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AIDS Concert Set In Africa

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The fifth in a series of international concerts that Nelson Mandela has used to raise awareness about AIDS will be held Dec. 1 in Johannesburg.

'I am very delighted that we are engaging the youth in schools, communities and through the media breaking the silence and stigmas around HIV and AIDS and making them realize that the power to beat the pandemic lies in their own hands,' said Mandela, 89, wearing a sweat shirt emblazoned with 46664, the number apartheid prison authorities gave him and which he has used in his campaigning on social issues since.

'The 46664 campaign has done great work in putting the global spotlight on the issue of HIV and AIDS,' the former South African president said Monday at a news conference at his Johannesburg offices.

The concert, expected to attract 30 to 35 international and local artists and draw a crowd of more than 50,000 people, will be held to mark World Aids Day on Dec. 1. The lineup will be announced later this month.

An estimated 5.4 million South Africans are infected with AIDS, and about 900 people die each day.

The Associated Press

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