She’s the pinnacle Gen Z popstar, so it’s no surprise the environment is at the forefront of Billie Eilish’s mind.
Whether it’s sharing her Vogue cover with eight climate activists, only wearing Oscar de la Renta to her debut Met Gala in 2021 if creative directors Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim agreed to stop selling fur (they did) or installing Eco-Villages at each of her tour venues (here visitors can refill their water bottles for free, learn about environmental nonprofits and even register to vote) - the 21 year-old has long used her platform to promote eco-consciousness.
Next up: the second iteration of her beloved OVERHEATED climate action party.
Named after a song from her last album, Happier Than Ever, which was originally about body shaming – it’s now the title of both a documentary and event series addressing the climate crisis.
“The role of popular culture in harnessing the power of the mainstream to add their voice to the conversation cannot be overstated,” says Earthrise CEO Alice Aedy, who will be speaking at the event, on the importance of events such as OVERHEATED. “We can’t win the climate fight without musicians, artists and storytellers painting a new vision for the world we want to live in. We only need to look to history to see that culture-makers shift the dial.”
Last year’s debut conference took place at The Indigo in the 02 across several days but 2023’s offering will be packed into a single day, filled with talks, plant-based food by Neat Burgers and an uplifting roller-skating session. And unlike last year, Eilish will also share some words. On what and when specifically during the day remains unclear, but considering she’s one of the most followed people on Instagram, with over 70.2 million Spotify listeners a month - it’s understandably made OVERHEATED the place to be this month.
“Our goal is always to connect the audience to climate action through the first person story-telling of their peers,” says Tori Tsui, a 29-year-old climate activist based in Bristol. “OVERHEATED hopes to balance a global perspective by highlighting the stories of those most affected - particularly historically marginalised groups - with local calls to action,” continues the author of Its Not Just You, which explores issues surrounding eco-anxiety.
Tsui is one of the many climate activists speaking at OVERHEATED, which will take place on 30 August at Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in Wood Lane. Hosted by presenter Abbie McCarthy, the day will also see panel discussions featuring fashion entrepreneur Samata Pattinson, activist Dominique Palmer and Eilish’s mum, Maggie Baird. Baird’s organisation Support + Feed, which aims to promote an equitable plant-based food system, has even helped co-organised the event.
“While the climate crisis can be daunting, we hope the audience walks away feeling that they have the power to do something about it and that they find hope in that empowerment, and community in the process of finding their paths to involvement,” Tsui continues on the talks, which will range from tackling eco anxiety to methods of sustainable fashion.
Tickets go on sale today at 10am BST on Ticketmaster, but be warned: there’s only 500 tickets available to the public.
Fortunately they’ll also be livestreaming the day on Eilish’s official YouTube channel, in case you don’t bag one of the coveted spots.
