Concert Marks Diana’s Birthday
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LONDON (AP) – Rockers and royals, including Rod Stewart, Elton John and William and Harry, second a third in line to the throne of England, were taking the stage at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday to remember Diana of Wales almost 10 years after her death in a Paris car crash.
The concert, organized by Diana’s sons, falls on what would have been her 46th birthday. Diana died Aug. 31, 1997, along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver when their Mercedes crashed inside the Pont d’Alma tunnel while media photographers pursued them.
The memorial concert features music from some of Diana’s favorite acts, including Tom Jones and 80s chart-toppers Duran Duran. Younger performers include Kanye West, P. Diddy, Joss Stone and Lily Allen.
William and Harry were scheduled to address the 65,000-strong crowd from the stage at some point during the show.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., William, 25, acknowledged being nervous.
“We’ll probably be gibbering wrecks by the end of it,” he said.
Security for the event was being reevaluated after the discovery of two unexploded car bombs in central London on Friday and an attack on Glasgow airport in Scotland on Saturday that involved a Jeep Cherokee in flames slamming into the main terminal.
Police said they believed Saturday’s attack was linked to the car bombs, and Britain raised its terror alert to “critical” – the highest possible level. At least 450 officers were to be on duty to police the Diana concert.
The show also includes a performance by the English National Ballet and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber in honor of Diana’s love of dance and theater.
Diana is remembered for her glamour, for her extensive charity work and for her tempestuous marriage to Charles, heir to the British throne. The pair married in 1981 in a ceremony watched by millions around the world, but divorced in 1996 after admissions of adultery on both sides.
William said the concert was a chance for people to “remember all the good things about her because she’s not here to defend herself when she gets criticized.”
“After 10 years, there’s been a rumbling of people bringing up the bad, and over time people seem to forget – or have forgotten – all the amazing things she did and what an amazing person she was,” William said in the interview, which was recorded earlier this month and broadcast Friday.
Tickets for the concert cost $90, with proceeds going to causes Diana supported, including land mine and AIDS charities.
Harry, 22, said the brothers had asked John to play “Candle in the Wind,” the song he played at Diana’s funeral in Westminster Abbey. Originally about Marilyn Monroe, its lyrics were reworked in tribute to Diana, and it became a worldwide No. 1 hit in 1997.
A memorial service is also planned in London on Aug. 31, the anniversary of Diana’s death.
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On the Net:
http://www.concertfordiana.com