Shillong, Dec 11 (IANS) Renowned rock band Scorpions is all set to warm up Shillong Wednesday when it begins the India leg of the Humanity World Tour with 'love and not war' as the underlying theme.

The German heavy metal group, which gave all-time hits like 'Still Loving You', 'Winds of Change', 'Always Somewhere, and the likes of Send Me An Angel', is on a world tour to drum up support for the just released album - 'Humanity Hour 1'.

Guitarist and founder member of Scorpions Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs, James Kottak and Pawel Maciwoda will be performing.

'The mood is ecstatic with music lovers simply getting restless to watch the concert,' said Ming Larsing, managing director of the Centre Point Entertainment Network, the main organiser for the event which is dubbed as the biggest musical fest ever in northeast India.

Members of the band are equally excited to begin their India tour in Shillong, known as the rock capital of the east.

'India is the land of charming music and we are excited to perform. Believe in love and not war, be happy and make others happy,' the band members said in a statement ahead of the big concert.

For many locals here, Scorpions is a band whose songs they grew up with.

'It would be a dream come true to actually be at a live concert with Scorpions. We grew up listening to classics like 'Rhythm Of Love' and 'Under The Same Sun',' said Peter Marbaniang, a college teacher.

The concert to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is expected to draw about 10,000 people with more than 90 percent of the tickets already sold out.

'The response is simply grand with people as far as New Delhi and Kolkata coming here to be at the concert,' another organiser said.

'All the city hotels are booked and there is no accommodation available.'

The lights and other equipment for the concert have already arrived with the event expected to consume an estimated 1,000 KV of electricity, three times the power requirement of concerts of international bands held in the city before.

The band will perform in Mumbai Dec 14 and Bangalore Dec 16.

Scorpions itself will bring backline equipment for the sound system weighing five tonnes. Moreover, a 15-member sound and light crew will accompany the band for the Shillong concert.