NELSON MANDELA - STARS COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE MANDELA'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

STARS COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE MANDELA'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

Tens of thousands of people thronged to London's Hyde Park yesterday to see their favourite stars celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.

The former South African president, who spent 27 years in prison for campaigning against apartheid, also appeared on stage during the star-studded concert which was held twenty years after the Free Nelson Mandela concert at Wembley in 1988.

Singers including Leona Lewis, Amy Winehouse, Queen, Amy Winehouse and Annie Lennox performed on the night which sought to raise funds for Mr Mandela's HIV/Aids charity, 46664.

Speaking at the event, the retired South African leader called for further efforts to ensure freedom around the world and to battle poverty and disease.

He said: "Many years ago there was a historic concert which called for our freedom. Your voices carried across the water and inspired us in our prison cells far away. Tonight we can stand before you, free."

He added: "But even as we celebrate, let us remind ourselves that our work is far from complete. Where there is poverty and sickness including Aids, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all."

Mr Mandela called for people to support his charity, which is named after his prison number, and to take up the fight for his causes.

Stars continued to pay tribute to Mr Mandela throughout the event and remembered how he had influenced their lives. The night came to a close with the song Free Nelson Mandela, which was a popular song in the movement to abolish apartheid in South Africa.