Live Earth Istanbul axed

Updated 07.03 Wed Jun 27 2007

Keywords: Istanbul, Corinne Bailey Rae, Live Earth

The Istanbul leg of the Live Earth concerts has been shelved because of a lack of interest and security concerns, organisers have said.

Former US presidential candidate and environmental campaigner Al Gore visited the Turkish city this month to announce it would join nine other cities across the globe for a series of gigs on July 7 to raise awareness about climate change.

Performances for the UK show will come from James Blunt, Genesis, Bloc Party and Corinne Bailey Rae, amongst others

But organisers said in a statement: "Unfortunately Live Earth Istanbul could not be a priority for several people and institutions because our country is in an election marathon and because of terror and security (problems)."

Violence between Kurdish separatist guerrillas and security forces has escalated in recent months while in May, a suicide bomber carried out a deadly attack on an Ankara shopping centre.

Istanbul is booked to host a series of high-profile conference and concerts in coming weeks.

The rest of the Live Earth concerts will take place in New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio De Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Hamburg.

Performances for the UK show will come from James Blunt, Genesis, Bloc Party and Corinne Bailey Rae, amongst others.