Madonna has written a song exclusively for the Live Earth gigs

A series of live performances in Istanbul are to be replaced by screens relaying the concerts from other cities around the world.

Purple Concerts told Associated Press: "There is no possibility to hold a live performance due to lack of time."

Eight cities will hold concerts across 24 hours to highlight climate change.

Shortfall

Tokyo, Hamburg and Shanghai are among those destinations taking part in the worldwide event, alongside Rio de Janeiro, New York, Johannesburg, Sydney and London.

Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Duran Duran are among the acts gracing the stage for the London leg.

The Turkish organisers said last week they still hoped to stage a scaled-down version of the planned Istanbul concert, but conceded it would be difficult to organise.

However, a shortfall in financial backing forced them to reconsider their plans, organisers said.