Live Earth organizers announced today that 7,112 ‘Friends of Live Earth’ events have now been registered in 129 countries and all 50 states of the United States.  Organizers expect the number of registered events to grow even larger in the lead up to the official Live Earth concerts on July 7, 2007. Friends of Live Earth is an official Live Earth program designed to enable individuals, groups and communities to host and attend events in support of the Live Earth message and build a worldwide community-level movement to combat the climate crisis.

Live Earth is about building a global movement of people committed to solving the climate crisis, and the Friends of Live Earth program represents true grassroots-level participation in Live Earth’s message and mission, said Kevin Wall, Live Earth Founder and Producer. Reaching 7,000 local events in 129 countries is an important milestone, but we hope it’s just the beginning. We encourage everyone to ‘Answer the Call’ by hosting or attending a Friends of Live Earth event in their community.

Through the Friends of Live Earth program, anyone, anywhere in the world can sign up to host or attend an event in their community.  Upon registering with Friends of Live Earth, hosts receive a valuable tool kit that includes SOS campaign messaging, green event guidelines, Live Earth artwork and other helpful resources. People can also sign up to attend an event by searching for events in their area through the Friends of Live Earth Interactive Global Map.

To host or find a registered event, visit: http://friendsofliveearth.org.

Friends of Live Earth has partnered with the following organizations on this effort: AlGore.com, Avaaz, Alliance for Climate Protection, Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club, WWF and ICLEI. Thousands of AlGore.com and Avaaz members have signed up to host events through this program, and all of these organizations have encouraged their members to host events in support of the Live Earth message and cause.  Evite is also encouraging its users to hold Live Earth viewing parties at http://evite.com.

Organizers point to the range and diversity of the registered events as an early sign of the program’s success.  Friends of Live Earth events range from small house parties, and public screenings of the Live Earth concerts, to large-scale, multi-day music festivals. Climate Change Malta, an event organized by the Central Government of the island nation, is a three-day music festival with an expected attendance of up to 120,000 people. The event will screen the Live Earth concerts via satellite uplink of the global feed. Similarly, Waterfront Blues Festival, a 5-day music festival in Portland, Oregon celebrating its 20-year anniversary, will be hosting a music concert and Live Earth screening for approximately 25,000 people a day. For the Only One World We Have, a music concert and Live Earth screening being organized in Zurich, Switzerland, is expected to draw an estimated 15,000 people.

For a complete list of events and to search for an event near you, visit: http://friendsofliveearth.org