Judge cancels Rio Live Earth concert

Workers set up a scaffold for the Live Earth concert at the Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, July 4, 2007. [AP]

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A Brazilian judge has canceled Saturday's Live Earth concert in Rio because police said they do not have enough officers to guarantee crowd safety.

Organizers of the free show on Rio's Copacabana Beach said Wednesday they were trying to overturn the order to prevent Latin America from being left out of the worldwide music fest aimed at stopping global warming.

Promoted by former Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth concerts are scheduled for London; Tokyo; Johannesburg, South Africa; Shanghai, China; Sydney, Australia; and Hamburg, Germany; and East Rutherford, New Jersey. A band of scientists also will perform in Antarctica, to bring the festival to seven continents.

Brazilian prosecutor Denise Tarin requested a suspension of the concert, saying there were not enough officers to police a crowd that could top 700,000.

Rio police already are busy making sure Rio stays safe during the July 13-29 Pan American games.

Concert organizers confirmed the show was suspended but said they would contest the order and expected to overturn it.

Rio's concert, the only free one for Live Earth, would include performances by Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Pharrell Williams.

Proceeds from the other concerts will go toward the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit organization chaired by Gore.