Madiba leads 46664 Arctic

2005-05-03 11:07

Johannesburg - Former South African president Nelson Mandela will travel to Norway in June to lead the star line-up at an Aids charity concert, his foundation said.

The June 11 concert in Tromsoe dubbed "46664 Arctic" is to highlight Mandela's message that "Aids is a global issue", said the foundation in a statement.

The first 46664 concert, named after Mandela's prison number, was held in Cape Town in November 2003 and was followed by a second musical charity event at Fancourt.

Mandela, 86, is to address concert goers "with a message specifically aimed at the leaders of the G8 summit which will be held under the leadership of Britain's prime minister three weeks later in Scotland telling them that far more needs to be done to fight HIV/Aids in sub-Saharan Africa", said the foundation.

Mandela, who lost a son to Aids in January, has repeatedly called for more action to fight the pandemic affecting 25 million Africans, nearly two-thirds of the world's Aids sufferers.

Mandela's '46664 ambassadors' Bill Clinton, Bono and Will Smith are to be on hand to issue calls for more to be done to address infant mortality and the impact of HIV/Aids on children.

- AFP