettering of the artist name and album title by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, either as a sticker on sleeve wrapping or printed onto the cover itself, in either black or red. Scarfe, who had previously created animations for the band's "In the Flesh" tour, also created the LP's inside sleeve art and labels of both vinyl records of the album, showing the eponymous wall in various stages of construction, accompanied by characters from the story. The drawings would be translated into dolls for The Wall Tour, as well as into Scarfe's animated segments shown during the tour and the film based on the album. It is notable that the stadium drawn in the inner sleeve looks a lot like the Montreal Olympic Stadium where the album's concept happens to find its origin. It seems plausible that the artist was inspired by the stadium's appearance in 1977 and its inclined tower which was completed only at a third of its projected (and present) height, reminiscent of the many "towers" pictured in the artist's stadium.

When the completed album was played for an assembled group of executives at Columbia's headquarters in California, several were reportedly unimpressed by what they heard. Matters had not been helped when Columbia Records offered Waters smaller publishing rights on the grounds that The Wall was a double album, a position he did not accept. When one executive offered to settle the dispute with a coin toss, Waters asked why he should gamble on something he owned. He eventually prevailed. The record company's concerns were alleviated when "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" reached number one in the UK, US, Norway, Portugal, West Germany and South Africa. It was certified platinum in the UK in December 1979, and platinum in the US three months later.

The Wall was released in the UK and in the US on 30 November 1979. Coinciding with its release, Waters was interviewed by veteran DJ Tommy Vance, who played the album in its entirety on BBC Radio 1. Critical opinion of its content was mixed. Reviewing for Rolling Stone in February 1980, Kurt Loder hailed it as "a stunning synthesis of Waters's by now familiar thematic obsessions" that "leaps to life with a relentless lyrical rage that's clearly genuine and, in its painstaking particularity, ultimately horrifying." By contrast, The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau regarded it as "a dumb tribulations-of-a-rock-star epic" backed by "kitschy minimal maximalism with sound effects and speech fragments", adding in The New York Times that its worldview is "self-indulgent" and "presents the self-pity of its rich, famous and decidedly post-adolescent protagonist as a species of heroism". Melody Maker declared, "I'm not sure whether it's brilliant or terrible, but I find it utterly compelling."

Nevertheless, the album topped the Billboard charts for 15 weeks, selling over a million copies in its first two months of sales and in 1999 was certified 23x platinum. It remains one of the best-selling albums of all time in the US, between 1979 and 1990 selling over 19 million copies worldwide. The Wall is Pink Floyd's second best selling album after 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon. Engineer James Guthrie's efforts were rewarded in 1980 with a Grammy award for Best Engineered Recording (non-classical). Rolling Stone placed it at number 87 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, although this was updated to 129 with the list's 2020 revision. Based on such rankings, the aggregate website Acclaimed Music lists The Wall as the 152nd most acclaimed album in history.

A 1994 digitally remastered CD version manufactured in China omits "Young Lust", but retains a composition credit for Waters/Gilmour in the booklet. The album was reissued in three versions as part of the Why Pink Floyd...? campaign, which featured a massive restoration of the band's catalogue with remastering by producer James Guthrie: in 2011, a "Discovery" edition, featuring the remastered version with no extras; and in 2012, both the "Experience" edition, which adds a bonus disc of unreleased material and other supplementary items, and the "Immersion" version, a seven-disc collection that also adds video materials. The album was reissued under the Pink Floyd Records label on 26 August 2016 along with The Division Bell.

The opened at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 7 February 1980. As the band played, a 40-foot (12 m) wall of cardboard bricks was gradually built between them and the audience. Several characters were realised as giant inflatables, including a pig, replete with a crossed hammers logo. Scarfe was employed to produce a series of animations to be projected onto the wall. At his London studio, he employed a team of 40 animators to create nightmarish visions of the future, including a dove of peace, a schoolmaster, and Pink's mother.

