Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute
Encyclopedia
The Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute was held in Hyde Park, London
on 27 June 2008 to commemorate Nelson Mandela
's ninetieth birthday (18 July). The concert formed part of the 46664 concert series to promote awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and came twenty years after the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
concert at Wembley, held while Mandela was still in prison.
The three-and-a-half-hour concert was attended by 46,664 people. General admission tickets were available for £65. It was broadcast on the internet and Virgin Radio
with highlights on ITV1
. The hosts were Will Smith
and his wife Jada
, and June Sarpong
, with other celebrities including Quincy Jones
, Peter Gabriel
, Stephen Fry
, Lewis Hamilton
and Geri Halliwell
introducing artists.
Mandela came onstage himself during the concert, where he made a short speech – to great applause.
The concert finished with a rendition of The Special A.K.A.
song "Free Nelson Mandela
" with Winehouse and Dammers joined on stage by the night's other performers.
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
on 27 June 2008 to commemorate Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's ninetieth birthday (18 July). The concert formed part of the 46664 concert series to promote awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and came twenty years after the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on June 11, 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. It was also referred to as Freedomfest, Free Nelson Mandela Concert and Mandela Day...
concert at Wembley, held while Mandela was still in prison.
The three-and-a-half-hour concert was attended by 46,664 people. General admission tickets were available for £65. It was broadcast on the internet and Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
with highlights on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
. The hosts were Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
and his wife Jada
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured...
, and June Sarpong
June Sarpong
June Sarpong MBE is an English television presenter of Ghanaian descent.-Education:Sarpong was born in London to Ghanaian parents. She was educated at Connaught Girls School in Leytonstone and Sir George Monoux College in Walthamstow....
, with other celebrities including Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
and Geri Halliwell
Geri Halliwell
Geraldine Estelle "Geri" Halliwell is an English pop singer-songwriter, author and actress. After coming to international prominence in the late 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, Halliwell launched her solo career in 1998 and released her album Schizophonic...
introducing artists.
Mandela came onstage himself during the concert, where he made a short speech – to great applause.
Performers (in order of appearance)
- Jivan Gasparyan
- RazorlightRazorlightRazorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
- Into the HoodsInto the HoodsInto the Hoods -- "An Urban Fairy Tale" is a hip hop/musical created by London-based hip hop dance troupe ZooNation. The basic premise of the show is a hip hop take on the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. The plot follows two children as they get lost in the hood and try and retrieve an...
- Sipho MabuseSipho MabuseSipho "Hotstix" Mabuse was born in Johannesburg on 2 November 1951. Mabuse got his start in the African soul group the Beaters in the mid-1970s. After a successful tour of Zimbabwe they changed the group's name to Harari...
- Soweto Gospel ChoirSoweto Gospel Choir-History:The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30+ member ensemble blends elements of African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae, and American popular music...
- Leona LewisLeona LewisLeona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
- ZuccheroZuccheroAdelmo Fornaciari, Commander , more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero /ˈtsukkero/, is an Italian rock singer. His music is largely inspired by gospel, blues and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces.Zucchero is the...
- Susannah Owiyo and D'GaryD'GaryD'Gary is a Madagascan musician of Bara ethnicity. His primary instrument is the acoustic guitar.-Musical style:D'Gary's elaborate playing style is characterised by his use of alternative tunings...
- SugababesSugababesThe Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
- Will SmithWill SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
- Annie LennoxAnnie LennoxAnnie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
- Agape choir
- Emmanuel JalEmmanuel JalEmmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese musician and former child soldier.-Childhood:Born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan, Jal was a young child when the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out. His father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army and when he was about seven years old his mother...
- JameliaJameliaJamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
- Loyiso
- Vusi MahlaselaVusi MahlaselaVusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane is a Sotho South African singer-songwriter.His music is generally described as "African folk". His work was an inspiration to many in the anti-apartheid movement. His themes include the struggle for freedom, and forgiveness and reconciliation with enemies...
- Johnny Clegg
- Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
- Eddy GrantEddy GrantEdmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...
- Kurt DarrenKurt DarrenKurt Johan van Heerden, also known as Kurt Darren, is an South-African singer and songwriter. His first album came in 1995. In the year of 2002 was his great breakthrough in South-Africa, with the album Meissie, meissie. Although Kurt is very famous in South-Africa, you can also hear him on various...
- Simple MindsSimple MindsSimple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
- Brian MayBrian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
and Andrea CorrAndrea CorrAndrea Jane Corr is an Irish musician, songwriter and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon, and Jim... - Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
- 9ice9ice9ice was born on Thursday, January 17, 1980. He is a very popular Nigerian Musician with a classic style of music. 9ice is a south-westerner from Ogbomoso in Oyo State but he grew up in the district of Bariga in Lagos....
- Bebe CoolBebe CoolBebe Cool is a ragga musician from Uganda. He started his career around 1997 in Nairobi, Kenya, but a few years later he moved back to his native country...
- Josh GrobanJosh GrobanJoshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
- AmaralAmaral-Meaning:*Amaral, a common surname of toponymic origin in the Portuguese language, namely in Portugal and Brazil, amongst others.-People:*Aguida Amaral, East Timorian runner.*Carlos do Amaral Freire, Brazilian scholar, linguist and translator....
- Queen + Paul RodgersQueen + Paul RodgersQueen + Paul Rodgers was a supergroup collaboration between Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen and Paul Rodgers...
- Jerry DammersJerry DammersJeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
The concert finished with a rendition of The Special A.K.A.
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
song "Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela
"Nelson Mandela" is a song written by Jerry Dammers and performed by his Coventry-based band The Special A.K.A. - with lead vocal by Stan Campbell - released on the single Nelson Mandela / Break Down The Door in 1984 as a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela...
" with Winehouse and Dammers joined on stage by the night's other performers.