Looking to raise awareness of global warming much like Live Aid and Live 8 did for poverty, former vice president Al Gore and friends unveiled a worldwide concert event steeped in the number 7.

Al Gore announcing the Live Earth concerts.

The Live Earth event, announced today at the California Science Center, will feature seven concerts in seven cities on seven continents, all occurring over a 24-hour period on July 7 (7/7/07).

The concerts will feature a wide range of popular artists, including Snoop Dogg, Pharrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Eyed Peas, Fall Out Boy, Akon, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, John Mayer, the Foo Fighters, AFI, and Sheryl Crow among others.

The shows, which organizers have said will be bigger than 1985's Live Aid concerts, will take place in London; Shanghai, China; Sydney, Australia; Johannesburg, South Africa; and cities to be determined in Brazil, Japan, and the US. The events, which will combine film, music, and televised material, are expected to reach an audience of more than 2 billion people.

The lineup also includes Lenny Kravitz, Bon Jovi, Paolo Nutini, Melissa Etheridge, Damien Rice, Corinne Bailey Rae, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, Enrique Iglesias, Mana, Keane, Korn, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Bloc Party; many more will be announced at a later date because more than 100 artists are expected to perform.

Gore was joined at the announcement by actress Cameron Diaz, Pharrell, and concert organizer Kevin Wall, who also organized Live 8. The concerts are part of a larger effort called Save Our Selves (SOS).

"In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," Gore said in a statement. "We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilize people all over the world to take action. The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement. We hope to jump-start that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007."

Earlier this month, Gore and British billionaire Richard Branson announced a $25 million prize for the first person to come up with a way of scrubbing greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

"Man created the problem and therefore man should solve the problem," Branson said at the time.