Oprah, Cruise team up
2004-10-13 13:48
Oslo - American superstars Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey will host December's traditional Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, honouring the 2004 laureate, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, organisers said on Wednesday.
"They really wanted to do it, right from the start," concert organiser Odd Arvid Stroemstad said on Wednesday.
"They clearly know what the Nobel concert is, and what the Nobel Peace Prize is about."
As masters of ceremony for the December 11 concert in the capital, Oslo, Winfrey and Cruise will share the stage with plenty of high-profile entertainment.
Entertainers booked to play the show include British teen soul singer Joss Stone, opera vocalist Andrea Bocelli, jazz singer Diana Krall, pop singer Cyndi Lauper and Patti Labelle, along with several Norwegian artists.
Stroemstad said other celebrities are likely to be added to the roster before the final line-up is announced.
All those who perform do so for free, but organisers will cover their travel expenses, lodging and food.
The Nobel concert will be carried live in more than 100 countries, and traditionally draws some of the biggest names in show business. Last year, the event was hosted by Hollywood husband-and-wife Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The 64-year-old Maathai, Kenya's deputy environment minister, became the first African woman to win the coveted peace prize, which was announced on October 8.
She was honoured as founder of the Green Belt Movement, which has sought to empower women, improve the environment, including by planting 30 million trees, and fight corruption in Africa for almost 30 years.
Maathai will receive the 10 million Swedish kronor prize at a solemn December 10 ceremony in Oslo, followed by a torch-light parade and banquet in her honour, and, the next day, the Nobel concert.
On the net
www.nobelpeaceprize.org
- AP