The South African sun has shone on the Earth Summit but it seems the stars have not come out in Johannesburg.
Not only has George W. Bush stayed home but the "green" stars of Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago are conspicuous by their absence.
At that first summit Sting, the BeachBoys and John Denver serenaded delegates while Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine joined soccer legend Pele to raise consciousness about the issues.
This time round it is hard to find even one A-list celebrity.
Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio pulled out of appearing at Johannesburg in support of a project to save great apes because of "contractual obligations" at home.
Not even the world's most famous South African, Nelson Mandela, has appeared. He was billed to appear at the opening ceremony, but thousands of delegates were disappointed when the 84-year-old former president failed to show. His spokeswoman said he was out of town working on his book although he is due to make a low-key appearance.
About 100 world leaders will jet in for a day or two next week but even their numbers have been depleted, notably by the absences of Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While some have speculated Northern Hemisphere summer vacations and Johannesburg's unenviable reputation as one of the world's most crime-ridden cities may have contributed to the beautiful people staying away, some campaigners have a more worrying explanation as far as the planet is concerned.
"Rio had a much broader appeal because it was new," Achim Steiner, director-general of environmental conservation group IUCN said, lamenting the "cynicism" leading up to Johannesburg.
Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth said there had been a huge growth in cynicism since Rio.