For "Comfortably Numb", while Waters sang his opening verse, Gilmour waited in darkness at the top of the wall, standing on a flight case on casters, held steady by a technician, both precariously balanced atop a hydraulic platform. On cue, bright blue and white lights would suddenly illuminate him. At the end of the concert, the wall collapsed, revealing the band. Along with the songs on the album, the tour featured an instrumental medley, " The Last Few Bricks", played before "Goodbye Cruel World" to allow the construction crew to complete the wall.

During the tour, band relationships dropped to an all-time low; four Winnebagos were parked in a circle, with the doors facing away from the centre. Waters used his own vehicle to arrive at the venue, and stayed in separate hotels from the rest of the band. Wright, returning to perform his duties as a salaried musician, was the only member of the band to profit from the tour, which lost about £400,000.

A film adaptation, Pink Floyd - The Wall, was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in July 1982. It was written by Waters and directed by Alan Parker, with Bob Geldof as Pink. It used Scarfe's animation alongside actors, with little conventional dialogue. A modified soundtrack was created for some of the film's songs.

In 1990, Waters and producer Tony Hollingsworth created The Wall - Live in Berlin, staged for charity at a site once occupied by part of the Berlin Wall. Beginning in 2010 and with dates lasting into 2013, Waters performed the album worldwide on his tour, The Wall Live. This had a much wider wall, updated higher quality projected content and leading-edge projection technology. Gilmour and Mason played at one show in London at The O2 Arena. A film of the live concert, Roger Waters: The Wall, was released in 2015. In 2000, Pink Floyd released Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81, which contains portions of various live shows from the Wall Tour.

In 2016, Waters adapted The Wall into an opera, Another Brick in the Wall: The Opera with contemporary classical composer Julien Bilodeau. It premiered at Opéra de Montréal in March 2017, and was produced by Cincinnati Opera in July 2018. It is orchestrated for a score of eight soloists, 48 chorus members, and a standard 70-piece operatic orchestra.

In 2018, a tribute album The Wall [Redux] was released, with individual artists covering the entire album. This included Melvins' version of "In The Flesh?", Pallbearer covering "Run Like Hell", former Screaming Trees' singer Mark Lanegan covering "Nobody Home" and Church of the Cosmic Skull reworking "The Trial".

All tracks written by Roger Waters, except where noted.

Roger Waters - vocals, bass guitar, synthesizer, acoustic guitar on "Mother" and "Vera", electric guitar on "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3"

David Gilmour - vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, synthesizer, clavinet, percussion

Nick Mason - drums, percussion

Richard Wright - acoustic and electric pianos, Hammond organ, synthesizer, clavinet, bass pedals

Additional musicians

Bruce Johnston - backing vocals

Toni Tennille - backing vocals on "In the Flesh?", "The Show Must Go On", "In the Flesh" and "Waiting for the Worms"

Joe Chemay - backing vocals

Jon Joyce - backing vocals

Stan Farber - backing vocals

Jim Haas - backing vocals

Bob Ezrin - piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer, reed organ, backing vocals

James Guthrie - percussion, synthesizer, sound effects

Jeff Porcaro - drums on "Mother"

Children of Islington Green School - vocals on "Another Brick in the Wall Part II"

Joe Porcaro - snare drums on "Bring the Boys Back Home"

Lee Ritenour - rhythm guitar on "One of My Turns", additional acoustic guitar on "Comfortably Numb"

Joe (Ron) di Blasi - classical guitar on "Is There Anybody Out There?"

