Live8 organisers issue 55,000 extra tickets for London concert

Live8 organisers have announced the release of 55,000 extra free tickets to Saturday's concert in Hyde Park. The tickets will allow people to watch the event live on giant screens.

Live8 organisers have announced the release of 55,000 extra free tickets to Saturday's concert in Hyde Park. The tickets will allow people to watch the event live on giant screens.

They are in addition to the 150,000 already allocated for the concert, which will feature acts including Coldplay, Robbie Williams and Sir Paul McCartney. Pairs of tickets will be handed out free of charge from tomorrow at selected venues in London and around the UK.

Bob Geldof, who is helping to organise the Live8 concerts around the world in aid of Africa, said: "This is going to be the biggest event in Hyde Park's history and the biggest ticketed event ever in the UK. It will be filled to the brim.

"In other cities around the country and around the world, millions will join in to make poverty history. It will be one of those defining moments that come around once in a generation."

Space for the extra numbers has been allocated south of the Serpentine lake. The finish time for the event has been extended from 8pm to 9.30pm.

Organisers urged people without tickets not to come, saying room was limited because of the "massive infrastructure and huge numbers with tickets". They are advising people without tickets to go to one of the other screens around the country, "or better yet, get up to Edinburgh and make your voice heard".

They are also warning those with tickets that it could take an hour to get into Hyde Park through the queuing system. "With the event due to run for more than seven hours, it will be a long day and people are being advised to prepare accordingly."

The 55,000 extra tickets will be available from 3pm to 7pm tomorrow and from 10am on Thursday. They will be restricted to two per person and issued on a first come, first served basis.

The London locations are: the Carling Apollo Hammersmith; Stargreen Tickets in Argyll Street; and the Apollo Victoria and Dominion theatres in the West End. Across the rest of the country, tickets will be available at: Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre; Bristol's Hippodrome, Cardiff International Arena; the Manchester Palace Theatre; the Oxford New Theatre; and the Southampton Guildhall.

Musicians have also been lined up to perform at Johannesburg's Live8 concert on Saturday. The show, called Standing Tall Against Poverty, will feature African stars including Zola, Oumou Sangare from Mali and Senegal's Orchestra Baobab. Further concerts are planned for Kenya and Ghana later this year.