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The Police say farewell with auction, live set

As The Police comeback tour makes its way down the home stretch, fans are being offered special VIP ticket packages and autographed instruments to raise money for New York Public Television.

As previously announced, the band will play what is being billed as its final show ever Aug. 7 at New York City's Madison Square Garden, with special guests the B-52's, and all tickets are being handed out as thank-you gifts for donations to NY public television stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21.

To further commemorate the farewell concert, The Police and the PBS stations have teamed for an eBay auction that's running in two waves. The first auction, up now through July 24, offers VIP concert experiences including front-row seats, meet-and-greets, photos with The Police and The B-52s, pre-concert dinners and souvenirs. The second wave, which runs Aug. 4-14, features a complete set of autographed instruments from The Police. More information is available at the eBay auction website.

All the proceeds from the auctions and the Madison Square Garden concert and will go toward the production of arts and culture programming on the PBS stations.

Last week, The Police launched the final leg of their 30th anniversary reunion tour, which is currently in California and making its way across the US with Elvis Costello & the Imposters. The remaining dates are included below.

Singer/bassist Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers said goodbye to Europe earlier this month with a performance in front of 78,000 fans at Madrid's Rock in Rio festival, according to their website.

The band's reunion trek was the toast of 2007, moving more than 2.5 million tickets and earning the title of the year's top-grossing tour, according to a press release.

Though The Police quashed all rumors of a new studio album, they have confirmed plans to release a live CD/DVD set later this year. Copeland recently told Billboard the group filmed and recorded its Dec. 1-2 shows in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the projects. The DVD is expected to include a documentary about the tour directed by Copeland's son, Jordan.

The Police released their last studio album, "Synchronicity," nearly 25 years ago, and they celebrated their 30th anniversary last year with a best-of collection on A&M Records.