Scroll To Top
Arts & Entertainment

Nelson Mandela
Announces AIDS Concert

Nelson Mandela
Announces AIDS Concert

The fifth in a series of international concerts that Nelson Mandela has used to raise awareness about AIDS will be held on World AIDS Day in Johannesburg.

The fifth in a series of international concerts that Nelson Mandela has used to raise awareness about AIDS will be held to mark World AIDS Day on December 1 in Johannesburg.

''I am very delighted that we are engaging the youth in schools, communities, and through the media, breaking the silence and stigmas around HIV and AIDS and making them realize that the power to beat the pandemic lies in their own hands,'' said Mandela, 89, wearing a sweat shirt emblazoned with 46664, the number apartheid prison authorities gave him and which he has used in his campaigning on social issues since.

''The 46664 campaign has done great work in putting the global spotlight on the issue of HIV and AIDS,'' the former South African president said Monday at a press conference at his Johannesburg offices. ''We will continue to use celebrities from the world of music, sports and entertainment to speak to the youth about the disease.''

The concert is expected to attract 30 to 35 international and local artists and draw a crowd of over 50,000 people. Details of the lineup will be announced later this month. Previous concerts in Cape Town, Spain, and Norway have attracted some of the world's top musicians including U2, Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Beyonce, Bob Geldof, and Angelique Kidjo.

''We are trying to make this concert something very different,'' said Tim Massey, the international director for the campaign. ''This is going to be the greatest concert yet.''

The campaign was launched in 2003 by the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The funds raised through the concerts are used to create awareness of the AIDS pandemic among young people. An estimated 5.4 million South Africans are infected with HIV, and about 900 people in the country die each day of AIDS.

Massey said about $3 million has been raised through the concerts so far. (AP)

Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Matthew Van Atta