Fred Mandel - Hammond organ on "In The Flesh?" and "In the Flesh"

Bobbye Hall - congas and bongos on "Run Like Hell"

Frank Marocco - concertina on "Outside the Wall"

Larry Williams - clarinet on "Outside the Wall"

Trevor Veitch - mandolin on "Outside the Wall"

New York Orchestra - orchestra

New York Opera - choral vocals

Vicki Brown and Clare Torry (credited simply as "Vicki & Clare") - backing vocals on "The Trial"

Harry Waters - child's voice on "Goodbye Blue Sky"

Chris Fitzmorris - male telephone voice

Trudy Young - voice of the groupie

Phil Taylor - sound effects

Production

David Gilmour - co-producer

Roger Waters - co-producer

Bob Ezrin - production, orchestral arrangement, music on "The Trial"

Michael Kamen - orchestral arrangement

James Guthrie - co-producer, engineer

Nick Griffiths - engineer

Patrice Quef - engineer

Brian Christian - engineer

Rick Hart - engineer

Doug Sax - mastering

John McClure - engineer

Phil Taylor - sound equipment

Gerald Scarfe - sleeve design

Roger Waters - sleeve design

Joel Plante - mastering

Singles

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

Blake, Mark (2008), Comfortably Numb - The Inside Story of Pink Floyd (1st US paperback ed.), Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, ISBN 978-0-306-81752-6

Fitch, Vernon; Mahon, Richard (2006), Comfortably Numb: A History of "The Wall": Pink Floyd 1978-1981 (1st US hardcover ed.), St. Petersburg, Florida: PFA Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9777366-0-7

Mason, Nick (2005), Philip Dodd (ed.), Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd (UK paperback ed.), London: Phoenix, ISBN 978-0-7538-1906-7

Povey, Glenn (2007), Echoes (1st UK paperback ed.), London: Mind Head Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9554624-0-5

Scarfe, Gerald (2010), The Making of Pink Floyd: The Wall (1st US paperback ed.), New York: Da Capo Press, ISBN 978-0-306-81997-1

Simmons, Sylvie (December 1999), "Pink Floyd: The Making of The Wall", Mojo, London: Emap Metro, 73: 76-95

Further reading

Fricke, David (December 2009), "Roger Waters: Welcome to My Nightmare ... Behind The Wall", Mojo, London: Emap Metro, 193: 68-84

Hiatt, Brian (September 2010), "Back to The Wall", Rolling Stone, 1114: 50-57

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The Wall is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30th November 1979 by Harvest and Columbia Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded Rockstar whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society forms a figurative wall.

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25th November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

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25th November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

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4th November - International day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying

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4th November - International day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying

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International day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying

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This Day calls on global awareness of the problem of online violence and cyberbullying, its consequences and the need to put an end to it. It calls on the attention of students, parents, members of the educational community, education authorities and a range of sectors and partners, including the tech industry, to encourage everyone to take a part in preventing online violence for the safety and wellbeing of children and youth.

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13th October - International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

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13th October - International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

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Unesco

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Forming a network of 169 Geoparks in 44 countries, UNESCO Global Geoparks are located in various geographical settings that, in some cases, expose them to a multitude of natural hazards and extreme weather events. Climate change is exacerbating such extreme events, causing several geoparks to suffer extensive damage.

In response, many UNESCO Global Geoparks have developed and implemented disaster risk reduction strategies to reduce the territory's exposure to natural hazards while increasing disaster preparedness to safeguard local populations and the infrastructure they depend on. Their holistic management approach builds on the links between an area's geological heritage and its natural, cultural and intangible heritage, as well as local and indigenous knowledge, in order to improve our understanding of key issues, such as the use of Earth's resources, the impact of natural hazards, climate change effects and mitigation.

On a daily basis, UNESCO Global Geoparks are engaged in Disaster Risk Reduction through management plans, as well as training and raising awareness, to improve the resilience of their communities.
Many UNESCO designated sites celebrate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, as an opportunity to raise awareness and empower their local communities.

You can also celebrate by visiting a UNESCO Global Geopark near you!

Watch this space for updates on events in your geoparks.

