--Live 8 organiser RUSSELL SIMMONS is still hoping troubled popstar MICHAEL JACKSON will perform at the Philadelphia leg of the (02 JUL 05) charity extravaganza.
The hip-hop mogul insists memories of the THRILLER star's recent child abuse case would not blight the show - and he is convinced Jackson's super stardom can only help the fight against poverty.
Simmons wants Jackson to appear for a grand finale performance of the 1985 Live Aid anthem WE ARE THE WORLD, which Jackson co-wrote with LIONEL RICHIE.
--LONDON - When Paul McCartney walks onstage in London to kick off the flagship Live 8 concert, it's a good bet he'll belt out the first line of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". .
--Johannesburg's poor invited to Live 8 event. . . Many of the estimated 300 million of Africa's poor have never heard of Live 8 or its organizer, Irish rocker Bob Geldof. Yet South Africa's Johannesburg concert, the only African addition to the Live 8 series, could become Live 8's biggest success.
--Specifically, Live 8 supporters want leaders of the Group of 8 nations — President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and heads of state from Russia, Japan, Germany, France, Canada and Italy — to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed by Third World countries.
--Like the problems in Africa it's striving to draw attention to, Live 8 just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Pop music's elite -- from Coldplay to Madonna to Paul McCartney to James Brown to Dave Matthews to Jay-Z -- perform live today in 10 cities as part of Live Aid founder Bob Geldof's massive project to raise global awareness of poverty in Africa.
The mission of Live 8 -- which will feature free concerts in Philadelphia, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Cornwall, Toronto, South Africa, Tokyo and just-added Moscow -- is to encourage the leaders of the G8 nations, the industrialized powerhouses who are meeting in Scotland Tuesday through Friday, to eliminate Third World debt, increase aid to Africa and adopt fair trade practices. In 1985, Live Aid acted as a fundraiser, taking in more than $200 million to fight famine in Ethiopia.
--Vote in the Live 8 Poll
Tag: Live8
