Edinburgh concert to round off G8 protests

Travis, Texas and Dido are among the artists heading the line-up of an anti-poverty concert in Scotland next month, just days after the Live8 shows.

Travis, Texas and Dido are among the artists heading the line-up of an anti-poverty concert in Scotland next month, just days after the Live8 shows.

Designed as the culmination of the protests being made to world leaders gathering for the G8 summit at Gleneagles in Perthshire, a host of performers will take part in the concert at the 67,500-seat Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh on 6 July. It coincides with the day hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are expected to converge on the Scottish capital under the "Long Walk to Justice'' banner.

Details of the free concert were announced at the stadium yesterday by Midge Ure. It will take place four days after the Live8 concerts which Ure is organising with Bob Geldof in London and around the world. They will both appear at the Scottish event.

Other acts include Youssou N'Dour, Womad, Annie Lennox, Natasha Bedingfield, Snow Patrol, Embrace, the Zutons, Wet Wet Wet and the Proclaimers. Further details of what the organisers called "actors, comedians, poets and world spiritual leaders'' will be announced later.

The concert is being seen as the final element of the three- stage campaign to persuade the G8 summit to act on the Make Poverty History campaign.

Ure said: "Our singular purpose must be to peaceably show the G8 that the world has waited too long for bold and decisive action - well no longer. In Scotland ... we will hold eight men to account - we care about the 30,000 children that will die on their watch today."

The organisers said that although free, like Live8, the event would be ticket only and that safety considerations would be paramount. Plans are also being drawn up for the concert to be relayed to other stadiums in the west of Scotland. Details of how to obtain tickets will be announced on Friday.

Geldof has called for a million protesters to march on Edinburgh on the day, although police and council chiefs warned the city might be unable to cope.

Asked whether he still backed Geldof's call, Ure said: "I don't think I have ever said that a million people will come to Edinburgh. We've no idea who's going to come, what's going to come, but we know the type of people who will come.

"I wouldn't bring my family to something that I thought could be a dreadful situation. I'm bringing my family here to celebrate and enjoy and be there and stand up and be counted, to be there for the 24 hours or however long it's going to be, to remember it for the rest of their lives. To drag your backside up from London all the way to Edinburgh to smash a window doesn't make any sense. It's crazy. The people who will be there will be there for the party."

But he also urged people to sort out their travel and accommodation. The protesters, he said, would not be encouraged to march into Gleneagles itself.

Sir Richard Branson told the press conference that his Virgin group would be providing extra trains and planes to help protesters reach Edinburgh. Stagecoach is also subsidising a fleet of coaches to Edinburgh from London.

Donald Anderson, leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "The city welcomes playing our part in this defining moment of history. It is an enormous challenge, but we intend to ensure that events in the run-up to G8 pass off successfully and safely. Everyone wants to see a successful outcome for Africa from the G8 summit and we aim to ensure the debate remains focused on the real issue."

Two other new elements of the days were also announced yesterday. Under the label of the "G8 Gallery", people were asked to fix their photographs along two miles of the railings of Princess Street in Edinburgh. Those not able to attend are being asked to e-mail their pictures to the Live8 website. Eight protesters will then leave Murrayfield for Gleneagles to deliver to the world leaders the full list of names.