Concert to bring Mandela party home
Emily Visser
1 August 2008
Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations didn't end on 18 July. The birthday programme rolls on, with a concert planned for Johanneburg, his official home town, this month.
An all-Africa concert, hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, will take place on Saturday 23 August at the Johannesburg Stadium from 11am onwards.
"We have chosen a concert because it is much more democratic," Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan said at a press briefing in Johannesburg this week, adding that the most important thing was that the event should be "joyous, celebratory, and inclusive".
Television coverage will enable every South African to see the concert.
According to Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO Achmat Dangor, the foundation was still being inundated with requests from the public to host events in celebration of Mandela's life. The concert was therefore planned as "specifically a South African celebration."
Confirmed artists include South Africans Jonas Gwangwa, Jimmy Dludlu, Danny K, Karen Zoid, Jae, Jozi and Gang of Instrumentals, and South Africa's youngest rising star, violinist In-Cha.
Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal, jazz singer Dorothy Masuka from Zimbabwe, and Congolese singer Kampi Moto have also confirmed that they will perform, adding to the authentic all-Africa flavour.
"We cannot think of a better way to celebrate the life and legacy of this great son of the African soil," Jordan said.
Mandela and his extended family will attend the concert. Ticket prices are yet to be confirmed, but Jordan promised that they would not cost more than a ticket to a soccer game.
All proceeds will go the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its charities.
Source: City of Johannesburg
