Live 8 has started breaking records – three weeks before the event takes place. The text message lottery for tickets to the London concert closed at midnight, having received over 2 million entries. This makes it the world’s largest ever text message lottery.

The London concert, which aims to send an anti-poverty message to leaders at next month’s G8 summit, will feature top acts including Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna and Robbie Williams. It was announced yesterday that the veteran rock band Pink Floyd will reunite for the gig, performing together in public for the first time since 1981.

Fans have long urged David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wrtight to perform together again, but a disagreement between Waters and the other band-members made a reunion of the group that achieved success with The Dark Side of the Moon, seem unlikely, until now.

Gilmour said: “Like most people, I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the Third World. It’s crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if reforming for this concert will help focus attention, then it’s got to be worthwhile.”

An audience of 150,000 will attend the concert. Many of these will have won their tickets through the text lottery, although several have been reserved for corporate hospitality.

The text competition line opened on June 6 and up to 1.5 million entries were received in the first few hours. Each person who entered sent an average of 1.62 texts.

Guinness World Records editor Craig Glenday said: “The Live 8 text lottery has had an unprecedented response and we’re thrilled to be awarding them with a Guinness World Record - especially as it’s all in the name of charity.”

The text competition raised around £3 million for Live 8, organisers said. The first £1.6 million will be donated to The Prince’s Trust, which cancelled its annual Party in the Park concert to make way for Bob Geldof’s gig. Remaining money will go towards the costs of staging the event.

Winners will be notified on June 16 by a free text message sent to their phone. They will receive a unique PIN number and will be directed to the Live 8 website which will give them details of how to pick up their tickets.

For music fans and campaigners who were unlucky in the London Live 8 draw, there is still the opportunity to attend the concert in Murrayfield stadium, in Edinburgh on July 6 – the same day as the Make Poverty History rally in the city.

Travis, Snow Patrol and Dido will be performing at the gig, which will be presented by Peter Kay. There are 21,000 pairs of tickets available To be in with a chance of attending, text the answer to the following question to 84599.

Where will the Long Walk to Justice conclude on July 6? A) Murrayfield B) Macclesfield C) Madrid. Entries cost £1.50 The lottery closes on Saturday, June 18. Entrants must be over 16.

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