Lloyd Webber & Co Join Concert for Diana Line-upDate: 28 June 2007
Andrew Lloyd Webber - accompanied by a host of stars, including his reality TV discoveries, Lee Mead and Connie Fisher – will present some of his musical theatre standards as part of this Sunday’s Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium.
The live tribute concert is being organised by Princes William and Harry to mark the tenth anniversary of their mother's death and takes place on the day that would have been her 46th birthday. One of the first events in the new Wembley Stadium, it will be broadcast live, from 3.30pm to 10.00pm, on both BBC One and BBC Radio Two, attracting an estimated audience of two billion worldwide.
Lloyd Webber’s specially devised segment is scheduled to begin at 6.45pm. In addition to The Sound of Music’s Fisher and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’s Mead, the composer will be joined by Anastacia, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, Jason Donovan, Josh Groban, Andrea Ross and Donny Osmond in performing his songs. The principal singers will be backed by a 24-strong choir from Chickenshed's Children's Theatre, of which Diana was a patron.
The concert will be the first public performance for Lee Mead since his triumph earlier this month on the BBC One competition Any Dream Will Do to win the title role in Lloyd Webber’s new production of Joseph (See News, 11 Jun 2007), which starts performances at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre on 6 July ahead of a 17 July opening night.
Lloyd Webber’s group represents the only musical theatre contribution to the Concert for Diana. Other artists confirmed to appear are: Bryan Ferry, Duran Duran, Elton John, The Feeling, James Morrison, Joss Stone, Kanye West, Lily Allen, Natasha Bedingfield, Nelly Furtado, Orson, P Diddy, Pharrell Williams, Rod Stewart, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp, Take That, Tom Jones, Status Quo, Will Young and the English National Ballet.
Proceeds from the Concert for Diana will go to charities supported by the late Princess, and to charities of which the Princes are patrons. For further information, visit the Concert for Diana website.
- by Terri Paddock
