Ten shows. More than 100 artists. Over 24 hours of music. A Pink Floyd reunion.
Live 8 — taking place in Philadelphia; London; Moscow; Paris; Berlin; Rome; Tokyo; Barrie, Canada; Johannesburg, South Africa; Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as a special African show — may be the biggest concert ever.
The shows are organized by Bob Geldof (search), the man behind 1985's Live Aid (search) concert, a 17-hour marathon that played simultaneously in London and Philadelphia, reached a television audience of more than 1.5 billion and raised over $100 million to help the famine-stricken people of Africa.
Live 8 is aimed at pressuring leaders of the world's richest countries, the G8 (search), to cancel Africa's unpayable debts and double aid for the continent. The concerts take place days before G8 leaders meet in Scotland.
"This will be great. This is going to be cool. It will never happen again. This is going to work, and Africa will see what the world is doing on the behalf of its poor," Geldof told the New York Post.
His goal is to reach an audience of 5.5 billion people.
Beyonce, who will perform with Destiny's Child in Philadelphia, told FOX News why the concert is close to her heart.
"I'm so touched by Africa. I actually got to go to South Africa, got to go to some of the towns and see a lot of the people with AIDS, and I saw it with my own eyes," she said.
Other artists performing at the Philadelphia portion of Live 8 spoke to the Post about what got them involved.
Of all the artists on all the bills in the Live 8 extravaganza, Dave Matthews (search) is the poster child of the cause. Matthews was born and spent his formative years in South Africa, when apartheid ruled, then moved to the U.S. — the land of plenty.
The difference between the countries isn't lost on the singer.
"A lot of my opinions on the world come from the fact that I'm from two very different places. South Africa is so affected by poverty, the AIDS crisis and by lack of education. Having lived there and seeing that makes me feel the connection," Matthews said.
As the leader of one of the most popular bands in the world, Matthews has always been outspoken — and a diehard President Bush-whacker. Yet if the president brokers a deal favoring Africa, Matthews might become one of his staunchest supporters.
"If George Bush says Africa's debt is cancelled, and if he says assistance will be doubled, I'll kiss his feet if he gives me the opportunity. I will bow down in front of him in gratitude because that would be one of the greatest achievements in the history of the world."
Southern California rap-metal band Linkin Park (search), currently at home working on a new studio album, said they knew that taking a break to perform in Philadelphia was something they had to do, even if they — unlike many other bands — tend to avoid using their performances as soapboxes.
"Although Linkin Park doesn't normally get involved in political events, out of respect for the diverse opinions and lifestyles of our fans, this event moved us to want to play," said MC/producer Mike Shinoda.
Who's Performing Where:
London: Acts include Annie Lennox, Coldplay, Dido, Elton John, Joss Stone, the Killers, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd (search), REM, Snoop Dogg, Sting, and U2.
Pink Floyd is reuniting after nearly a quarter century.
Philadelphia: Acts include Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Def Leppard, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Josh Groban, Keith Urban, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, P. Diddy, Rob Thomas, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Wonder, and Toby Keith.
Paris: Acts include Shakira, the Cure and Dido.
Berlin: Acts include A-ha, Audioslave, Brian Wilson, Crosby Stills & Nash, Green Day, and Roxy Music.
Rome: Acts include Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Duran Duran.
Tokyo: Acts include Bjork, Good Charlotte and Rize.
Barrie, Canada: Acts include Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Motley Crue, and Run-DMC.
Edinburgh: Acts include Annie Lennox, Bob Geldof and African artists.
Moscow: Lineup yet to be confirmed.
Johannesburg, South Africa: Launches a series of pan-African concerts.
Eden Project/Africa Calling: African artists
In the United States, VH1 and MTV will air eight hours of the concert, while America Online, which owns the U.S. rights to the concerts, will beam them on the Internet. XM satellite radio is broadcasting all the shows.
Visit live8live.com for more information.
FOX News' Lisa Bernhard and The New York Post's Dan Aquilante, Maxine Shen and Mary Huhn contributed to this report.
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