Live Earth show to help boost solar energy

Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters 20 Sep 08;

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not have access to electricity, organizers said.

The December event will see rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan share the stage, and is described by organizers as one of the biggest events held in India.

The concert will be held in India's financial capital Mumbai on December 7, Live Earth founder Kevin Wall said in Mumbai.

"(Former Vice President) Al Gore asked me whether we could do this in India, and I said yes," Wall told Reuters in Mumbai. "This is going to be huge."

"Jon Bon Jovi is just one name and Mr Bachchan is just one name, but there will be a lot of international artists," he said.

Wall, who organized a series of concerts last year with the former vice-president, said the event in India would be telecast live in more than 100 countries.

Gore, who spoke via satellite this week during a news conference held in Mumbai on Thursday said India could provide the leadership required to bring about changes in world policies on climate change.

The proceeds from the concert will go to the "Light A Billion Lives campaign," supported by Nobel Prize-winner Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

At least 1.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity, Pachauri said, adding that the campaign would target villages in countries like India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Malawi.

Organizers said they would set up giant screens and distribute televisions in remote villagers for the concert.

(Editing by Bappa Majumdar and David Fox)