Readers respond: Should pop stars perform at Gallipoli

There are some places in the world that one visits that have that feeling of sacredness. One is Gallipoli. Standing in Anzac Cove and looking up at those hills quickly brings home the odds that faced the soldiers who landed there and the carnage that followed. Anzac Day is a day for all of us to remember the sacrifice these men made, not a songfest. The playing of the Last Post at dawn says it all and let's leave it at that. REG DEMPSTER, Albany.

It would be inappropriate for pop stars to perform at Gallipoli on the eve of Anzac Day. The service should be peaceful, and a time of reflection. Dr Brash is showing very bad taste in telling the Prime Minister to lighten up for this occasion, bad taste for devaluing the loss of life by such a stance, and bad taste for political point-scoring about such a sensitive occasion. Well done, Helen, for showing such sensitivity and respect. ERIKA HOWIE, New Lynn.

Having them play could only make the occasion more memorable and I don't see why there should be a lack of respect to the men who, at the time, died for their country. It only makes an important time in history less memorable because it isolates the event from younger generations by not having a means or common ground that can be established by popular artists. SAM.

I'm sure the old diggers at Anzac Cove would be happy for a bit of music from back home. My girlfriend suggested if they were to play music, it should be from their time (1915). A day of music from the 1910s and stories and letters from the period to remind us today of what took so many Anzacs thousands of kilometres to a small, cold, lethal peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. JASON BOYD.

I would have to agree with Helen Clark in this instance. If visitors to Gallipoli need to be entertained with a concert while waiting to commemorate the dead, they are there for the wrong reasons. Second, how arrogant are the Australians to think that everyone knows who John Farnham is. Well I have heard of him, and, shock horror, I'm not a fan and wouldn't even attend one of his concerts if it was free. CHRIS WEIR, Manurewa.

As the son of an Anzac I fully support our Prime Minister and have nothing but contempt for the Honorable(?) members Hide and Brash. Anzac Day is not entertainment and if what they are saying is their true attitude to our dignity and history, God help us all. T. M. MC QUILLAN.

Pop stars are musicians and people - the contribution of music should not be overlooked. RIE FLETCHER, Glendowie.

We believe that having the Finn brothers and John Farnham perform would be a spectacular way of honouring meaningfully the troops who died to set peace in our land. We think we should consider whom the memorial service is for, because the young men who have died might enjoy the concert. It is our way of showing how much we value the contributions of the troops who fought for our land and country.

We think there are always lots of ways to do things and having a concert is a different way of showing respect and kindness, and it can be dignified and a concert can be respectful. ROOM 7, EVERGLADE PRIMARY, Manukau City

Come on Anzacs! This was not only your battleground ... what about the other soldiers ... Turks, Brits and other Commonwealth men who died at Gallipoli and are remembered in this cemetery? This is their last resting place too. This is also still Turkey ... what do the Turks feel about an Australian star performing at a place where thousands died? Please think again about whether you really want pop, personalities and entertainment at this memorial. Have a beer, sure, but a gig? I don't think so. MARYLYN WALKER, Epsom, Surrey, England.

We are in full agreement with the stance that Helen Clark has taken regarding a concert at Gallipoli. Any such entertainment event would undermine the solemnity and dignity of the occasion. MARK AND PAULETTE ROWLEY, JENNIFER HOLDEN.

To suggest an experienced and talented pop star like John Farnham cannot perform to reflect the dignity of a battleground or cemetery is to deny that he has sufficient experience and talent to reflect an occasion - which he has in abundance. TIM CHAN, ALBANY.

Good on Helen Clark for speaking out about the proposed musical entertainment at Gallipoli. Having attended the Dawn Service there myself a few years ago, I would completely agree that it is totally inappropriate. Thousands of people travel to Gallipoli every year to pay their respects to our armed forces, present and past.

The Australian ceremony is held in the Australian cemetery, the New Zealand one at the memorial cenotaph for New Zealanders. All the people I have met who have made the journey have found it a sobering experience - they weren't there to be entertained. Other than the bugle playing the Last Post, no music is needed. N. DYER.