News George Michael confirmed to perform at Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive's Black Ball

[George Michael]

George Michael is confirmed to perform at Keep a Child Alive’s Black Ball, London hosted by Alicia Keys and Mark Ronson on June 15th 2011 at The Roundhouse, London NW1. 

"I've been a fan of George Michael for as long I can remember. He is a legend and an inspiration. His work raising awareness and funds for those suffering with the HIV virus has spanned three decades. I'm honoured that George has lent his voice to our KCA cause and I'm so excited that he's singing for us at the Black Ball in London. It’s going to be an amazing night!" (Alicia Keys)

George Michael has been British pop royalty ever since he took the charts by storm with Wham! in 1982, and since then has gone on to establish himself as one of the world’s most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters. Michael’s outstanding artistry has spanned over 3 decades. During this time Michael has sold over 100 million record sales, received 45 award nominations and 17 Award wins (including 4 Grammy’s and 5 Ivor Novello awards); scored six no. 1 singles in the US, and eleven no. 1 singles in the UK; played at some of the most important concerts in history, (including Live Aid, the Nelson Mandela Freedom Concert and Live 8); and has been certified the Most Played Artist on British radio over the last 20 years. Hailed as everything from ‘The best vocalist this country has ever produced’ (The Sun) through to ‘King George’ (Mail On Sunday), George Michael is nothing short of a Legend.

Keep a Child Alive’s Black Ball is a spectacular fundraiser where celebrity and philanthropy walk hand in hand. The evening celebrates the work of Keep a Child Alive (KCA) while raising money to provide treatment, care, nutrition and a future to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

The Black Ball London 2011 will be held at the legendary venue, Roundhouse on June 15th. Alicia Keys will be joined by co-host and musical director Mark Ronson to present the evening’s programme which will also feature performances from Tinie Tempah and Paloma Faith. Guests of the Black Ball London will enjoy an intimate cocktail party, live auction (conducted by comedian Eddie Kadi and Christies’ Hugh Edmeades) and spectacular seated dinner with extraordinary performances by Alicia Keys and some of the world’s top recording artists. 

Keep a Child Alive UK launched the Black Ball London in July 2008. The intimate and exclusive gala featured incredible performances by Adele, Jennifer Hudson, Damian and Stephen Marley and Emmanuel Jal, and was highlighted by duets from Alicia Keys and Annie Lennox performing “Everybody Hurts" and "Sweet Dreams." Attendees were also privileged to hear the inspirational words of KCA President Leigh Blake, and co-hosts June Sarpong and Chiwetel Ejiofor. In 2010, Keep a Child Alive’s Black Ball London was co-hosted by Thandie Newton, and featured joint performances from Alicia Keys alongside Bryan Ferry and Kasabian.

To date Alicia Keys has shared the Black Ball stage in New York and London with Bono, Annie Lennox, Sade, David Bowie, Youssou N’Dour, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Chris Martin, Kathleen Battle, Usher and more to create some of music history’s most magical moments. Since the first Black Ball held in New York in 2004, these events held in London and New York have raised over $13 million to fund children and families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

Please help make a difference by joining us at The Black Ball London. For ticket/table information please log onto www.keepachildalive.org/the-black-ball.

NOTE TO EDITORS - ABOUT KEEP A CHILD ALIVE

Keep a Child Alive provides first class AIDS care, support, nutrition and love to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. There are currently 15 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone and 28 million people have died from HIV/AIDS worldwide. Anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment has transformed the lives of people with AIDS in the West, returning them to health from illness. However, millions of people with AIDS have no access to these lifesaving drugs. KCA funds more than just the pills necessary to fight HIV/AIDS by providing the necessary nutrition, shelter and support to ensure the treatment is taken properly and is effective. KCA currently provides funding to 9 clinical and orphan care sites in 5 countries: Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and India; with previous projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Zimbabwe and South Africa that have been successfully scaled to new levels of service and self-sustainability within their communities.


Keep a Child Alive is committed to engaging the global public in the fight against AIDS and is proud to be a pioneer in fundraising. KCA was the first charity to ask the public to donate directly to purchase AIDS treatment and the first to make a documentary, "Alicia in Africa" available for free download. Keep a Child Alive also pioneered text messaging as a means to donate using our innovative Text ALIVE campaign to inspire whole new audiences to support our work. Keep a Child Alive's latest campaign, BUY LIFE, uses the smart-phone applications to scan bar-code technology to donate directly to KCA. KCA is the first to use this bar-code technology for philanthropic purposes.

Since founded in 2003, Keep a Child Alive has raised (INSERT AMOUNT) in the UK to fund the sites we support. For more information on Keep a Child Alive, please log on to www.keepachildalive.org/uk or www.buylife.org.