Pet Shop Boys line up for Red Square revellers

Tens of thousands of fans gathered at a venue just off Red Square today to listen to the Pet Shop Boys and Russian rock bands perform in Moscow’s Live 8 concert to raise awareness of African poverty.

Russian state-run television, which was to broadcast the concert, showed thousands of people under overcast skies jammed into a square in the shadows of the Kremlin as rock group Moralnyi Codex kicked off the show.

Spectators pressed into long lines to pass through metal detectors and pass by dozens of police and Interior Ministry troops along the streets leading to Red Square. Hundreds of police and other officers lined nearby streets.

Some workers setting up scaffolding and sound systems lamented the unusually rainy weather that has plagued the Russian capital for the past week.

“Well, it has been (awful), but it is getting better,” said Pete Gladdel, a sound engineer for the Pet Shop Boys. ”I think it’s rained for the day and then it’s going to be nice from now on we’re hoping.”

The Moscow concert is one of 10 being held worldwide with hundreds of musician in an effort to raise awareness of African poverty and pressure the world leaders to do something about it. The concerts are all being held in the G8 countries – the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia, whose leaders are gathering for a summit next week.

A concert is also being held in South Africa and a tenth, all-African show was being staged at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England.

More than a million people may attend the concerts, and organisers say 85% of the world’s population will have access to a television, radio or internet broadcast of the day’s events.

A complex broadcasting operation will feed footage of the concerts to various TV networks worldwide.