Robin, Billy and Whoopi lead Relief

After an eight-year hiatus, Comic Relief, the celebrity-studded fundraising telethon for the homeless, is back.

Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg will take the stage Saturday to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina victims, capping the weeklong Comedy Festival that began Tuesday in Las Vegas.

The show marks the ninth major telecast of Comic Relief, a 20-year-old institution that held its last major event in 1998. This year it will bring together many top comedians, including Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, George Lopez and Sarah Silverman. Wayne Brady will host the show’s satellite location in New Orleans. It will be broadcast live from Caesars Palace on HBO and, with an eight-second delay for content, on TBS.