See also:

Photo: © UNESCO / Colca y Volcanes de Andagua UNESCO Global Geopark

VIS ARCHIPELAGO UNESCO Global Geopark (Croatia)

event title: International Day for the Disaster Risk Reduction
date: 13th October 21
place: Island of Vis (cities Vis and Komiža)
type of activity: workshops and demonstration
target group: elementary school children (grade 1-4), highschool children

short description: in the light of recent events in Croatia regarding frequent earthquakes and constant fire hazard on the remote islands, especially during summer season, Geopark Vis Archipelago decided to join celebration of International Day for the Disaster Risk Reduction, and will, in cooperation with Croatian Mountain Rescue Service and Association of Voluntary Firefighters, organize 3 workshop adapted for children and youth. Our colleagues from Rescue Service and Firefighters will give a short lecture on potential disaster in Geopark Vis Archipelago, demonstrate the actions they take and enable children to participate through workshops. Workshops of this type allow children to learn the necessary skills in case of disasters, help them understand the processes and make them more prepared in times of crisis.

CHABLAIS UNESCO Global Geopark (France)

events title: What drama is Nature preparing for us?
dates: from 2nd October 2021 to 10th October 2021
For full programme details please consult the agenda

2nd October 2021
place: Saint Jean d'Alps and Plateau de Gavot
type of activity: fieldtrips
target group: general public
short description:
1) mountain walk to discover the landslide of Saint Jean d'Alps, led by the official UNESCO Global Geopark guidean intervention to better know the exposure to the natural hazards in our Geopark;
2) walk around the Plateau de Gavot and the landslide of Feternes, led by the official UNESCO Global Geopark guides

8th October 2021
type of activity: free public talk
target group: general public
short description: a social science approach to the evolution of risk management: the role of the state and the acceptance of the municipalities - the example of Vailly by P Pigeon, University of Savoie Mont Blanc

MASSIF DE BAUGES UNESCO Global Geopark (France)

date : Wednesday 13 October 18h30

place: House the Parc-Geopark Le Chatelard
type of activity: conference
target group: general public and free entry

title : Water in the Bauges, a limited resource?
description : If the fountains of our villages seem eternal, their future nevertheless questions the nature and the sustainability of the water resource. From a richly illustrated presentation on the nature and geological history of the Alps and the Massif des Bauges, UNESCO Global Geopark, we will come to characterize the various resources and reservoirs in our region, to appreciate their importance and their vulnerabilities. Between glaciers, lakes, alluvial plains and Karst, a journey through time and in the space of our mountains to reflect on and prepare for the accelerating climate change.

As part of the French science festival

APUAN ALPS UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy)

event title: The 1920 earthquake: visions and memories of the destroyed areas in Garfagnana and Lunigiana
date: 16th October 2021
place: San Giovanni Museum Hall in Fivizzano
type of activity: book presentation
target group: local communities, Geoparks Guides, stakeholders, students and teachers
short description: the Apuan Alps UGGp organizes the presentation of a book with memories and images of the strong earthquake that affected the areas of Garfagnana and Lunigiana.
The event aims to spread knowledge about this earthquake with the main goal to inform, raise awareness and prepare people for a more effective response during the extreme events.

BEIGUA UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy)

CILENTO, VALLO DI DIANO AND ALBURNI UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy)

MADONIE UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy)

POLLINO UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy)

event title: Presentation guide geo-route named "On the trail of the Pollino Line"
date: 13th October 2021
place: Geopark visitor centre
type of activity: conference
target group: local community, Geoparks Guides, stakeholders, students and teachers
short description: one of the strategic actions put in place by the Pollino Geopark staff has been the realization of explanatory signage in highly representative sites from both the structural and geomorphological points of view. The geological interpretation and tectonic history of the whole area, such as length, kinematics and seismotectonics of the regional fault system, recognized, in the international geological literature, as the "Pollino Line", has been provided in some geological viewpoints distributed along a km scale route.
In this way the Geopark set up a geo-route named "On the trail of the Pollino Line", where the tourists can appreciate the information panels installed, explaining the geological, geomorphological, and tectonic processes that have determined the creation of the present-day structure and landscape.

