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Musical extravaganza for FIFA World Cup 2010 - Beyoncé, Yolanda Soares, Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Pea
Added: (Fri Oct 16 2009)
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, chose the Emmy-award winning producer of the Live 8 concerts to stage a show with international recording artists, musicians and football legends ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke said, “This is the first time that the FIFA World Cup will be played in Africa and what better way to celebrate such a momentous occasion than with a festival of live music from Africa and beyond. This kick-off celebration will be one of the greatest events of its kind in Africa and a must-see for football and music fans around the world.”
The FIFA World Cup football tournament is the world’s most watched sporting event, and is staged every four years. This is the first time the FIFA World Cup is being held on the African continent, with 32 national teams from all over the world playing matches in ten South African stadiums in the hope of being crowned World Champions. The last FIFA World Cup in Germany attracted a global cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion (24.2 billion in-home and 2.1 billion out-of-home viewers).
The three-hour live concert at the newly rebuilt Orlando Stadium in Soweto will take place the day before the World Cup on June 11, Live 8 producer Kevin Wall said in an interview in Cannes last night. His company, Beverly Hills, California-based Control Room, will fund the event privately through sponsorships and broadcast rights, he said.
The World Cup, held every four years, is the world’s most - watched sporting event and the last tournament in Germany attracted 5 billion viewers and an average 93 million viewers per match, according to Control Room. Proceeds from the concert will go to FIFA’s “20 Centres for 2010” campaign, which is seeking to raise $10 million to build 20 community centres with football pitches across Africa.
“Going into Africa during the World Cup will present a huge amount of logistics, like figuring out local transport, flights, hotels - all the stuff that a year ago people already reserved,” Wall said. “Still, how often do you get to work on an Olympics or a World Cup?”
No sponsors have yet been named though Wall said he’s in serious talks with three of FIFA’s 12 global sponsors and expects a decision on them and on who will hold broadcast rights by year’s end. He declined to say how much the event will cost.
Though much larger, Live Earth’s budget in 2007 was about $25 million, he said.
Wall won an Emmy in 2006 for the Live 8 concerts, which put pressure on governments to ease African debt. He also produced the series of Live Earth global concerts in 2007, as well as Al Gore’s 2007 Inaugural Green Ball, Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now and shows for artists including Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and Prince.
Control Room will hire between 2,000 and 4,000 people to help coordinate the South African show next year, which Wall called among the Top 3 of all productions he’s worked on.
“Because this is the biggest sporting event, it’s a massive thing to pull off in terms of tying to merge music and sport in Africa together.”
Tickets are expected to go on sale in January, Wall said.
The concert, due to be unveiled today at the Mipcom TV market in Cannes, will take place at the newly renovated Orlando Stadium in Soweto and feature collaborations between "major international superstars" and popular African artists, as well as appearances from "past and present football legends".
Beyoncé (www.beyonceonline.com) ,
Yolanda Soares (www.yolandasoares.com),
Jay-Z (www.jayzonline.com)
and the Black Eyed Peas (www.blackeyedpeas.com) are among those who could be approached.
All net proceeds from the concert will be donated to "20 Centres for 2010", the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ which aims to build 20 centres across Africa offering education and healthcare services as well as football training to disadvantaged communities.