stars rock climate change gigs around the world

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) Dozens of pop stars rocked big crowds at Live Earth concerts around the world today to persuade fans and governments to go green.

Around 40,000 people filled the Aussie Stadium in Sydney, 10,000 turned up at the Makuhari Messe hall outside Tokyo, thousands watched at the steps of the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai and many more braved the rain in Hamburg.

Genesis kicked off the event at London's Wembley Stadium, leading a star-studded line-up including Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers who will play before an expected 70,000 crowd.

Linkin Park, Crowded House, Rihanna and Shakira were among the acts performing in nine cities and supporting Live Earth, the mega-gig organised by former U.S. vice president and environmental campaigner Al Gore.

Following Live Aid and Live 8, Live Earth hopes to reach up to two billion people through radio, television and Internet.

''This is something that is going to live beyond us, go past us,'' said U.S. rapper Xzibit, speaking in Japan.

''When my son and the rest of the world's children inherit the Earth, I want them to have something they can hold on to, not something that's falling apart, on the brink.'' Gore appeared in hologram form and said: ''Now is the time to begin to heal the planet.'' Gore said the concerts, which end on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach, were the start of a three- to five-year campaign to promote awareness of climate change.

''Live Earth is all about answering the call,'' he said. Gore wants Live Earth viewers to pressure leaders to sign a new treaty by 2009 that would cut global warming pollution by 90 percent in rich nations and more than half worldwide by 2050.

CHINA VENUE KEY The Shanghai gig was seen as key to Live Earth's success, with the International Energy Agency saying China could become the top emitter of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, as early as this year, a claim disputed by Chinese officials.

''I think it's very important to have this concert to remind people that the environment is important,'' said a member of the audience in Shanghai who gave his name as Mr. Chen.

''Once you broadcast this all over China, everyone will know about these issues.'' But there is also cynicism among fans, campaigners and fellow rockers about using the world of pop, renowned for its Learjets and limousines, to promote green living.

''The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert,'' The Who's Roger Daltrey said earlier this year.

Bob Geldof, the man behind Live Aid and Live 8, argues the world is already aware of the dangers of global warming and the event lacked a ''final goal''.

At the Japan venue, visitors were asked to report how they came to the concert, whether by public transport or by car, part of an effort by organisers to keep the ''carbon footprint'' of Live Earth to a minimum.

As well as Sydney, Tokyo, Hamburg, Shanghai and London, concerts will also be staged in Johannesburg, New Jersey, Washington and Rio de Janeiro.

There will be footage from Antarctica, where the previously unknown band Nunatak, comprising two engineers, a marine biologist, a meteorologist and a polar guide at a remote British research station, have recorded a short set.

The ''gig'' in front of 17 researchers allows Gore to keep his promise to hold concerts on seven continents on the date 7/7/7.

REUTERS SV VC1944

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