UN agency to stage Pavarotti memorial concert to raise funds for refugees

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it will hold a memorial concert and ceremony in honour of the late Italian tenor and United Nations Messenger of Peace Luciano Pavarotti to raise funds for UN projects supporting refugees in Afghanistan.

Major classical music and popular music stars are expected to perform at the concert, which will take place at Petra, the renowned World Heritage Site in Jordan, on 12 October – the birthday of Mr. Pavarotti, who died last year.

The funds raised will go to projects run jointly in Afghanistan by WFP and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to a press release issued today.

The line-up of artists, slated to be unveiled next month, are likely to include many musicians who joined Mr. Pavarotti in the frequent charity concerts he organized in his hometown of Modena.

Mr. Pavarotti’s widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, said the concert has been made possible by Princess Haya of Jordan, who is also a UN Messenger of Peace and a Goodwill Ambassador for the WFP.

“A concert in Petra was a dream once shared by the late King Hussein of Jordan [Princess Haya’s father] and Luciano,” Ms. Mantovani said.