We prove the global existence of weak solutions to the Navier-Stokesequations of compressible heat-conducting fluids in two spatialdimensions with initial data and external forces which are large andspherically symmetric. The solutions will be obtainedas the limit of the approximate solutions in an annular domain.We first derive a number of regularity results on theapproximate physical quantities in the ``fluid region'', as well asthe new uniform integrability of the velocity and temperature in the entirespace-time domain by exploiting the theory of the Orlicz spaces.By virtue of these a priori estimates we then argue in amanner similar to that in [Arch. Rational Mech. Anal. 173 (2004),297-343] to pass to the limit and show that the limiting functions areindeed a weak solution which satisfies the mass and momentumequations in the entire space-time domain in the sense ofdistributions, and the energy equation in any compactsubset of the ``fluid region''.