Friday 21 September 2001

Stars converge for benefit TV special Friday

Stars from every corner of the entertainment world - including U2, Julia Roberts, Will Smith and Mariah Carey - were slated to appear on Friday night in a two-hour benefit for victims of last week's plane attacks. The benefit, dubbed "America: A Tribute To Heroes", was to take place at two undisclosed venues in New York and Los Angeles and televised on 31 U.S. broadcast and cable networks and beamed to 156 countries around the world.

Full-page ads appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times to promote the event, which occurs against the backdrop of millions of dollars of corporate donations for relief efforts in the wake of the deadly attacks on New York and Washington that left 6,800 missing or dead.

Musical superstars Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Limp Bizkit and Sting were the latest guests to sign on to perform on the program. The show was scheduled to air at 9 p.m. EDT Friday on all six broadcast networks, plus another 25 cable channels including HBO, MTV, Showtime, USA Networks, with more expected to join.

Organizers of the event launched a Web site, that will accept donations for the effort and remain active after the broadcast with donation and volunteer information. Asked what kind of security measures would be in place given the high-profile guests, a source familiar with the matter said, "It's safe to assume that security issues have been addressed."

Other musical guests include rock acts Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Neil Young; rhythm & blues and rap acts Stevie Wonder and Wyclef Jean and country stars Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill and Willie Nelson. Television and film celebrities included Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart and Kelsey Grammer. The show was also be simulcast on over 8,000 radio stations around the country.

Separately, former Beatle Paul McCartney said on Friday he was planning a concert to benefit New York firefighters, many of whom died in the rescue efforts that followed the attacks on the World Trade Center.

(Reuters)



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