46664 was a series of AIDS benefit concerts played in honour of Nelson Mandela by South African and foreign musicians between 2003 and 2008.

Origin

The second time that Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island was in 1964, and he was the 466th prisoner that year.[1] His prison number remained 466/64 until 1982, when he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison and given the prison number 220/82.[2] "Prisoner 46664" continues to be used as a reverential title for him. Shortly before Joe Strummer's death, he and U2's Bono co-wrote the song "46664" for Mandela as part of the campaign against AIDS in Africa.

46664 concerts

Cape Town, South Africa

On 29 November 2003, an event called the 46664 Concert was held at Green Point Stadium, Cape Town. It was hosted by Mandela and its goal was to raise awareness of the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The following artists performed:

Following the concert, three live CDs and a DVD titled "46664: The Event" were released.

George, South Africa

On 19 March 2005, another "annual" 46664 Concert was held at Fancourt Country Club and Golfing Estate, in George, South Africa with people like Katie Melua, Prime Circle, Annie Lennox, Juluka with Johnny Clegg and Queen + Paul Rodgers. Will Smith was the host.

Madrid, Spain

The first 46664 event to be staged in Europe took place from 29 April 2005 through to 1 May 2005 in Madrid, Spain. The concerts named "46664 Festival Madrid" focused on Spanish-speaking artists, as shown in the following list:

Tromsø, Norway

Nelson Mandela speaking in Tromsø.

On 11 June 2005, the 46664 Arctic Concert was held in Tromsø, Norway. The following artists performed:

Johannesburg, South Africa

On 1 December 2007, International World AIDS Day, a third concert was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The concert was hosted at Ellis Park, with tens of thousands of people in attendance.[3] Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Angelique Kidjo, Ludacris, Corinne Bailey Rae, Goo Goo Dolls, Razorlight, The Who, Prime Circle, Cassette and Jamelia performed for Nelson Mandela on stage. The event was streamed live on iclips.net. All technical services were supplied by the Gearhouse Group South Africa

London, United Kingdom

A concert celebrating Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday took place in London's Hyde Park on 27 June 2008.

Artists who performed at this special event included Jivan Gasparyan, Josh Groban, Zucchero, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Jerry Dammers, Amy Winehouse, Amaral, The Who, Sugababes, Razorlight, Leona Lewis, Eddy Grant, Joan Baez and Jamelia. Will Smith opened the concert with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith later performed his song "Switch". Quincy Jones also made an appearance introducing Leona Lewis. Other celebrities who made an appearance include Lewis Hamilton, Geri Halliwell and Peter Gabriel.

Joining them were South African and African artists Johnny Clegg, Sipho Mabuse, Loyiso, Vusi Mahlasela, the Soweto Gospel Choir, AIDS orphan choir The Children of Agape (the subject of the award-winning film feature We Are Together), the legendary Papa Wemba, and Sudanese "war child" rapper Emmanuel Jal, among others.

A surprise guest, expected to be the Spice Girls, had been promised, but the girl group did not perform. Dame Shirley Bassey had been confirmed as a guest, but did not appear on advice from her doctors, following recent stomach surgery.

The concert was broadcast live online at Iclips.net and on Virgin Radio, and highlights shown on ITV1 (and MHD in the United States), hosted by Phillip Schofield and Fearne Cotton.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About – 46664". 7 July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "Nelson Mandela's prison numbers – Nelson Mandela Foundation". Nelsonmandela.org. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Blandy, Fran (3 December 2007), 46664 rocks Joburg, iafrica.com, archived from the original on 5 April 2012, retrieved 2 November 2011

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