Nelson Mandela will be honoured with a massive charity concert next month in London's Hyde Park to mark his 90th birthday.
The former South African president will make a rare public appearance for the event, which will see some of the biggest names in music perform alongside leading political and arts figures.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former US President Bill Clinton, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and British F1 hotshot Lewis Hamilton are all expected to appear, alongside bands including Razorlight, Queen, Dame Shirley Bassey, the Sugababes, Jamelia and members of the Corrs for the June 27 show.
All proceeds raised will go to Mr Mandela's 46664 campaign - which takes its name from his former prison tag number which held on Robben Island, and was established to raise awareness about Aids across Africa.
Subsequently, organisers are releasing a total of 46,664 tickets, which will go on sale this Friday, May 9.
Writing on his 46664 website, Mandela said of the event, "You all know that I am supposed to be retired but when you retire it means that you can have time for birthdays. My friends and the charitable organisations that bear my name want to use my 90th birthday year to raise funds to continue our work and so of course I want to help them.
"London wants to celebrate my birthday and I said I would go if they would raise funds for our charities.
"So, we have a bargain - I am going to London and they there will host a concert in Hyde Park, which will raise awareness of our continuing work and much needed funds."
