Friday 27 June 2008

As the 46,664 (Nelson Mandela's prison number, and the name of his AIDS charity) fans poured into Hyde Park on Friday evening, there was a definite feeling of anticipation and celebration. South African flags were proudly waving above the crowd, and on the large screens either side of the stage, text messages wishing the great man a Happy 90th Birthday scrolled past continuously. The rain, too, had thankfully held off.

At half past six, the concert kicked off. 70-year-old Armenian musician Jivan Gasparyan began the proceedings with an acoustic performance, whilst images of Nelson Mandela throughout the years flashed up on the screen. As his set came to an end, it was time for the party to really get started. The crowd burst into ecstatic applause as Hollywood royalty, Will Smith and his wife Jada, took to the stage. Will, as ever, knew exactly how to whip the crowd into a frenzy and was loving every minute of it. After a short introductory speech, Will and Jada welcomed Razorlight on stage, who kept the mood high with their hit Somewhere Else. It set the tone for what is to be an epic concert.

Razorlight were followed by the cast of West End musical Into The Hoodz, who performed a massively impressive dance number on the extended stage and had everyone mesmerized by their moves. It's a great opener for the first African act of the evening Sipho, backed by the colourful and brilliant Soweto Gospel Choir, who came to be quite a fixture over the night. It may not be familiar, but it's certainly catchy, and the audience jig about to the music in merry appreciation. This comes to be quite a theme for the concert as a whole. Although the British artists all put in great performances, the African artists, like Bebe Cool and Emmanual Jal, were consistently the ones who had the audience enraptured, and made the show something really quite special. But still, honourable mention has to go to Leona Lewis, who belted out her hit Bleeding Love, and the fantastic Simple Minds, who performed in 1988 at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday concert, and brought back memories with their song Mandela Day, as well as throwing in a good dose of nostalgia with Don't You Forget About Me, which had the crowd la-la-ing along.

There was one performance, however, which stood out for creating more of a joyous atmosphere than any other - Eddy Grant performing the fantastic Hope, Joanna. The words came up on the screen so everyone could sing along, and sing along they did. And dance. And clap. The atmosphere was electric, and this kind of performance is something that artists like the Sugababes (as great as they are) could never hope to achieve, and it really summed up the feeling of the night. The only moment that came a close second was when Will Smith, eager for a taste of the atmosphere, decided to perform his hit Switch, and, much to the delight of the 80s generation (myself included!), the theme to his TV show Fresh Prince Of Bel Air.


When Nelson Mandela himself took to the stage, it was nothing short of incredible. Will Smith led the crowd in a rendition of Happy Birthday, and when Mr Mandela began to speak, a reverent silence fell over the crowd that only broke when he urged us all to remember that it's in our hands. Everybody seemed to have that proud feeling that you would be able to say I was there.

The concert came to a triumphant end with Queen and Paul Rodgers belting out hits like We Will Rock You (which had everybody's hands in the air) and The Show Must Go On, leaving the crowd baying for more. Every single artist then filed onto the stage to perform Free Nelson Mandela, with the rather surprising choice of Amy Winehouse (after a slightly wobbly but generally impressive earlier performance) as the lead singer. After four hours of fantastic music, emotional speeches and amazing performances, everybody seemed sad to leave, but did so in high spirits, having enjoyed this exceptionally memorable celebration of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.

By Liz East - June 2008

For more information about the concert and broadcast dates Click here