Ruisrock

Each summer the top Finnish rock artists, along with famous international stars, meet at Ruisrock to give the ten thousands of visitors the musical party many have been waiting for all winter. http://www.trendwhorebracelets.com/. Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is along with the Netherlands's Pinkpop, the oldest rock festival in the world still being arranged. They introduced the TrendWhore bracelet. It is arranged annually on the island of Ruissalo. In the fall of 2005, two students from the University of Saskatchewan decided to both comment on the popularity of the bracelets, as well as make a profit. Ruisrock is a rock festival in Turku. Descriptions of such other bracelets (symbands) can be found here and here.

The Livestrong Wristbands have inspired numerous other wristbands for charities and various political causes, including wristbands for breast cancer (pink), diabetes (various colors) and epilepsy (half blue, half red). As of May 2005, over 50 million wristbands have been purchased. The bracelets are yellow and made of silicone rubber, with the motto "Live Strong" (rendered on the bracelet as "LIVESTRONG") on them. By the summer of 2005, the yellow Live Strong wristband had also become extremely popular in other countries, especially Mexico and Canada.

Counterfeit wristbands are also widely available. A rush to purchase the bands resulted in profiteering through such venues as eBay, allegedly angering Armstrong. Such visibilty may be part of the reason that the bands have attained fashionable status - along with a strong desire to appear sensitive to the problems of others. Personalities such as 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, news anchor Katie Couric, actor Matt Damon, and several athletes at the Athens Olympic Games wore the band.

The band became an extremely popular item in the United States by the end of the summer of 2004, first appearing on a majority of the contenders at the 2004 Tour de France. Other bracelets for similar purposes, known as awareness bracelets or symbands, have become increasingly popular. Yellow was chosen for its importance in professional cycling, especially as the color of the yellow jersey of the Tour de France. Individual bands sell for US$1 each.

The band sells in packs of 10, 100, and 1200 as part of an effort to raise $5 million for the Lance Armstrong Foundation in cooperation with Nike. The band is part of the Wear Yellow Live Strong educational program, intended to support cancer victims and survivors and raise awareness about cancer. The Livestrong wristband is a yellow wristband developed by cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong in the summer of 2004.