Stuttgart, May 23, 2007 -- "Open your mind� - and combine an exciting lifestyle with environmental protection: True to its philosophy, smart is supporting the Live Earth concerts and "Save Our Selves – SOS� campaign against global warming launched by Founder Kevin Wall and Partner former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. DaimlerChrysler is with smart the world's only automaker serving as an official partner of the Live Earth concerts, which will feature more than 100 headliners on July 7, 2007. smart is providing the official shuttle service for all artists and other celebrities participating in Live Earth.
"Live Earth will unite people from across all continents to spur action against the climate crisis from individuals, corporations and governments", Al Gore said. "Live Earth will spread our call for action to address the climate crisis to millions of Germans, Europeans and people worldwide."
The objective of the Live Earth concerts is to mobilize more than two billion people to play an active role in climate protection. The nine concerts will offer a total of 24 hours of live music at venues in Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hamburg, London, Rio de Janeiro and New York. They will be broadcast in more than 120 countries on TV, the radio and the Internet. The events will feature performances by internationally renowned rock and pop stars including The Police, Madonna, Genesis, Bon Jovi, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sheryl Crow.
"I'm happy to be part of an event for this exceptionally important cause and I hope our contribution not only by taking part but also by acting as green as possible will influence others,� said singer Katie Melua at today's press conference in Stuttgart. Melua will perform at the German Live Earth concert in Hamburg.
Live Earth is a project of the SOS campaign, which aims to motivate people around the world to "Answer the Call� through solutions-based short films, PSAs, books, and interactive web experience, and through the Live Earth concerts. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection and other international nongovernmental organizations to drive individuals, corporations and governments to make immediate and lasting changes to solve the climate crisis. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection and Partner of Live Earth.
The smart fortwo has won over nearly 800,000 customers in 36 countries since October 1998. As a DaimlerChrysler brand, smart benefits from the parent company's engineering expertise and many years of experience in the automotive industry. The new smart fortwo was released in Europe in April 2007 and will become available in the U.S. for the first time in 2008. smart as one of the automotive industry's youngest brands stands for innovation, functionality and a lust for life. Drivers of smart vehicles can be categorized more in terms of their attitudes than their age, profession or gender.