"They really wanted to do it, right from the start," concert organizer Odd Arvid Stroemstad said.

Joss Stone, Andrea Bocelli, Diana Krall, Cyndi Lauper and Patti LaBelle, along with several Norwegian artists, are among those scheduled to perform. The Dec. 11 concert will be carried live in more than 100 countries. Maathai will receive the $1.3 million prize at a Dec. 10 ceremony in Oslo, followed by a torchlight parade and banquet in her honor, and, the next day, the Nobel concert.