http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/02/live8.overview.ap/index.html

LONDON, England (AP) -- Bono effortlessly worked the crowd. Pink Floyd were sharing a stage for the first time in two decades. And Bill Gates was treated like a rock star.

Live 8's long, winding road around the globe Saturday has been an eclectic, unprecedented extravaganza.

Paul McCartney and U2 opened the flagship show of the 10-concert festival in London's Hyde Park with a rousing performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

A thunderous roar erupted from the 200,000-strong crowd as the two iconic performers belted out the first line: "It was 20 years ago today ..." -- a nod to the mammoth Live Aid concerts that raised millions for African famine relief two decades ago.

From Johannesburg, South Africa; to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Berlin, Germany; to Tokyo, Japan; to Rome, Italy; to Barrie, Ontario, musicians and fans gathered for a global music marathon to raise awareness of African poverty and pressure the world's most powerful leaders to do something about it at the Group of Eight summit in Scotland next week. (Interactive: Live 8 explainer)

Organizer Bob Geldof promised to deliver "the greatest concert ever." Crowd estimates taken at Live 8 venues indicated more than 1 million people attended the shows.

At 5 p.m. London time (1600 GMT, noon ET), Geldof introduced a live link to Philadelphia, where the U.S. show, hosted by Will Smith, was getting under way.

On Independence Day weekend in the United States, Smith said people had united for a "declaration of interdependence."

"Today we hold this truth to be self-evident: we are all in this together," Smith said.

He was beamed around the world by satellite as he led the global audience in snapping their fingers every three seconds to signify the child death rate in Africa.

British newcomers the Kaiser Chiefs kicked off the show in Philadelphia with their hit "I Predict a Riot." A sun-drenched crowd of several hundred thousand people stretched down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Black Eyed Peas worked up the crowd with "Let's Get it Started" and Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up," before Bon Jovi appeared to perform their stadium-rock classic "Living on a Prayer."

Alicia Keys, Def Leppard, Toby Keith, the Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, Keith Urban, Maroon 5, Rob Thomas, Sarah McLachlan and Stevie Wonder also were on the bill.

Earlier Bono, dressed in black and wearing his trademark wraparound shades, wrapped the London crowd around his finger, getting tens of thousands to sing along to the anthemic "One" and "Beautiful Day." The crowd cheered when a flock of white doves was released overhead.

"So this is our moment. This is our time. This is our chance to stand up for what's right," Bono said.

In Johannesburg, Mandela drew bigger cheers than any of the acts at Mary Fitzgerald Square.

"History and the generations to come will judge our leaders by the decisions they make in the coming weeks," Mandela told a crowd of more than 8,000 people. "I say to all those leaders: Do not look the other way, do not hesitate ... It is within your power to prevent a genocide."

It was a day of abrupt tempo changes. Coldplay soothed the crowd with their hit "In My Place." Elton John belted out the propulsive T. Rex anthem "Children of the Revolution." English chanteuse Dido and Senegalese star Youssou N'Dour performed a sinuous duet on "Seven Seconds."

Geldof appeared onstage to introduce Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist Gates, whom the crowd greeted with a rock star-scale roar.

"We can do this, and when we do it will be the best thing that humanity has ever done," Gates said.

The crowd joined in as REM sang "Man on the Moon," then heard U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan declare: "This is really the United Nations."

"The whole world has come together in solidarity with the poor," Annan said.

Geldof briefly put on his rock-star hat -- literally, wearing a peaked cap identical to one he sported as lead singer of The Boomtown Rats 25 years ago -- for an impassioned rendition of "I Don't Like Mondays."

Madonna performed "Like a Prayer" hand-in-hand with Birham Woldu, an Ethiopian woman who as a malnourished toddler appeared in some of the most wrenching footage of the 1984-85 famine.

Her life was saved, Geldof said, in part through donations from Live Aid viewers.

