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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 11 2012 01:43 | LAST UPDATED Feb 11 2012 01:43 |
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Former South African president Nelson Mandela arrived in Britain on Monday ahead of a 90th birthday concert in his honour in London's Hyde Park. The three-hour gig on Friday, headlined by veteran rockers Queen alongside the likes of Razorlight and Simple Minds, will also support Mandela's 46664 campaign against HIV/Aids. The campaign, named after Mandela's prison number during his 27-year incarceration, aims to raise awareness of the HIV/Aids pandemic, which is rife in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa is one of the countries worst hit by HIV. Mandela himself lost a son to Aids in January 2005. Royalty, former United States president Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, US actors Robert De Niro, Will Smith and Forest Whitaker, US television host Oprah Winfrey and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton are to attend events spread over three days leading up to the concert, organisers said. The benefit event also marks the 20th anniversary of the Free Mandela concert at London's Wembley Stadium in June 1988, which reached a worldwide television audience of 600-million. At the time, Mandela, who was born on July 18 1918, was about to turn 70 and had been in prison for 25 years. He was freed in 1990 and went on to become South Africa's first post-apartheid president. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who retired from frontline politics nine years ago, is expected to take to the stage on Friday. Precisely 46 664 tickets went on sale at £65 each.  CONTINUES BELOW Previous 46664 concerts have been held in Cape Town; George, South Africa; Madrid; and Norway. -- AFP TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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