Sting moves venue of Philippine concert

MANILA, Philippines Sting has moved the location of his "Back to Bass Tour" concert in the Philippines following a petition by environmentalists who said the original venue is owned by a conglomerate that plans to uproot 182 trees for a parking lot and mall expansion in a northern mountain city.

The SM Mall of Asia Arena said in a statement Saturday that changing the site of the Dec. 9 concert was "the decision of the artist himself."

The petition said that as a champion of the environment, "Sting can't be saving rainforests and enabling SM to rape the environment at the same time!" The SM group is owned by the Philippines' richest man, mall mogul Henry Sy.

Sting and his wife established The Rainforest Foundation to protect tropical rainforests and their people.