BOB GELDOF wants to invite world religious leaders, including the Pope and the Dalai Lama, to appear at a free anti-poverty concert in Edinburgh alongside pop stars.

His plans, which will be announced in full tomorrow in London, are part of a global campaign to put pressure on delegates attending the G8 summit at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire this July.

Murrayfield has been named as a possible venue and the “Live 8” concert is expected to take place on July 6, the day the G8 Summit opens. It will come after a massive Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh which is expected to attract 100,000 people, and two other “Live 8” concerts at Hyde Park, London, and Washington DC, on July 2.

Mr Geldof is said to have approached the Pope, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela and asked them to consider addressing the event, perhaps via satellite link-up.

It is understood that he also hopes to persuade top rock and pop acts including U2, Oasis, Robbie Williams and Sir Paul McCartney to take part. Travis, Franz Ferdinand, Texas and Coldplay have also been mentioned for the line-up. The Murrayfield event, the finale of five days of anti-poverty campaigning, will, however, be more of a political rally than a concert, comprising 70 per cent speakers and 30 per cent music.

Meanwhile it was reported yesterday that anarchists are plotting to use burning lorries and “human shields” hung from railway and road bridges to sabotage the G8 summit. It is claimed that anti-capitalist activists hope to stop support staff from reaching the three-day summit in an attempt to bring the event to a halt.

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