Live Earth event may be confusing, but tuning in at home is a snap

It may be the biggest, longest and most-viewed pop music concert in history.

It may also be the most confusing, controversial and contradictory.

Live Earth, which technically takes place on Saturday, also straddles Friday and Sunday—depending on what time zone you’re in.

And while the show’s hundreds of stars will beseech you to help save the environment, the sheer magnitude of the event necessitates flying thousands of people around the world—not exactly great news for the ozone layer.

If such green issues have some people seeing red, there’s no denying that Live Earth will, by definition, rank with 1985’s Live Aid and 2005’s Live 8 as one of the must-see—or at least must-comment-on—events of all time.

To add to the sprawl, Live Earth offers scores of “entry points,” involving every form of communication short of smoke signals. Cable and broadcast television, terrestrial and satellite radio, and, of course, the Internet all will offer access.

Many will get to see some of the blowout in person. The rest of us must make do at home, clicking away on the Net or flipping through TV or radio stations, catching what we can.

Live 8 proved this approach to be great fun. The simple act of nudging the dial of your satellite radio, or clicking around the main Internet site, lets you skip from Germany to Italy to London in a flash. It’s globe-trotting with your fingers.

Of course you’d need a teleportation machine, and a clone, to see it all. But like an all-you-can-eat buffet, there’s no reason to swallow everything. Grazing is the way to go. Here’s a rundown of which outlets will bring you what when.

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THE INTERNET
MSN will features every second of the event, from the kickoff in Sydney (10 p.m., Friday) to the last dregs at Giants Stadium, sometime after midnight Sat./Sun. You can view each of the eight cities involved with just a click. The acts will be available for viewing at your leisure for several days after.

RADIO
On satellite, XM and Sirius will have several channels dividing the eight shows. Together, their feeds will last for more than 27 hours. The starting times for each city are as follows: Sydney, 10 p.m. Fri.; Tokyo, 1 a.m. Sat., Shanghai, 4 a.m. Sat.; Johannesburg, 8 a.m. Sat.; Hamburg, 8 a.m., Sat.; London, 8:30 a.m., Sat.; Rio de Janeiro, 2 p.m. Sat.; New York, 2 p.m. Sat. On terrestrial radio, the Premiere Radio Network will carry the event.

TELEVISION
The Sundance Channel: Twenty-two hours of coverage from 4 a.m. Fri./Sat. to 2 a.m. Sun. Most of this will be live. Bravo: Eighteen hours of coverage starting at 8 a.m. A mix of live and taped footage. CNBC: Seven hours of coverage starting at 7 p.m. Sat. Very little live, but it will include news reports about the event. Telemundo: A one-hour culled special Sat. at 7 p.m. Mundo 2 will feature two hours, starting at 5 p.m. Latin acts, like Shakira and Mana, will be stressed. All will be on tape.

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WHO PLAYS WHERE

NEW YORK (GIANTS STADIUM)
AFI
Akon
Alicia Keys
Bon Jovi
Dave Matthews Band
Fall Out Boy
John Mayer
Kanye West
Kelly Clarkson
KT Tunstall
Ludacris
Melissa Etheridge
Roger Waters
Sheryl Crow
Smashing Pumpkins
The Police
(with an appearance by Al Gore)

LONDON (WEMBLEY STADIUM)
Beastie Boys
Black Eyed Peas
Bloc Party
Corinne Bailey Rae
Damien Rice
David Gray
Duran Duran
Foo Fighters
Genesis
James Blunt
John Legend
Keane
Madonna
Paolo Nutini
Razorlight
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Snow Patrol
Spinal Tap

SYDNEY (AUSSIE STADIUM)
Crowded House
Jack Johnson
Wolfmother
John Butler Trio
Missy Higgins
Eskimo Joe
Sneaky Sound System
Ghostwriters
Toni Collette & the Finish

HAMBURG (AOL ARENA)
Chris Cornell
Jan Delay
Juli
Katie Melua
Lotto King Karl
Mana
Michael Mittermeier
Reamonn
Roger Cicero
Sasha Silbermond
Snoop Dogg

TOKYO AND KYOTO
AI
Ai Otsuka
Ayaka
Cocco
Genki Rockets
Kumi Koda
Linkin Park
Rihanna
Rize
Michael Nyman
Rip Slyme
Yellow Magic Orchestra

JOHANNESBURG (COCA-COLA DOME)
Danny K
Angelique Kidjo
Baaba Maal
Vusi Mahlasela
The Parlotones
The Soweto Gospel Choir
Joss Stone
UB40
Zola
(with an appearance by Naomi Campbell)

SHANGHAI (ORIENTAL PEARL TOWER)
Anthony Wong
Eason Chan
Evonne Hsu
Huang Xiao Ming
Joey Yung
Sarah Brightman
Soler
Winnie Hsin
12 Girls Band

RIO DE JANEIRO, COPACABANA BEACH (the only free show)
Lenny Kravitz
Pharrell Williams
Macy Gray
Xuxa
O Rappa
Marcelo D2
Jorge Ben Jor
Jota Quest
Vanessa da Mata
MV Bill