15/10/2007
World AIDS Day will take place on 1st December 2007 at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
FIRST INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS ARE ANNOUNCED
Following the announcement earlier this month by former President Nelson Mandela of a World AIDS Day concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, for his 46664 action against HIV/AIDS campaign, the first details of international artists who have confirmed their involvement in the event were revealed today.
With six weeks still to go before the concert at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium on December 1st, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Ludacris, Corinne Bailey Rae, Goo Goo Dolls, Razorlight, and Jamelia have already pledged their support to perform for Nelson Mandela on the day. A further announcement of international and South African artists will be made when the former South African president announces the final line-up at a press conference on October 29.
The December 1st concert in Johannesburg will be the fifth International 46664 concert to take place since the AIDS charity was founded under the banner of Nelson Mandela's former prison number in 2002. The Johannesburg concert is the first to be held on World AIDS Day.
Involved from day one, and now at the forefront of the 46664 campaigning activity, the concert at Johannesburg's famed 50,000 seat Ellis Park stadium sees Peter Gabriel and Annie Lennox once again answering Mandela's call in the fight against AIDS. Founding ambassadors of 46664, both appeared at the very first concert held in Cape Town in November 2003, and again when Mandela took his message to the Arctic Circle with a historic concert in Tromsø, Norway in June 2005. Lennox made a further appearance for Mandela in George, South Africa in 2005.
At the Tromsø concert Peter Gabriel personally introduced Nelson Mandela on stage with the now famous line..."From the pain comes the suffering, from the suffering comes the dream, from the dream comes the vision, from the vision comes the people, from the people comes the power, from the power comes the change, but if the world could only have one father, the man we would want to be our father is Madiba, Mr. Nelson Mandela".
Lennox has openly stated that her first meeting with Mr. Mandela at the Cape Town concert changed her life, and she has since then dedicated herself to fighting HIV AIDS and social injustices. Her forthcoming album 'Songs of Mass Destruction' is a result of her determination to bring awareness to the fact that the fight against AIDS needs to be sustained.
As a further response to the HIV Aids crisis, Annie has created a unique musical project entitled "SING", which aims to focus mainly on women and children's issues. For the first recorded song for "SING" Annie has been joined by "The Choir of 23" - an extraordinary line up of internationally celebrated female recording artists which includes Madonna, Joss Stone, Anastacia, Celine Dion, Angelique Kidjo, Dido, Gladys Knight, Sarah McLachlan, K D Lang, Pink, Shakira, and the Sugababes. SING aims to work in partnership with female artists in order to raise money and bring awareness to the pandemic.
For both Gabriel and Lennox the upcoming December 1st concert brings them both to perform for the first time in Johannesburg.
Exemplifying the fact that Mr. Mandela's message has reached out across all musical divides and ages, the Johannesburg concert brings together long-established artists with some of today's newest and most popular, mixing the rich music heritage of artists such as superstar rapper Ludacris and the multi-platinum selling Goo Goo Dolls, with the most current wave of chart artists such as Grammy nominated UK soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae, UK R & B singer Jamelia, plus UK rock band Razorlight who are making a second commitment to 46664 after appearing at the Norway concert two years ago.
Along with each artist appearing in a solo set, the Johannesburg concert like those previous is likely to showcase many unique artist collaborations, which have become a 46664 concert trademark. For those who witnessed the original 46664 Cape Town concert live or who were amongst the millions who witnessed the broadcast in the 166 countries across the world in which it was seen, it would be hard to ever forget Annie Lennox's unforgettable performance with Youssou N'Dour, Beyonce with Bono, Anastacia with Queen and Peter Gabriel together with Yusuf Islam.
Talking about their forthcoming involvement in the concert and Mr. Mandela's 46664 campaign, the new ambassadors said:
Ludacris, the 2007 Grammy Award Winner for "Best Rap Album" said: "It's a shame that after all these years we still have to raise awareness for a disease that continues to infiltrate communities, countries and families. But I am proud to be able to stand by Nelson Mandela, a man of dignity, power, strength and change and one who always leads by example. I hope this concert will be another stepping stone to finding a cure."
Corinne Bailey Rae: "I am very honored to be invited to perform at the 46664 concert. Nelson Mandela is someone who I have admired since I was a child. His application of forgiveness and justice are an example to the world, and I hope the concert will go a long way to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS."
Corinne Bailey Rae received three nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards: for "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year" (both for "Put Your Records On"), and "Best New Artist".
The popular UK and award winning band Razorlight, who headlined festivals across Europe this year have also agreed to return to support 46664, following their first performance in Norway at 46664 Arctic. The band said they were "honoured to be invited and had no hesitation in accepting".
The Goo Goo Dolls, awarded by Billboard as having the "Most Hot AC Hits in Radio History" are a hugely popular band that has wowed audiences the world over for the past two decades. Says band founding member, vocalist/guitarist John Rzeznik: "It is a privilege to be a part of an event that helps to relieve the suffering of so many human beings and is educating so many young people so that someday no one will suffer. This is easily definable as the most important performance of my career."
Jamelia, who stormed back in 2004 with a multi-award winning album "Thank you" after taking time out to bring up her children at the height of her success is "...thrilled to be performing at the concert and to support 46664."
On making the first announcement of the concert at a press conference at Mandela House, Johannesburg, on October 1, Nelson Mandela said:
"46664 is committed to HIV AIDS awareness and prevention. We create and support initiatives that deliver sustainable solutions to help combat the HIV AIDS pandemic that is so tragically affecting our world. We are grateful that the City of Johannesburg has made it possible for 46664 to stage our first World AIDS Day concert. Johannesburg has long asked for a concert to be held here and I am happy that we can now deliver to the people of Johannesburg. We look forward to being joined by thousands of citizens on that day."
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
