Beyonce, Bono topbill star-studded
Aids concert
CAPE TOWN (South Africa) -- Beyonce Knowles, Bono, Peter
Gabriel and musicians from around the world took to the stage on
Saturday for a star-studded Aids benefit concert hosted by South
Africa's former president, Nelson Mandela.
More than 30,000 people, among them Oprah Winfrey and Richard
Branson, filled Cape Town's Greenpoint Stadium for the show, part of
Mandela's 46664 campaign, named after his prison number under
apartheid.
With a giant bronzed image of his face as a backdrop, Mandela came
on stage dressed in a black shirt with the number emblazoned on his
chest.
'For the 18 years that I was in prison on Robben Island, I was
supposed to be reduced to that number,' he said. 'Millions infected
with HIV/Aids are in danger of being reduced to mere numbers if we
don't act now. They are serving a prison sentence for life.'
The concert -- broadcast live by the South African Broadcasting
Corporation's Africa channel and on the Internet -- is part of an
appeal to governments to declare a global Aids emergency.
Between 34 million and 46 million people around the world are infected
with HIV, including 5.3 million South Africans -- more than in any
other country. The pandemic killed more than 3 million people this
year, according to UN figures.
Only around 1 per cent of the 29 million people living with HIV and
Aids in sub-Saharan Africa have access to anti-retroviral drugs
widely available in wealthier countries.
The artists, who also included the Corrs, Anastacia, Yusuf Islam,
formerly known as Cat Stevens, and Annie Lennox, performed free on
Saturday night.
Messages from former US President Bill Clinton and civil rights
activist the Reverend Jesse Jackson were broadcast on a screen at
the back of the stage.
Earlier, Bono and Beyonce visited a maternity unit and a childrens'
home caring for HIV sufferers in Cape Town's impoverished township,
Khayelitsha.
Bono said he was incensed by the suffering of hundreds of thousands of
Africans who cannot afford treatment.
'This is an obscenity,' he said. 'This is like watching the Jews being
put on trains.'
The 46664 campaign, conceived by Dave Stewart, was put into place in
partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, as well as May and
Roger Taylor of Queen.
The concert will be screened globally by MTV on World Aids Day on
Monday. Proceeds are going to the foundation, whose work includes
funding research on HIV and Aids in South Africa and supporting
services for sufferers. -- AP
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