Madonna, Chilis to sing at Live Earth concert

Madonna is set to perform at a series of concerts to raise awareness of climate change, organised by Al Gore.[Reuters]

Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among acts expected to perform at the Live Earth concert in London on July 7 to raise awareness about climate change, organisers said.

Built on the model Bob Geldof used for the anti-poverty Live 8 concerts in 2005, Live Earth will be held in Johannesburg, London, New Jersey, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo.

A US venue was only announced on Tuesday after some Republicans in Congress rebuffed environmental campaigner and former US Vice President Al Gore's suggestion to hold one of the seven gigs on US Capitol grounds in Washington.

"By attracting an audience of billions, we hope Live Earth will launch a global campaign giving a critical mass of people around the world the tools they need to help solve the climate crisis," Gore said in a statement.

Gore, whose climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth won an Oscar this year, is spearheading efforts to recruit the world of pop music to his cause.

Also due to appear at Wembley Stadium are Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Corinne Bailey Rae, Duran Duran, Genesis, James Blunt and Snow Patrol.

Registration for tickets to the London concert opens from April 13 to 16 on the website www.livenation.co.uk/liveearth.

Organisers are hoping to attract an audience of up to two billion people.