Later in the day, the London crowd was promised Madonna, The Who and the reunited Pink Floyd. Guitarist David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason and keyboard player Richard Wright will be on stage with bassist Roger Waters for their first public performance since they played at London's Earl's Court in 1981.

Organizers' estimates of the crowds and broadcast audiences seemed overblown, from Geldof's claim that 3 billion people were watching around the world to talk in Philadelphia that a million people were at that show.

But Live 8 was huge nonetheless, with a mile-long crowd stretching from the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and more than 5 million page views on America Online's music site, http://www.aolmusic.com, which broadcast all 10 concerts in their entirety. AOL said more than 150,000 people concurrently streamed its video, the most ever.

Geldof, who announced the Live 8 gigs just over a month ago, said his job was now done.

"There's nothing more to do now," he said backstage. "It's either crap or it's great. And so far it's great."

There were shows Saturday in all the G8 countries -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia -- as well as in South Africa.

The first of the day's concerts kicked off in Japan, where Bjork and Good Charlotte joined local bands for a concert that failed to generate much interest in Asia's only G8 nation.

It rolled on to Johannesburg, where 24-year-old Zambian singer Lindiwe opened before a crowd of about 500 people that was expected to swell to 40,000.

Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson and American rockers Green Day fired up a crowd of 150,000 in Berlin's Tiergarten park. Home-grown crowd-pleasers Die Toten Hosen kicked off the show with a string of power anthems while reminding revelers that helping Africa stood above the music.

"This is no rock concert, it's a reminder about next Wednesday," singer Campino told the crowds, referring to the G8 meeting.

An eclectic lineup including Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Goth-rockers The Cure played to a crowd of 100,000 at the 17th-century Palace of Versailles near Paris.

In Rome, Faith Hill and Duran Duran joined Italian stars for a concert at the ancient Circus Maximus, which police said was packed with about 200,000 fans.

Local favorite Tom Cochrane started Canada's concert with "Life is a Highway" before 35,000 roaring fans on a crisp sunny morning in Barrie, Ontario. Fans were to watch a taped performance of Dion on huge screens set up at the venue.

In an open letter to the G8 leaders, which appeared in several British newspapers Saturday, Geldof said the summit will disappoint the world if it fails to deliver an extra $25 billion (14 billion pounds, 21 billion euros) in aid to Africa.

"We will not applaud half-measures, or politics as usual. This must be a historic breakthrough," the letter says. "Today there will be noise and music and joy, the joy of exuberant possibility. On Friday [the end of the summit] there will be great silence as the world awaits your verdict. Do not disappoint us. Do not create a generation of cynics."

The concert in Johannesburg and a concert featuring African artists in southwestern England were organized following criticism that African artists had been left out of the Live 8 concerts, despite the event's aim to raise awareness of the continent's plight.

"Africans are involved in helping Africa, which doesn't happen too often," Cameroonian singer Coco Mbassi said before the Eden Project concert. "We're presenting a different image of Africa -- showing that Africa has good things to give."

The concerts were being financed by sponsors, who include Nokia and AOL. Many staff were working for free.

Not everyone at the London concert though Live 8 would help end poverty -- but most felt it was worth a try.

"If we can make one penny difference, why not do it?" said Katherine Bolind, 24, a real estate agent from London.

A complex broadcasting operation will feed footage of the concerts to networks including the British Broadcasting Corp. -- which is devoting more than 12 hours on its main TV channels to the event -- and MTV.

-----------------------

Geldof sounds like a jew. Ever notice how many of these foreign aid and "adopt a turd-worlder" programs are run by Christian organizations? Just how many jewish groups are there trying to end poverty in the turd world? Oh, that's right, zero. And these are the richest people in the world, LOL. Shows where their priorities truly lie: only with themselves.

- Related story: anarchist and communist scum in Scotland rally around their nigger brothas and sistas:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/02/uk.g8.edinburgh.ap/index.html