Share

A-listers party at Madiba festival launch

Johannesburg - Following our news last Sunday that Beyoncé was finally going to make her way to our shores, international advocacy organisation Global Citizen announced on Monday that Beyoncé and Jay-Z would headline their South African Global Citizen Festival.

The free event will be the first festival the organisation brings to Africa and will be held at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on 2 December.

Also on the line-up are Cassper Nyovest, D’banj, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Femi Kuti, Pharrell Williams and Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage, Usher, and Wizkid.

A series of global events will be held to honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela in what would have been his centenary year. The December event will be the highlight of Global Citizen’s Mandela 100 campaign in partnership with the House of Mandela.

TV mogul Oprah Winfrey will deliver a special keynote address remembering Nelson Mandela and his legacy.

On Monday evening, after the morning’s announcement of the line-up, Global Citizen and its main partner, the Motsepe Foundation, held a launch party at Circa Gallery in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

The crowd included Mzansi A-listers Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who shared fond stories of Nelson Mandela, and Bonang Matheba, who was announced as one of the hosts of the festival alongside Sir Bob Geldof, Gayle King, Tyler Perry and Forest Whitaker.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell arrived fashionably late. And by that I mean 20 minutes before the event ended. I guess I’d do the same, because the growing line of people waiting to take selfies with her made it impossible for her to just stand there to be stared at. That’s genuinely all I wanted to do. She’s astoundingly beautiful.

Executive producers of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 include Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Patrice Motsepe, Kweku Mandela, Dave Holmes, Declan Kelly, Liza Henshaw and Global Citizen co-founder and chief executive Hugh Evans.

Speakers at the launch included Matheba, who was in high spirits about what could be her biggest hosting gig to date; bubbly Nomzamo Mbatha; Moloi-Motsepe; Ndaba Mandela, who introduced Energy Minister Jeff Radebe as minister in the presidency and then tried to fix it by saying Radebe has held many portfolios (no lie there); and Evans.

The best part of it all was Madjozi’s performance. Man, if there’s any other reason to work for those tickets besides the Carters, then Madjozi is it. I haven’t been this excited about an artist in a very long time.

Evans said: “Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest examples of resistance, patience and forgiveness that our world will ever know. It is our great honour to campaign in his name and answer his call to be the generation to end extreme poverty.”

Activists and music fans can begin to earn their free tickets from 21 August. Start off by signing up now on globalcitizen.org.za.

READ MORE: How to sign up for Global Citizen Festival tickets in 5 easy steps

Remember that the work you do over the next couple of months earns you points, which qualifies you for the draw to possibly receive two tickets.

Good luck!

(Photos: Supplied/City Press)

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE