Alicia Keys, Angelique Kidjo, Others For World Cup Concert

Saturday, 15 May 2010 00:14

Five-time South African Music Award winners, Freshlyground, legendary jazz musician, Hugh Masekela and two time Grammy Award winners, the Soweto Gospel Choir, are all among the artistes billed for the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert.

FIFA and Control Room, the company that is organising the event, have finally released a final line-up of African and South African artistes for the inaugural concert to take place at Orlando Stadium on June 10.

International artistes to perform at the concert include Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, John Legend, Juanes, Shakira, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Toure, among others.

"We wanted to have an eclectic, international mix of music to appeal to as many people as possible around the world, while at the same time, showcase the immense home-grown talent of the host country," said Nicolas Ericson, FIFA Director of TV.

Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, said the concert presented a remarkable opportunity for South Africa, as it would be broadcast to millions of homes across the globe.

"The South African Broadcasting Corporation is proud to be the exclusive free to air broadcaster in South Africa and to be the technical co-producer to ensure this concert reaches millions of people through television and radio around,” Masondo said.