Big guns out for Mandela 100
Oprah inspires as Naomi joins kids for early Xmas
American media mogul Oprah Winfrey put on a brave face as she made her first public appearance in Soweto, Johannesburg, yesterday after her mother Vernita Lee’s death last week.
Oprah joined former first lady Graça Machel and former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as they delivered an inspirational lecture at the Is’thunzi Sabafazi event hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Graça Machel Trust.
The 64-year-old is just one of the first big international stars to arrive in SA ahead of Sunday’s much-anticipated Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, at FNB Stadium.
The event is part of a global campaign to end poverty and will see performances by Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Usher and Pharrell Williams. A-listers such as Trevor Noah, Tyler Perry, Oprah, Bonang Matheba and Gayle King will host.
Local stars such as Basetsana and Romeo Kumalo, Carol Bouwer, Doreen Morris and Yvonne Chaka Chaka sat in front row as Winfrey delivered her lecture.
“This is my 36th time visiting South Africa and I keep coming back because I love this country and the people. I come here at least each year,” Winfrey opened her speech.
“I’m here to celebrate the birth of hope and freedom. The birth of Nelson Mandela. He was my favourite mentor.”
Winfrey is not the only big name that has already arrived in the country – supermodel Naomi Campbell made an appearance at Orlando Stadium for the Motsepe Foundation’s annual Christmas with Our People event.
In the spirit of Christmas, the initiative distributes toys to less fortunate children and it started small four years ago in GaRankuwa, north of Pretoria. Yesterday, with over 20 000 children, it marked its largest distribution.
It almost got chaotic as the children started shoving and pushing, but co-founder and businessman Patrice Motsepe unbuttoned his shirt and intervened to make sure that everything ran smoothly. Local celebrities such as Kwesta, AKA, Dr Malinga and DJ Tira were in attendance.
Campbell said: “I’m here because I’m a producer for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100. I have been coming to South Africa since 1993. This is a very important year since it is Madiba’s centenary.
“He wanted to eradicate poverty and this is our mission. We want people to arrive early on Sunday, at 11am; it will be broadcast all over the world. We want everybody to engage and celebrate with us.”
The Motsepe Foundation is the main sponsor for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100.
Co-founder Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe insisted Sunday was much more than watching Beyoncé performing live.
“This whole thing around the concert is to mobilise young people to do good. The artists themselves are engaged in a philanthropic act and they don’t charge to perform.
“My hope is that we will have fun on Sunday, we will see Beyoncé on stage, but beyond that we will try to alleviate hunger and poverty.”