Haiti relief concert and telethon set for Friday
After a devastating earthquake ravished the island nation of Haiti last week, the music world is coming together on Friday for a massive global telethon to raise fund’s for the victims of the natural disaster.
Dubbed “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” the fundraiser will take place Friday and comprise events in New York City, Los Angeles, London and Haiti. Haiti native Wyclef Jean will host the New York City proceedings, while actor George Clooney will do the same in Los Angeles and CNN’s Anderson Cooper will report from Haiti.
Viacom’s MTV Networks will produce the two-hour broadcast, which will be the most widely distributed telethon in history, both internationally and across media platforms. “Hope for Haiti Now” will air live and commercial free at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, COMEDY CENTRAL, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV.
In New York, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Sting and Jean will all perform. Taylor Swift, Timberlake, Dave Matthews, John Legend, and Stevie Wonder will all perform in Los Angeles, where Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow are also plan to collaborate. Jay-Z and Rihanna have planned a special joint performance with U2’s Bono and The Edge in London, where Coldplay will also perform from.
Proceeds from the telethon will be split evenly among seven relief organizations currently operating in Haiti: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, United Nations World Food Programme and yele Haiti Foundation. Fans will also be to purchase the night’s performances for 99 cents each through iTunes starting Saturday.
