SA gears up for Live 8 show

Mali-born singer Oumou Sangare is taking part in the concert

A host of African musicians have been lined up to perform at the Johannesburg Live 8 concert on 2 July.

The show - called Standing Tall Against Poverty - will feature African stars such as Zola, Mali's Oumou Sangare and Senegal's Orchestra Baobab.

Designed to draw attention to poverty in Africa, it will feature a satellite link-up with the Live 8 concerts taking place across the globe the same day.

Further concerts are planned for Kenya and Ghana later in the year.

Poverty and inequality

Up to 40,000 people are expected to attend the show, whose organisers include the campaign group Global Call to Action against Poverty.

"The purpose of the concerts is to mobilise political consciousness around the issues of poverty and inequality in South Africa, Africa and the world," said Hassen Lorgat, South African spokesperson for the Global Call to Action.

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The Live 8 concerts have been timed to coincide with the G8 summit of world leaders in Gleneagles, Scotland, and will attempt to put pressure on them to forgive African debt and increase aid budgets.

Acts like Coldplay, Elton John, Destiny's Child, Bjork, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and U2 are lined up to take part in shows in venues including Paris, Rome, Philadephia and Toyko.

However, Live 8 organisers were criticised by artists and pressure groups for ignoring African artists when the original line-up of stars was announced.

A smaller concert, Africa Calling, organised by Womad, will also be held at Cornwall's Eden Project on July 2.