American pop star, Jay Z, and British supermodel, Naomi Campbell, will spend a day with the underprivileged children in Abuja, as the build-up to the 2008 edition of THISDAY Music and Fashion Festival continues.The stars are showing their commitment to the African child by devoting time to the children with disabilities and those who are motherless.
The stars, who will be on parade at the first leg of the festival on Friday, July 11, in Abuja, are also scheduled to participate in the launch of the initiative to plant one million trees in the Federal Capital Territory by the Minister of FCT, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, who wants to turn the Abuja city “green”.The minister will launch the tree-planting programme in an effort to combat climate change as the country seeks to become the haven of foreign investments on the continent.In addition to Jay Z and Campbell, other stars who will join him in the environmental campaign are Usher, Yossou N’Dour and Rihana, with Faze and MI providing the home touch as Nigerians.Fashion icons, Ozwald Boateng, Tiffany Amber, Alek Wek, Chris Aire, Momo and Oluchi will also plant trees.
Tickets for four-legged THISDAY “Africa Rising” Music and Fashion Festival are already on sale at all branches of Diamond Bank Plc and THISDAY Media Stores, while worldwide ticket sales are at Guaranty Trust Bank, London.After the first leg on Friday, July 11, in Abuja, Lagos will host the second leg on Sunday, July 13. Washington DC, USA and London, UK, will host the remaining legs on August 1 and October 14 respectively.
In line with the theme of “Africa Rising: To Celebrate the Best and Brightest of Emerging New Africa”, the festival will feature rising stars such as Faze, MI, Shank and 9ice in the Abuja and Lagos legs of the festival. Blackky, the reggae-ragga star of the “Rosie” fame, is also on the bill.
The show offers the emerging music and fashion stars an opportunity to expose themselves to the world as the festival plans to showcase their talents on the international stage.
This year’s festival is designed to revolutionise global perspectives on African issues, shifting focus from the problems to the opportunities, and from treating the “symptoms” to curing the “diseases” and projecting a positive image of Africa by showcasing the renaissance of Africa's music, fashion and the arts.Already confirmed for the Washington and London legs of the show on August 1 and October 14, respectively, are Asa, 2Face and DBanj who will be flying Nigeria’s flag abroad.
