[Live 8] World stars mass for end-poverty concert

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AEST Thu Jun 2 2005

AP - There will be at least five dozen performers, from Bono to 50 Cent, in five venues across the world, from Rome's Circus Maximus to the streets of Philadelphia.

All will unite behind one simple message for world leaders: end poverty in Africa.

Twenty years after he organised the landmark Live Aid concerts, Bob Geldof announced plans for the Live 8 concerts. They will take place on July 2, just days before leaders of the world's richest countries, the G8, meet in Britain.

"We don't want people's money. We want them," Geldof said.

Musicians including Madonna, Paul McCartney, U2, Bon Jovi, Brian Wilson, Crosby Stills & Nash, Coldplay, Sting, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z will grace stages in London, Philadelphia, Berlin, Paris and Rome.

The 1985 Live Aid concerts, held in London and Philadelphia on the same day, sold out both venues, drew a TV audience of millions around the globe and raised $US40 million ($A53.02 million) for poverty relief in Africa.

Since then, Geldof said, Africa has only become poorer.

"Twenty years on, it strikes me as being morally repulsive and intellectually absurd that people die of want in a world of surplus," Geldof said. "This is to finally, as much as we can, put a stop to that."

Geldof said he had resisted any recreation of Live Aid, but relented to pressure from U2's Bono and others: "It seemed to me that we could gather again, but this time not for charity but for political justice."

The aim of the concerts was to create attention and "political heat" ahead of the G8 meeting to persuade the leaders to agree to cancel Africa's unpayable debts, double aid for the continent and make trade fair, Geldof said.

Africa is expected to be high on the agenda of the meeting of the group of eight wealthy nations - which includes Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Canada, Italy and Japan. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he wants rich nations to write off the debts owed by the world's poorest countries and to double international aid, initiatives the White House has ruled out.

"We obviously welcome any campaign which raises awareness of the need for action in Africa," a spokesman at Blair's office said.

"The prime minister is obviously working very hard to secure a comprehensive outcome for Africa at the G8 summit."

The concerts will be free. Musicians will donate their services, and other costs will be met by corporate sponsors.

Venues for the July 2 events include London's Hyde Park, a location near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Circus Maximus in Rome and along Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Geldof said negotiations for the Paris venue continued.

Geldof, who enjoyed modest success fronting the Irish punk band the Boomtown Rats but found fame through the Live Aid appeal, said organisers had "scrambled like crazy to put this together."

Elton John, who will perform at the London concert, sat alongside Geldof at the news conference and said he was happy to be part of an event that was drawing the "creme de la creme."

"When the Live Aid concert happened 20 years ago I was pretty much a self-obsessed drug addict and, although I was really pleased to be part of a great day, I really wasn't adult enough or mature enough to realise the full consequences of what we were doing," John said. "Now I'm fully aware of what's going on and seeing the injustices going on."

Geldof said after the concerts, people would be encouraged to get to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he expects a million people to gather for a mass protest as the leaders meet in nearby Gleneagles.

He also said he had invited Pope Benedict XVI to join the Edinburgh gathering. "I think he should show up. I think it should be his first gig," Geldof said.

Fans will enter a lottery by cell phone text message to obtain a ticket.

Those performing in London for Live 8 include McCartney, John, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Dido, Keane, Annie Lennox, Madonna, Muse, the Scissor Sisters, Joss Stone, Stereophonics, Sting, Snoop Dogg, Robbie Williams, U2 and REM.

In Philadelphia, acts performing will include Will Smith, the Dave Matthews Band, Bon Jovi, 50 Cent, P Diddy and Jay-Z as well as Wonder and Australian raised country singer Keith Urban.

Among artists scheduled for Berlin: a-ha, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Lauryn Hill and Wilson. The concert in Rome will feature Faith Hill and Duran Duran among others. And in Paris, Jamiroquai, Craig David, Youssou N'Dour and Yannick Noah will be among those taking part.