46664 'a huge success'
2003-12-01 10:07
Cape Town - The attention of more than one billion people was fixed on the Mother City this weekend when the largest charity concert against Aids was held.
"A huge success," said Roddy Quin, organiser of the 46664 concert. "It exceeded all expectations."
Quin said the comprehensive coverage on international news channels proved how successful the concert was. "CNN didn't just have an insert, but the entire speech of former president Nelson Mandela was broadcast, followed by a clip of Aids in Africa."
Apart from the 40 000 people who attended the five-hour long concert, nearly one billion people followed it over the internet, television and radio.
The money raised by the 46664 campaign will go towards the Nelson Mandela foundation.
The highlight of the concert was when Mandela, clad in a black shirt with the number 46664 on it, walked onto the stage. He battled to start his speech, because the crowd kept on shouting his name.
He said that he was reduced to merely a number - 46664 - during the 18 years of his imprisonment on Robben Island. "The millions of people who live with HIV/Aids, face the same prospect unless we act."