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SYDNEY - Australia kicked off a round-the-world series of music concerts designed to highlight climate change Saturday with a traditional Aboriginal welcome ceremony.
Six Aboriginal performers danced across the stage at Sydney's Aussie stadium in front of a crowd of several thousand before former US vice-president Al Gore appeared on video screens to launch the worldwide initiative.
"Thank you for coming today," Gore said, as he reminded concert goers they were the first in the world to take part in the Live Earth concerts.
The Live Earth initiative aims to raise awareness about climate change with concerts in Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hamburg, London, Johannesburg, New York, Washington and Rio De Janeiro.
Performers in the all-day global extravaganza include Madonna, The Police and Metallica. A reformed Crowded House will headline the Sydney concert which is expected to draw an audience of 50,000 people.
The televised event will stretch to seven continents with an amateur band playing at the British Antarctic Survey Station in Antarctica.
The first act of the day, the little-known Australian band Blue King Brown took to the stage shortly after a message from Australian politician and former rock star Peter Garrett.
Garrett, who previously fronted Midnight Oil, said it was up to citizens of developed nations such as Australia, the US, Japan and Europe to push for action to reduce pollution before it resulted in catastrophic change.
"Your voice matters, make it heard," he said.
Campaigners argue if nothing is done to stop the build-up of so-called greenhouses gases which allow the light into the Earth's atmosphere but prevent heat from escaping, the consequences could prove disastrous.
Live Earth will feature some 7,000 events in 129 countries but organisers have encountered some problems and criticism.
A concert due to be held in Istanbul was called off due to security concerns while the Rio event was nearly stopped by a judge who feared for the safety of the 700,000 expected to attend the free concert in Copacabana.
There has also been sharp criticism of the event, with sceptics charging that the luxury lifestyles lived by many jet-setting rock stars only add to global warming. - AFP/ir
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