Sound Relief Review: Coldplay kicks off bushfire benefit

Coldplay have opened Sydney's Sound Relief concert, with singer Chris Martin making an extraordinary dash through the crowd.

After a six song set, which included a duet with John Farnham, Martin leapt off the stage and ran half the length of the Sydney Cricket Ground to greet fans at the back of the event.

Martin embraced a number of fans, high fived people as he was running along and briefly took refuge on one side of the stadium, before returning into the crowd and clambering back on to the stage. He then managed to finish singing the lyrics to the Coldplay song Fix You.

Previous to that song Martin welcomed Australian singing legend Farnham onto stage for a rendition of You're The Voice. "Ladies and gentleman, please welcome to sing the Australian national anthem, John Farnham,'' said Martin, with a laugh before playing backup music to You're The Voice.

In what was an unusual sight for the UK rock band, the SCG was less than half full when they took the stage at 12.20pm, but many fans sprinted across the ground when they heard the first song being played by the band.

The group started with a brief instrumental, which led into their classic hit Yellow. While many fans were jammed in towards the front of the stage to get a close-up view of Martin and his bandmates, others took a more casual approach - setting up picnic rugs at the back of the SCG's grassy area.

At the end of thier set, the band sent their best wishes to the victims of the Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods. The concert event, which is being held simultaneously in Sydney and Melbourne, is expected to stretch for at least 10 hours with groups including Wolfmother, Jet and Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb due to perform on stage.

Gibb is the headliner of the Sydney event and will appear on stage alongside Olivia Newtown John. In Melbourne Kylie Minogue is due to appear and Midnight Oil will make the headline performance this evening, with Federal MP Peter Garrett back on stage as frontman.

The proceeds for the Sydney Sound Relief concert will be split between Victorian bushfire victims and those affected by devastating floods in Queensland. The Melbourne event is being staged entirely for bushfire victims, given the horrific losses suffered there through bushfires.