Soul legends Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are set to perform in New York to celebrate the birthday of Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela is a living monument to how far Africa has come. One of the world’s most respected leaders, he began life fighting for justice in South Africa. The former British colony has established a system of racial prejudice known as Apartheid, which restricted the rights of black South Africans.
Denied the right to vote, freely discriminated against in the court, Apartheid led to misery and poverty for millions of South African citizens. Nelson Mandela led a group fighting against this, but was arrested and thrown into prison.
Becoming an icon for civil rights movements around the world, his cause even inspired a huge British hit – the Jerry Dammers written ‘Free Nelson Mandela’. After being freed from prison after decades of servitude, Nelson Mandela went on to become the leader of South Africa.
With a big budget Hollywood film in production about his life, it seems that Nelson Mandela’s fame is only set to increase. Each year civil rights activists around the world celebrate the politician’s birthday in an event known as Mandela Day.
This year groups in New York have organised a week’s worth of events which will culminate in an enormous concert. Taking place in the historic Radio City music hall, the event will star soul legends such as Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.
Franklin sang at the inauguration of President Barack Obama, but later felt that her performance had been inadequate. Ever the perfectionist, the soul legend later re-recorded her song and released it as a free download.
Stevie Wonder, meanwhile, recently gave an emotional performance at the memorial service to Michael Jackson. Like Jackson, Stevie Wonder knew the pressures of being a child star at Motown scoring his first hit when he was just 12 years old.
The two giants of soul will be joined by a vast array of performers including some of the biggest names in pop. T-Pain, Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean, Dave Stewart, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Gloria Gaynor and Zucchero will all perform at the event, due to take place on July 18th.
A host of special collaborations is planned for the night, withwill.i.am teaming up with Jesse McCartney and Alicia Keys working with Angelique Kidjo.
Titled ‘Mandela Day: A 46664 Celebration’ the event will pay tribute to the former South African president who turns 91 later this month.
‘Mandela Day: A 46664 Celebration’ takes place on July 18th.
