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37. On 3 June 2007, Gerry McCann said: “We want a big event to raise awareness she is still missing…It won’t be a one-year anniversary, it will be sooner than that”. On 28 June, he said: “I have no doubt we will be able to sustain a high profile for Madeleine’s disappearance in the long-term”.

Verdict - Inaccurate and Misleading when taken out of context.

Source - Gerry McCann's blog, Media articles and a U.S. Department of Justice publication: "When your Child is missing".

Summary of Verifiable Facts

1. The quotations by the MMRG are inaccurate and taken out of context.
2. Child welfare and Government organisations advise people that in case their child isn't found within the first 48 hours, they need to plan for the long term. 

Extracts from Gerry McCann's blog, with relevant sections highlighted in red

Day 30 - 02/06/2007 - Saturday.
Relatively quiet day. Did manage to respond to some e-mails regarding campaign issues with some excellent ideas coming through. We did visit a local beach with S***, A***** and the rest of the family who are here and managed to get a bite to eat. Having a huge number of media requests in but want these to be very focussed in areas that will have clear benefits in the search for Madeleine. We did do a German TV and newspaper interview which wiil be released tomorrow to incraese awareness ahead of our planned visit to Berlin later this week. Most of the Sunday newspapers will carry some of the interview as a British reporter sat in and asked a few more questions related to the campaign strategy.

Day 31 - 03/06/2007 - Sunday.
Was encouraged to learn of the large volume of information which has come through the Leicester incident room following the appeal. Hopefully the Portuguese police will have had a good response also and we hope to meet with them in the next couple of days for an update. Chris and Les, who travelled over with the huge inflatable banner which has been positioned near the Spanish border, are heading home today. They were very happy that the director of the Algarve tourist board allowed them to put it up in private property owned by them, with thousands of cars passing every hour and seeing Madeleine’s image and details of her disappearance and reward. Sunday papers have reported our interviews virtually verbatim but very disappointed that the blog was lifted almost in entirety by one newspaper yesterday after expressly forbidding such an approach! The blog is to keep people visiting the website up to date with our progress in the campaign to find Madeleine.

Day 45 - 17/06/2007 -  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.

Day 56 - 28/06/2007
Busy day- some very good phone calls with important child welfare organsations who we will be working closely with in the future. I have no doubt we will be able to sustain a high profile for Madeleines disappearance in the long term.

Day 78 - 20/07/2007 - Friday
Kate and I spent a few hours with our campaign manager discussing longer term strategies to maintain Madeleines profile, in case she is not found soon. We had a long conference call with two organisations that are keen to help us with the campaign but there is still quite a bit of work to be done before this venture can be announced.

Extracts from newspapers, with relevant sections highlighted in red

LET'S HOLD A MADELEINE DAY FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

Sunday June 3,2007 By Jason Groves.

Gerry McCann, 38, said: “One of the ideas is maybe getting all the people who have publicly supported us to come together. I don’t just mean from the UK but from different parts of the world. We want a big event to raise awareness that she is still missing.
“We would look at high-profile people who have already pledged support. It will be some sort of focus around an anniversary, to tell people that Madeleine’s still missing. I think it would be later this year, once media attention has dropped, to bring it back up, hopefully, for a short period.
“It wouldn’t be a one-year anniversary, it will be sooner than that. What we’re doing at the minute has its role but doing that down the line in a few months won’t have anything like the same impact. We might have a sporting event, something arts, something music.
"We’ve had backing from sporting people up to now. We have had backing from certain musical celebrities as well. We’ve got some other musical contacts that we are exploring, who are happy to offer support.
“We’re not saying it would necessarily be one big concert, it might be that on a certain day they are playing her DVD.
“What we want at the current time is maximum message out there now, about her disappearance but then just events to bring it back up occasionally just to remind people, if she’s not found.”

Extracts from US Department of Justice publication, with relevant sections highlighted in red

When Your Child Is Missing:
A Family Survival Guide.

Media Involvement: After the First 48 Hours.

At first, you may feel overwhelmed by the intense media interest generated by your child's disappearance. After a week or so, however, if your child has not been found, you may run into the opposite problem. If media interest dies down, you will have to work to keep the story going. Here are some things you can do to keep your child's story in the public eye.
Devise "media hooks" to keep your child's story in front of the public. Schedule a press conference on an important day, such as National Missing Children's Day (May 25), or prepare a press release to coincide with Federal or State legislation relating to missing, exploited, or victimized children. Remember, you don't know how long you will have to search for your child, so you need to plan for the long term. Ask a family member or friend to help if you find the task too difficult.
Give the story a new slant. To give the story a new look, you may want to change the tone of your interviews. Try bringing in someone new to discuss the case, such as a politician, sports personality, popular entertainer, or someone close to the investigation.
Pace yourself. Parcel out new developments in the case in separate announcements to spread coverage over a longer period of time. Ask law enforcement to notify the press of significant developments, such as important leads or items found during the physical search.
Keep the story alive by tying it to a variety of events and activities. You can hold a candlelight vigil, announce a reward, or show how celebrations such as a birthday, holiday, or graduation are different without your child. You can tie your child's story to something that will be broadcast repeatedly, such as a popular song on the radio. Then, every time the song plays, it will be a reminder that your child is still missing. If you can create a way for the media to present your child's story in a different way, it is more likely to be run. Remember that media attention increases when you hold special events and when anniversaries come up. Also, remember to coordinate all events and activities with law enforcement, because they can be an important part of the overall investigative strategy.

Compare MMRG statement with the actual FACTS

MMRG quote: On 3 June 2007, Gerry McCann said: “We want a big event to raise awareness she is still missing…It won’t be a one-year anniversary, it will be sooner than that”. On 28 June, he said: “I have no doubt we will be able to sustain a high profile for Madeleine’s disappearance in the long-term”.

Actually: He also said : “What we want at the current time is maximum message out there now, about her disappearance but then just events to bring it back up occasionally just to remind people, if she’s not found.” and "Kate and I spent a few hours with our campaign manager discussing longer term strategies to maintain Madeleine's profile, in case she is not found soon." 

Conclusion

The McCanns had contact with child welfare organisations, who've helped and advised them.

As you can read in the US publication: if your child isn't found within 48 hours, you need to plan events, to keep your child's story in the public eye.

"Remember, you don't know how long you will have to search for your child, so you need to plan for the long term"

Now that's exactly what the McCanns were doing. They could always cancel it or turn the event into something else in case she was found by then.