Surprise D.C. Show Added to 'Live Earth'

July 5, 2007 — -- ABC News has learned that former Vice President Al Gore will begin the morning of the "Live Earth" concerts this Saturday in Washington, D.C., at a related concert that has yet to be officially announced.

Called "Mother Earth," the concert will take place at the Outdoor Welcome Plaza at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Gore will then head to Giants Stadium in New Jersey, one of the eight official larger venues of the all-star 7/7/07 concerts, meant to bring attention to "a climate in crisis."

The series features at least 100 acts including Madonna, Kanye West, John Mayer and The Police performing in eight cities, including London, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Johannesburg. Affiliated events are scheduled for Kyoto and Antarctica, with the Washington, D.C., concerted just added.

Logistics as to who is performing at the D.C. event were still being worked out, with Trisha Yearwood mentioned as one of the artists. The D.C. concert is tentatively set to begin at 10:30 a.m., and proceed through 9:30 p.m.

The concerts are projected to reach an estimated 2 billion people, which would make Live Earth the biggest concert event in history, though how effective the shows will be in actually combating global warming remains to be seen.

Bob Geldof, organizer of the 1985 Live Aid concert that raised $245 million to fight hunger in Africa, criticized Live Earth to a Dutch newspaper earlier this year.

"Live Earth doesn't have a final goal," he said.

Gore told MTV that he and other Live Earth organizers "listened carefully" to the advice of the organizers of previous such concerts "to make this not just a one-day event but the beginning of a multi-year campaign."

Gore said. "It's going to keep on going in the follow-up for three to five years."