Live 8 opens to rock world into helping the poor
Reuters, Tokyo
What has been billed as the greatest music show ever kicked off in Tokyo yesterday, as the first in a galaxy of rock stars took to the stage in a global event aimed at pushing world leaders to do more to help the poor. Live 8, an expanded version of the Live Aid sensation 20 years ago, will take in 10 cities and four continents, starting in Tokyo in the east and ending in North America in the west. Tokyo's concert, added to the list only two weeks ago, attracted about half the capacity crowd of 10,000 by the time Japanese rockers Rize opened the show at 2:00 p.m. But organisers expect more fans at the conference centre outside of Tokyo later in the day when the main act, Icelandic pop singer Bjork, gives her first live performance in two years. In London, boasting arguably the strongest line-up of the 10 concerts planned, Paul McCartney and U2 frontman Bono are due to open proceedings before more than 200,000 fans with a rendition of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
|
|