ASO UNESCO Global Geopark (Japan)

event title : Join our Mitigation Program

date : Wednesday 13 October 18h30

place: Oguni Town in Aso UNESCO Global Geopark
type of activity: lecture
target group: general public and free entry
A major earthquake disaster occurred in the Aso Geopark in 2016. However, we accept it as one of the activities of the earth, and we are transmitting not only the tragedy but also living in it as an educational trip. Please join our program! Activities will include three topics: Education Program for Disaster risk Reduction, Climate Emergency Declaration, Education for Sustainable Development

TOYA-USU UNESCO Global Geopark (Japan)
event title : Certification examination of the Toya-Usu Volcano Meister
date : Saturday 6 November 2021

place: Mount Usu (Toya-Usu Unesco Global Geopark)
type of activity: Certification examination of the Toya-Usu Volcano Meister
target group: general public and free entry
The UNESCO Global Geopark certifies local residents as "Volcano Meisters" those who have learned the nature and characteristics of Lake Toya and the Usu Volcano area and pass on both the memories and experiences of eruptions and the wisdom to mitigate a disaster to the next generation in and outside the community. They are resilience promoters. Certification examination of the Toya-Usu Volcano Meister have taken place once a year in middle of October. In 2021, The 14th exam will be held on in November due to the pandemic of Covid 19.

IZU Peninsula UNESCO Global Geopark (Japan)
event title : Past tsunami evidence and raising awareness for the future
date : Wednesday 13 October 2021
place: Izu Peninsula UNESCO Global Geopark Exhibition "AmaGEO"
type of activity: Exhibition
target group: general public and free entry

As a Global Geopark in one of the most earthquake-prone regions on the earth, promoting research on natural disasters is our prime concern. In this regard, Izu UGGp introduces a research project titled "Tracing a millenary history of major natural disasters in Izu peninsula west coast- A chronological study on lake deposits of Myojin Lake in Ida, Izu Peninsula". This project chiefly aimed at revisiting the history of tsunami in the Peninsula where the gigantic earthquakes had repeatedly occurred. It could successfully present scientific evidence of the past catastrophic events which would allegedly take place. In view of UNESCO Global Geopark mission to liaise academia and the general public, site managers offer a special exhibition to present the findings. 'AmaGEO', the research hub of the Global Geopark, served as its venue. The exhibition mirrors Geoparks' tireless efforts to renew awareness among the residents of the peninsula where the next calamity might come anytime in future.

MUROTO UNESCO Global Geopark (Japan)
event title : Educational Tour on Geohazard Risk Management in Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark
date : October 2021
place: Muroto UGGp, Kochi, Japan
type of activity: Educational tour
target group: school studens and general public

Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark is conserved as a Quasi National Park and widely used for education and research activities. Muroto is located at the plate boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate and the tectonic situation still causes earthquakes accompanied with tsunamis at an interval of 100 to 150 years. In Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark, visiting tourists and students can understand the land formation process from a scenic road and lookout points on the marine terrace slopes. Muroto UGGp wellcomes school students to learn about geohazard process and how ones can protect their lives and community. Guests will visit Tsunami Evacuation Shelter located at coastal area of Muroto UGG and learn how this facility works when earthquake and tsunami happens with a local instructor. Students will experience dynamic earth movements with local guides and lear the land formation processes of Muroto. Moreover, High school students of Muroto celebrate the 2021 IDDR day by holding an online exchange meeting with high school students in Langkawi UNESCO Global Geopark (Malaysia) and sharing geohazard risk reduction measurements and preparation for the next earthquake and tsunamis.

ORIGENS UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain)

SIERRA SUBBETICAS UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain)

SOBRARBE-PIRINEOS UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain)

KULA-SALIHLI UNESCO Global Geopark (Turkey)

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International Day for Disaster Reduction

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Forming a network of 169 Geoparks in 44 countries, UNESCO Global Geoparks are located in various geographical settings that, in some cases, expose them to a multitude of natural hazards and extreme weather events. Climate change is exacerbating such extreme events, causing several geoparks to suffer extensive damage.