From the Ashes of the COP30 Fire: Culture is Here to Stay

In the middle of the panel, we had to leave the stage in a rush, running, guiding people, and trying to make sure as many as possible got out safely.

On the penultimate day of COP30, a fire broke out in the Blue Zone, disrupting the final stages of the negotiations and destroying numerous pavilions. One of the most affected pavilions was the Climate Live Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, a collaborative youth-led pavilion space that for the past two weeks has connected climate policy, diverse cultural practices, and ancestral and territorial knowledge systems, featuring guests such as Janja Silva, Margareth Menezes, and Helena Gualinga.

Members of the Climate Live Entertainment + Culture Pavilion were present when the fire broke out. They share their experiences below.

Frances Fox, Founder of Climate Live, says “I was sitting in our pavilion, preparing for the next session, when suddenly I heard panicked calls of ‘FIRE’. I looked up from my laptop and saw the flames erupting and spreading rapidly across the material the Blue Zone is made from. It was truly terrifying. I could feel the heat on my skin.”

Frances continues, “ It is a sad reality that tragedies like this are caused by the climate crisis every day. At our pavilion throughout COP many frontline activists with lived experience had been sharing this, alongside incredibly inspiring and moving stories of strength, community and creative projects overcoming these challenges. I hope this is a wake up call for world leaders at COP who are deciding the fate of the planet. I hope they find it in their hearts to feel empathy and take action for those on the frontlines of the climate crisis, now they have felt the fear and panic of a fire.”

Samuel Rubin, Co-founder of the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, says, “The only space dedicated to culture inside the Blue Zone might be covered in ashes but our steadfast commitment to put culture at the heart of climate action remains strong. As of now, none of the texts coming out of COP30 mention the importance and role of culture-based climate action and we still have 24 hours to change that. We need negotiators to go back to the Plenary and insert culture in the final text before the gavel goes down.”

Gunjan Nanda, Co-founder of the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, says, “Today’s fire felt symbolic of the world we’re living in - a reminder of how quickly things can fall apart when we move fast and without care. We are reminded that millions of people living on the frontlines of the climate crisis are already living with the loss that comes with wildfires, extreme heat, and abnormal weather patterns. If anything, this moment strengthened our conviction: the work we do - bringing culture, community, and justice to the center of climate action - is more urgent than ever.”

Leia Booth, Director of Fundraising and Development at the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, says, “As a youth-led team that faced difficulties in securing resources to fund the pavilion, we are left feeling bereft at the damage of our shared space. After successfully delivering over 80+ events in the past two weeks, this is especially heartbreaking. We remain resilient and adaptable, this doesn’t falter our commitment to culture-based climate action. Culture requires more resourcing and now more than ever, we ask philanthropy to lead the way in helping initiatives like ours to not only recover from this, but to thrive.”

Gabriel Mendes, Strategic Partnerships Lead and Brazil Coordinator, Climate Live, says, “I was on stage, during a panel on the absence of public policies in peripheral territories. It was in that exact moment, as we spoke about structural neglect, that the fire began behind us. Before the flames, the power suddenly went out. One of our panelists said something that now echoes even louder: ‘The power going out here isn’t any different from what happens every day in Brazil’s favelas and peripheries.’ Minutes later, that statement stopped being a metaphor and became a literal reality.”

He continues, “In the middle of the panel, we had to leave the stage in a rush, running, guiding people, and trying to make sure as many as possible got out safely. In that moment, COP30 stopped being a major international event and became a mirror of what many communities face daily in the peripheries: the fire does not choose where to start, it simply consumes everything in its path. The pavilion burned, but the force of what we built did not. Our culture, our ancestry, and the voices from the peripheries remain alive, because, like our communities, we know how to rise
from the ashes.”

About the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion
The Entertainment + Culture Pavilion stands at the intersection of culture and climate action, dedicated to utilizing the transformative power of arts, entertainment, and cultural engagement to address global climate challenges. Find out more here.

About Climate Live
Climate Live is a global youth-led charity engaging a new audience in the climate movement through the power of music. They have teams in 48 countries who organise concerts and stages at major music festivals. Find out more here.

Contact:
Katherine Buckland - katherinelydiabuckland@gmail.com | +447522444843 (WhatsApp)