Coldplay, Ash, Toploader, Reef, and Australian entertainer Rolf Harris are the first acts confirmed for the inaugural U.K. Farm Aid benefit, set for Oct. 27 at the 50,000-capacity Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Five or six additional acts are expected to be added to the event, proceeds from which will support six charities for farmers whose livelihoods have been affected by outbreaks of "mad cow" and foot-and-mouth disease and adverse weather conditions.

The concert, organized by Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis and first tipped here in late May, will be broadcast live on BBC2. "I see this concert as not only a fundraiser for lots of desperate farmers affected by foot and mouth but as a new beginning in terms of environmental and sustainable policies for farming for the future," Eavis said in a statement.

He added that the concert, which is unrelated to the long-running American event of the same name, could raise some U.S. $722,000 for the charities.

Meanwhile, Martina McBride and Arlo Guthrie have been added to the bill for this year's U.S. Farm Aid concert outside Indianapolis on Sept. 29. As previously reported, the organization's co-founders John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young will also play, while Dave Matthews will perform a rare solo set.