McCartney, others to stage NY benefit show

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Paul McCartney, The Who, Macy Gray and a host of other performers are scheduled to stage a concert on Oct. 20 in New York to benefit victims and rescue workers from the attacks on the World Trade Center, organizers said Thursday.

"The Concert For New York," to be held at Madison Square Garden, will also be televised live on VH1. Other confirmed performers include Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Macy Gray, John Mellencamp, Goo Goo Dolls, Melissa Etheridge, India.Arie as well as actors like Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Gwyneth Paltrow and John Cusack.

The money raised will go to the Robin Hood Relief Fund, which was established by the Robin Hood Foundation, which helps needy families in New York, and the Twin Towers Fund, which was established by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to benefit rescue workers. Funds will also go to a number of other relief organizations.

More than 6,000 people are believed to be dead or missing, New York officials said on Thursday.

Tickets for the event are scheduled to go on sale Sunday, Oct. 7 at noon through Ticketmaster.

VH1, which is owned by Viacom Inc.; New York cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp., which also owns the Garden and Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax Films unit, will help underwrite the costs of the event. AOL Time Warner's Internet division America Online plans to Webcast the event on its service.

McCartney was originally planning to host a concert of his own to benefit New York's firefighters, but agreed this week to join the larger event.

"A Tribute To Heroes," a two-hour television special that aired earlier this month on over 35 U.S. broadcast and cable channels raised over $150 million for relief organizations.