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The event will be programmed and presented in association with WOMAD and its co-founder Peter Gabriel, together with Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour.

The evening itself will be hosted by Peter Gabriel, who has championed World Music for the past 25 years. Youssou N’Dour and Peter Gabriel have invited many of their favourite African artists to perform at the event.

These include the gutsy and charismatic West African vocalist/songwriter Angelique Kidjo, Somalia’s powerful and dynamic female vocalist Maryam Mursal, but Salif Keita will now be playing the Johannesburg gig instead.

Also appearing will be Zimbabwe-born musical and political hero Thomas Mapfumo with his group the Blacks Unlimited; Tinariwen, a Touareg group from the southern Sahara; award-winning Senegalese hip hop group Daara J; Arab-Andalusian singer and musician Akim El Sikameya; engaging and dynamic South African singers and dancers Shikisha; Kenyan lyre player and singer Ayub Ogada; and Modou Diouf & O Fogum, bringing intoxicating Sabar drum rhythms and unbelievable dance.

The concert will be held on the stage in the Eden arena with the world’s biggest greenhouses providing a spectacular backdrop in the crater.

This outstanding line-up will bring the Eden site alive with unbeatable African party spirit. Transmissions will be made from the event by the BBC as part of the Live8 celebration.

The legendary Done & Dusted production team of Hamish Hamilton, Ian Stewart and Simon Pizey, whose collective credits include U2, Madonna, Kylie and Robbie Williams, have kindly volunteered to film the event.

Midge Ure was keen to get WOMAD’s involvement from the start of the campaign, and met with WOMAD several weeks ago to discuss featuring prominent African artists as part of the Live 8 events including the concert at Murrayfield on 6 July.

WOMAD was founded in 1982 by Peter Gabriel and WOMAD’s artistic director Thomas Brooman with the aim of bringing artists together from all over the world to reach new audiences. Since 1982 WOMAD has presented more than 150 festivals and events in 26 countries and islands.

Eden’s chief executive Tim Smit was glad to become involved in providing an extended platform for African artists as part of the series of events, and said today: “We are huge fans of Live8 and the agenda that is so brilliantly driven by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

“The idea to host the concert came out of a conversation with Oxfam representatives when we hosted one of the Make Poverty History events at Eden in May.”

The announcement came the same week that Andy Kershaw accused Geldof of ‘apartheid’ thinking by having the separate concert in Cornwall for African musicians. In retrospect, Geldof must be cursing his decision to roll out his old mates like Elton John for the main gig and not think through a line-up that is more inclusive.

Nevertheless, African music has had more attention in the past few weeks than ever before in the West. As most people will see neither gig but will be watching on TV across the world, it will be up to the broadcasters (and not Geldof) ultimately to decide how much African music gets seen and how much Elton John and Pink Floyd dominate the show.

In separate news, a dispute over the location of the gig in Paris has been resolved (not the Eiffel Tower, it will be the Palace of Versailles).

Geldof also announced a Live8 concert in Johannnesburg, which he hopes will be opened by his friend Nelson Mandela, although this hasn’t been confirmed.

For further information on the event at Eden and ticket allocation details, go to www.live8.edenbookings.com

Read about Last Year’s WOMAD at the Eden project