Had she lived, Diana Princess of Wales would be turning 46 on July 1st. A worldwide charity fundraiser is planned for the day, with her sons honoring her memory at a star-studded concert at London's Wembley Stadium.
Here in the US, VH1 will join Princes William and Harry in commemorating the life of their mother with the
"Concert for Diana," broadcast live at 11:00 am ET/8:00 am PT. The event will be carried across a variety of VH1 platforms. The 6-hour concert will be broadcast live in its entirety on VH1, be streamed live on VH1.com and be simulcast on MHD: Music High-Definition, MTV Network's high-definition music channel. The concert will also air on VH1 Classic starting one hour after the live concert ends. In addition to the live online stream, the concert will be available for on-demand viewing at VH1.com following the event.
Elton John, Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, Lily Allen, Kanye West, Rod Stewart, Natasha Bedingfield, The Feeling, James Morrison, Orson and Status Quo, The English National Ballet, Joss Stone and Andrew Lloyd Webber are among the artists who have been personally invited by Prince William and Prince Harry to perform at the concert. Nelly Furtado, P. Diddy, Tom Jones, Take That, Will Young and the legendary voice of Supertramp Roger Hodgson have just been added to the growing line-up. VH1's Aamer Haleem will bring the day's performers to viewers from behind the scenes along with a special guest host.
"Though we both (Harry and I) wanted to put our stamp on this concert, we also wanted it to represent exactly what our mother would have wanted. We want to have a big concert full of energy, full of the sort of fun and happiness she enjoyed. And on her birthday as well, it's got to be the best birthday present she ever had," said Prince William.
Proceeds from this international music and entertainment event will go to a number of charities that were supported by The Princess during her life, and two of the Prince's own charities – Centerpoint and Sentebale. Diana's charities, which will benefit from the concert, are part of The Diana Memorial Fund, which was set up in her memory and five charities of which she was patron at the time of her death — The Royal Marsden Hospital, The National Aids Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Leprosy Mission, and The English National Ballet.
