Beatle Paul Rocks Ukraine

Tens of thousands of people braved heavy rain and thunder Saturday night to see Paul McCartney perform a charity concert Saturday night on Kiev's central Independence Square.

The outdoor show, the first in Ukraine for the former Beatle, was billed as the biggest concert ever in the former Soviet republic. It was also broadcast live on national television and on giant screens set up in five other Ukrainian cities.

After a half-hour delay because of the weather, McCartney - who turns 66 next week - came out on the stage and greeted the crowd in Ukrainian, before diving into the Beatles hit "Drive My Car."

He followed up with a series of Beatles songs, including "Hey Jude," "Let it Be," "Back in the U.S.S.R.," and "Penny Lane."

The show also included a rendition of "A Day in the Life," which McCartney dedicated to John Lennon. According to Rolling Stone magazine, none of the Beatles had ever sung that song - written more than 40 years ago - live until McCartney performed it two weeks ago in his home city of Liverpool.

McCartney returned for his encore waving a Ukrainian flag and finished off the two-hour show with fireworks, a rendition of "Yesterday" and a musical finale.

Fans from neighboring Belarus and Moldova joined the Ukrainians for the event. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was also in attendance.

Before the concert, fans in five major cities in Ukraine sang Beatles songs in a live TV linkup with the capital.

The square where McCartney played was the site of the Orange Revolution in 2004, when peaceful mass protests overturned a fraudulent election and brought a pro-Western opposition leader to power.

Organizers said the money raised will be spent on diagnostic equipment for the children's department of Ukraine's National Cancer Institute. Many children now seek treatment abroad because Ukraine lacks the necessary equipment.

The concert was free but the organizers asked for donations from Ukrainian businessmen and others. More than 500 people have contributed a total of about 3 million Ukrainian hryvna (US$600,000) and donations are continuing to come in, said Tatyana Overina, spokeswoman for the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, which organized the concert.

Pinchuk, a billionaire businessman and Ukraine's richest man, established the foundation in 2006 with the stated goal of contributing to the modernization of Ukraine and bringing forward a new generation of Ukrainian leaders.