Day 45- 06/17/2007 (Sunday)
The first event of our longer term campaign will be on Friday 22nd June- this will mark the 50th day Madeleine will be missing. We will be launching green and yellow balloons from at least 50 centres worldwide to mark the fact that we are still searching as are other parents of missing children. Countries that are partcipating so far are Argentina, El Salvador, USA, Canada, Ireland, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal (Kate and I in Praia da Luz), Spain, South Africa, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. . Any other countries that wish to partcipate can download information from the website.
Day 46 - 06/18/2007
Kate and I got the respone we wanted after speaking to the Portuguese ploice today. We are assured that no criticism of our actions on the night Madeline disappeared was intended.
There has been a good response to our planned balloon release for Madeleine and other missing children on Friday and we are confident that over 50 countries will be represented.
The twins have really enjoyed seeing family who have been visiting us for the last 3 days- it has passed very quickly. Hopefully the next time we see them it will be with Madeleine.
Day 47 - 06/19/2007
Flew in to London to for a series of meetings. Helped a passenger on the flight who collapsed. He was ill enough to require a full assessment on arrival and went off to hospital in an ambulance.
Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late. I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening. We had very good discussions regarding sustaining the search for Madeleine long term. The role for Kate and I in the campaign will not be nearly be so public. We have to balance any campaigning in the search for Madeleine with protecting Sean and Amelie and making sure their privacy is protected.
We are exploring the use of new media and using local advertising, particularly in Europe. There will of course be event driven media exposure such as the balloon launch on Friday 22nd. There are several other very good ideas being developed and a few large companies are willing to help us.
Day 48 - 06/20/2007
Another busy day of meetings this time in Leicester. No mishaps thankfully. The main meeting was that of Maddeleines fund where we discussed implementing a strategy to maintain our campaign to find Madeleine. It was agreed in principle to appoint a family spokesperson who will act, not just for Kate and I, but also on behalf of the extended family who have been liasing with the media. This appointment will take a lot of strain off family members who have been putting in such massive efforts to help find Madeleine.
We are delighted with the response to the 50th day balloon launch which will truly be a global event. There will be a few variations to the release of balloons however. In Ventura, Southern California, 50 white doves will be released and in Afghanistan kite racing, an activity banned under the Taliban, will be the order of the day.
Arrived back in Praia da Luz this evening and it was great to see Kate and the Kids, even though I was only away for a day and a half.
Day 49 - 06/21/2007
Met with the Portuguese police today for an update. Their committemnt to find Madeleine matches ours and we all hope for that vital breakthrough every day.
We have literally received thousands of letters, cards and messages of support here in Portugal which have helped give us strength during this terrible time. Yesterday we received a particularly touching gift which is entitled Madeleines Book of Hope made up with comments from children of all ages from 3 different schools including a pre-school. The messages in different coloured pages with green and yellow ribbons had both the power to us cry and laugh!
The response to the balloon launch to mark 50 days that Madeleine has been missing has been incredible. There are close to 300 centres, and countries all over the world, participating. There has been a lot of local media interest but remember to take digital photographs and videos if possible which will be able to be uploaded to the website so we can display them. The message of Madeleines disappearance will reach many more people tomorrow.
A pleasing aspect of the launch will be the highlighting of other missing or abducted children, many of whom will have recieved little public attention. I know that 7 year old Yeremi Vargas will be remembered in Madrid and his family will be releasing balloons from Gran Canaria where he disappeared in March of this year.
Our campaign to find Madeleine will be associated with other child welfare issues in the future. We are very keen to see more debate on issues that we and other families in similar situations have to face. Child abuse is a taboo subject still in many countries and we must encourage responsible debate around how child abuse can be prevented.
If Madeleine is not found before Friday 22nd June, then this will be 50 days since she was taken. Kate & Gerry want to mark this date with the launch of 50 yellow helium balloons, in 50 worldwide locations. We would like you to organise this event in your area. The objective is simple - After seven weeks missing, we must continue to ensure she is not forgotten.
As of 16th June, we already arranged balloon events in
• UK (Several sites)
• Ireland
• Argentina
• Canada
• Spain
• Singapore
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Oman
• El Salvador
• Poland
What you can do to help is to arrange :
1. Arrange your own balloon launch on this date, at your school, workplace or a public place
2. Each balloon needs to be helium filled on the morning of the launch
3. Each balloon should have a small flyer attached to the balloon. If this is laminated then please ensure it’s not too heavy to fly
4. Try and arrange some local/national press coverage of the launch
5. Finally please complete the form below to let us know who you are and what you plan to do so we can record this
A credit card sized flyer is available to download
Thank you for your help and support
Kate & Gerry McCann
Day 50 –06/22/2007
We never thought it would happen: 50 days without Madeleine. Solidarity the world over has been expressed today with the launch of balloons in every continent to remember Madeleine and other missing children. The event in Praia da Luz had considerable media interest as did many other releases the world over. Sean and Amelie released their balloons shortly after kate and I let go our 50 and we were pleased the media respected our wish for the twins not to be photographed any longer. Please send digital images and video of your local event to
images@bringmadeleinehome.com
We were not planning to say anything at the launch but there was such a large turnout from Portuguese TV who we have not spoken to for some time that we decided to answer their questions. The beauty of the launch was the local and international dimension with media coverage spreading Madeleines image far and wide.
We have seen the video of the Ullapool (home of the website and my sister Phil) launch, Glasgow and extensive pictures from Amsterdam. We very much look forward to seeing pictures from all the other venues. One of these balloons may just be found by someone who recognises Madeleine and alerts the authorities.
Day 51 - 06/23/2007
Relatively quiet day today although we did spend some time planning campaign strategy this morning.
This afternoon friends of ours from Leicester who are holidaying in the Algarve came over to Praia da Luz with their 2 year old son. It was good to see them and the twins certainly enjoyed having an extra play mate round the pool.