World climate change gigs planned More than 100 of the world's top musicians will perform at a series of worldwide concerts this summer to highlight the threat of global warming.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Black Eyed Peas will be among those taking part in the Live Earth gigs on 7 July.
The eight Live 8-style gigs were announced by former US Vice President Al Gore, whose global warming film An Inconvenient Truth is up for two Oscars
Johannesburg, London, Shanghai and Sydney are among the host cities.
We have to get the message of urgency and hope out Al Gore
Three other concerts will take place in the US, Brazil and Japan, with the cities still to be decided. There will also be a concert in Antarctica.
Mr Gore made the announcement at a press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, joined by actress Cameron Diaz and rapper Pharrell Williams, who will perform at one of the shows.
"We have to get the message of urgency and hope out," Mr Gore said.
"The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement."
Other artists confirmed for the Live Earth concerts include Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Snoop Dogg, Lenny Kravitz and the Foo Fighters.
British performers will include Keane, Snow Patrol, Duran Duran, Bloc Party and Paolo Nutini.
Pharrell Williams said it would be "the biggest party on earth".
Brit Award winners Muse also hope to take part - but will have to consider changing their schedule as they already have a gig lined up in Ireland on that date.
Organisers of the concerts, who are leading a climate change campaign called Save Our Selves (SOS), hope the concerts will reach a global audience of two billion people on TV, radio and the internet.
Proceeds will go towards the creation of a foundation to combat climate change led by the Alliance for Climate Protection, which is chaired by Mr Gore.
Carbon neutral
The concerts' producer Kevin Wall won an Emmy Award for producing the Live 8 concerts in 2005, which were organised by Bob Geldof to put pressure on world leaders to eradicate the debts of the world's poorest countries.
Mr Wall said each concert would last from four to eight hours. Alongside the big names, the line-ups will also include local talent to appeal to regional audiences.
At the press conference, organisers said Live Earth "will become the model for carbon neutral concerts and other live events in the future".
A meeting of global political leaders in Washington this week has reached a new agreement on tackling climate change.
Delegates agreed that developing countries as well as rich countries will have to face targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
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