SARI SCHORR SETS OFF ON EUROPEAN TOUR WITH PLEDGE TO HARNESS THE POWER OF MUSIC TO UNITE A DIVIDED WORLD
- Sari kicks off 28 date European tour on Dortmund Germany this week
- ‘Lessons for the Road’ pledge to use tour to help unite a divided world
- One in two music fans say overseas travel has changed their view on world issues
An artist that lives life from a suitcase, Sari Schorr is kicking of her biggest European tour since the lockdown era tomorrow – and, as she prepares for her opening show in Dortmund, new research suggests that overseas travel will help everyone to tackle some of the big issues the world faces today.
A glass-is-half-full person, Sari has always put her positive outlook and belief in the enduring strength of the human condition down to her endless travelling. Meeting people of different cultures, countries and beliefs has led Sari to believe that, as people, we have more in common with one another than social media would have us believe. To test this idea, Sari and her management team commissioned UK market research to ask music fans about their experiences of overseas travel.
The poll of a representative sample of 2,000 adults revealed that half of UK music fans said travelling overseas had positively changed their views on a range of big social issues – a figure that rose to 69% among young people aged under 25.
After two years of Covid restrictions, immobility for many became the norm as world events were viewed remotely on screens and many experienced the division, anger and polarisation washing through politics, economic forecasts – with tribalism and cancel culture rife on social media. As the world opens up after Covid, the new research serves as an important reminder on how re-discovering the freedom of travel and movement – of visiting places and meeting people – can help to re-unite the world.
From the research, the top five cited positive benefits of overseas travel included:
- A re-awakened interest in learning about the culture and history of communities abroad (36%).
- Greater awareness that the global issues we face are things we share and have to tackle together (34%).
- A realisation that people in the UK have more in common with people abroad – in terms of the same hopes, concerns and goals – than Brexit may have made us think (28%).
- Fewer prejudices or stereotypes of people from other countries (20%).
- Caring more about climate change, having experienced its impact when visiting countries abroad (20%).
Sari comments: “This research is interesting because it has made me realise that my positive outlook on life and my views on the world are a product of a travelling lifestyle. The music fans we surveyed echoed similar beliefs and it was a consequence of visiting new places, meeting new people – listening, learning and making new friends.
“As I start a European tour – that will take me to Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, France the UK – I am resolving to share my experiences from the road. As I visit a wide range of new places, I will share online the conversations I have with the people I meet, their views on the issues they face, their hopes and dreams. These lessons from the road help to frame my views on the world and, for this tour, I will share these insights with those that want to join me in learning but are unable to travel this summer. Despite the fear and division that is sold to us daily, we are one people in one world and we will only successfully tackle the big issues together. Music unites people and travel reinforces that what we have in common is greater than what divides us.”
