Queen's Brian May is looking forward to seeing more of New Zealand on The Rhapsody Tour. Photo / Supplied.
Queen's Brian May is looking forward to seeing more of New Zealand on The Rhapsody Tour. Photo / Supplied.
Queen guitarist Brian May has expressed his shock at the extent of the Australian bush fires ahead of the band's headlining spot at a fundraising concert in Sydney next month.
The long-time environmentalist and animal-rights campaigner is shocked at the extent of the tragedy that has claimed 27 lives andwiped out more than a billion wild animals.
The 72-year-old was also aware parts of New Zealand had been affected by smoke drifting across the Tasman and was concerned about the extent of damage to the glaciers near the Southern Alps.
"It's frightening. What a terrible tragedy that is. It's appalling. I'm so sorry, it makes me so sad.
"The world is dealing with [environmental disasters] sooner than expected. That's the truth and it's a terrible shock. Unfortunately it's too late to save so many people and especially animals.
"Can that really be true? A billion animals? It's just appalling beyond belief. It's a tragedy beyond measure, isn't it?"
The British rockers will then head across the Tasman, where they will perform at Fire Fight Australia, a one-off show to raise money for bush fire relief at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on February 16.
The star-studded line-up also features the likes of Alice Cooper, k.d lang, Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham.
Meanwhile, May is trying to do his bit to help the planet by embracing a plant-based diet as part of the Veganuary Challenge.
He feels solutions to environmental problems lie in individuals accepting responsibility for their actions but realises it takes time to create meaningful change.
