Johannesburg - New York will take world centre-stage on 18 July, Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday, when the city hosts the inaugural "Mandela Day".
Centred on a massive musical concert, the event is designed as a call for people everywhere to honour Mandela's inspiration by observing the day, not as a holiday, but as a day to opt in, reports SouthAfrica.info.
The concert, taking place at New York's Radio City Music Hall, boasts a range of artists from all over the world, including Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean, Aretha Franklin, Loyiso, Will.I.Am, Jesse McCartney, Cyndi Lauper, Zucchero, Josh Groban, Baaba Maal, Angelique Kidjo and the Soweto Gospel Choir.
The Mandela-inspired campaign to combat Aids internationally, 46664, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and webcasting partner Livestream have launched Mandela Day TV, a free and pay-per-view webcast that will enable people around the world to take part in the concert.
The live streaming capabilities will enable users to vote, interact and post audio-videos blogs, effectively becoming broadcasters of the concert, while recording their activities supporting Mandela Day.
The free webcast will be available at www.livestream.com/mandeladaytv, while users who visit www.mandeladay.com will be able to watch the concert in high resolution full-screen through a pay per view option which will cost about $4.99.
All the net proceeds from the pay-per-view experience will benefit 46664 and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Additional performers at the Mandela Day concert will include Queen Latifah, Dave Stewart, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Chris Chameleon, Freshlyground, Emmanuel Jal, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, Vusi Mahlasela, Thandiswa Mazwai, Suzanna Owiyo and many more.
Whoopi Goldberg will serve as master of ceremony for the event, with invited guests including French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, as well as Hollywood celebrities and 46664 supporters Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Forest Whitaker and Susan Sarandon.
The concert will be the culmination of a week-long series of events in New York City in celebration of the first Mandela Day.
These will include a Ralph Applebaum exhibition of Mandela's life and the work of his many 46664 ambassadors, and a gala fundraising dinner, both at Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall.
The celebration of Mandela Day aims to serve as a global call to action for people to "recognise their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better", the Nelson Mandela Foundation said at the launch of the campaign in April.
"Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years, beginning in 1942 when he first started to campaign for the human rights of every South African. His life has been an inspiration to the world."
Now, the Mandela Day campaign is calling on people around the world to commit 67 minutes of their time "to make an imprint and help change the world around them."
