Judge rules Live Earth concert can go ahead in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- A Brazilian judge ruled Thursday that South America's Live Earth concert could go ahead as planned after organizers convinced her there would be adequate security at the Copacabana Beach event.

The office of the prosecutor who had sought to cancel the concert confirmed Judge Maria Galhardo had reversed her earlier decision to nix the show.

"We still don't know if she will appeal the judge's latest decision," said Daniel Brunet, a spokesman for prosecutor Denise Tarin. Under Brazil's multilayered court system, judges' decisions can be repeatedly reversed, often within hours.

Chances for the gig -- featuring Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Pharrell Williams -- got a boost from police who said they could guarantee security for the show expected to draw 700,000 people.

Rio's free Saturday show was scratched earlier this week after Galhardo agreed with Tarin, who argued that police would not be able to provide concert security because they are stretched thin with the upcoming Pan American Games and a huge crackdown on slum-based gangs.

Organizers appealed to Galhardo after authorities reversed course and said police were now available because an open-air gospel-music show scheduled for the same time was switched to a site where fewer officers will be needed.

Tarin last year imposed restrictions on a free concert by the Rolling Stones on Copacabana that drew 1 million people.

She said at the time that Copacabana is not appropriate for huge concerts because the setting makes it difficult for police to craft "the slightest viable security plan."

The Rio event is the only free concert for Live Earth, founded by Kevin Wall, an Emmy-winning concert producer. Proceeds from the other concerts will go toward the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit organization chaired by Gore.?

-- The Associated Press