Live Earth India cancelled

Organisers pull event after attacks in Mumbai

29 November 2008 - It was designed as an event to raise awareness of a climate in crisis, but a crisis of another kind has put paid to the plans for Live Earth India.

Wednesday's attacks on hotels, a rail station, a Jewish centre and other sites in Mumbai left at least 195 people dead.

Bon Jovi were due to headline the Live Earth concert in the city, along with Roger Waters and will.i.am, but the violent events over the last week have led to the gig being cancelled.

Organisers say they are "shocked and saddened by the tragic events of the last few days"

The charity concert was scheduled for December 7, but organisers released a statement earlier today, saying they were “shocked and saddened by the tragic events of the last few days” and that Live Earth India would no longer be going ahead.

Timbaland collaborator Amar is a British aritist who was due to perform, and told 6 Music what the concert would have meant for a local audience: “I think it would have been an amazing thing to happen in India.

“It’s such a huge event that’s so globally known, which is fighting for such a good cause”

She went on to say that the attacks in Mumbai have overshadowed any thoughts of performing: “When I found out all this stuff was happening I thought ‘It’s just not important compared to what’s happening there right now’”.

Live Earth events have previously taken place in Sydney, Tokyo, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, New Jersey and London.

The first concerts were the mastermind of founder Kevin Wall and the former US vice President Al Gore. Organisers hope to use the events as a way to inform audiences about climate change.


Victoria Hannaford