Live Earth concert in Mumbai called off

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Live Earth India concert, scheduled to be held in Mumbai next month, has been called off in the wake of attacks in India’s financial capital that killed nearly 200 people, organisers said.

American musician Jon Bon Jovi, British rocker Roger Waters and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan were to share the stage at the Dec. 7 event to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not have access to electricity.

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are saddened to announce that Live Earth India has been called off," organisers said in a statement on Saturday.

Islamist gunmen held Mumbai hostage this week with frenzied attacks using assault rifles and grenades at two of the city’s luxury hotels and other landmarks.

Nearly 200 people, including 22 foreigners, lost their lives in a siege that lasted for three days, turning India's financial and entertainment hub into a televised war zone.

“We are all shaken up by this event, and even though we believe in the cause of global warming, we have indefinitely postponed the Live Earth concert,” said Viraf Sarkari, director of the Wizcraft event management firm.

Sarkari also said many international artists were bound by advisories issued by their countries asking citizens not to travel to India, making this an “overriding factor" in the decision to cancel the concert.

"We have artists like Jon Bon Jovi and Roger Waters, so we had to take this into account as well," he said.