Some of the world's most celebrated recording artists have come together to answer Nelson Mandela's SOS to eradicate the AIDS pandemic. Confirmed to appear February 2 at his historic "Mandela SOS" human rights concert are Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, Queen, Yusuf Islam, Bono, Baaba Maal, Macy Gray, Nelly Furtado, Jimmy Cliff, Coldplay, Mos Def, Deborah Cox, Ms. Dynamite, Shaggy, Eve, Ludacris, Lamya, Angelique Kidjo, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Johnny Clegg, Bongo Maffin, Vusi Mahlasela and Femi Kuti. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Presented by EPOP Productions (Education Powers Our Planet) and sponsored by MSN and Samsung, the "Mandela SOS" concert will be staged within the walls of the notorious maximum-security prison on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his prison term. The concert will be supported by a global television broadcast and highlights will also be streamed live on the Mandela website (http://www.mandelasos.com/), hosted by MSN. Tickets will be free and distributed by competition or lottery, details of which will be announced shortly.
The "Mandela SOS" concert was announced at a launch event earlier this month in Cape Town where Nelson Mandela, supported by Oprah Winfrey, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Richard Branson and Naomi Campbell asked "each person in every country not to be silent witnesses to this devastation but to answer our SOS by raising both awareness and the vital funds necessary to fight and win, against this disease."
