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The British singer Mika, born in Lebanon, performed a virtual concert in which he sang from Tuscany (Italy) with the participation of celebrities from other countries, including Kylie Minogue, Salma Hayek and Fanny Ardan, in support of those affected for the horrific explosion in the port of Beirut last August.
A parallel online fundraiser has raised more than £ 187,000 (about $ 241,000), while ticket proceeds have yet to be announced.
The concert, entitled “I Love Beirut” (I Love Beirut), took place at the “Nicolini Theater”, lasted one hour and 40 minutes and was shown on Mika’s private YouTube channel.
“The theater may seem empty today, but in reality it is full, and there are thousands (of spectators) around the world … we have filled it with your gratitude,” the singer appeared with a limited number of musicians without an audience.
The singer, who was born in Beirut to a Lebanese mother and an American father, said: “When I wanted to do something for Beirut with the help of my team, I wanted it to be something beautiful and full of love for a city that I love so much and for a country that He has suffered so much pain, but he did not want to be alone. Mika fed her party with guests. They appeared in succession, each from their place in the world.
British Australian star Kylie Minogue performed a London song, Italian Laura Pausini sang from the archaeological site of the Colosseum in Rome, while France’s Luoan sang in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Paris.
As for the Canadian-American Rufus Wainwright, he appeared from Los Angeles, accompanied by two interpreters of oriental instruments from Beirut, in addition to solidarity interventions and visions from Mexico of the Mexican actress of Lebanese origin Salma Hayek and her compatriot Dana Paula, and from Paris by French actress Vanni Ardan.
From Beirut, the Lebanese poet and visual artist Etel Adnan, the Lebanese group “Mashrou ‘Leila” and the Italian group “Funk Off”, said at the end of a poem he read: “Beirut is our store … Beirut is our star “. As for Kylie Minogue, he sent “all love.” For everyone in Beirut “and Lebanon” wounded.
Salma Hayek read passages from Khalil Gibran’s writings in English, while Dana Paula confirmed that she participated in the “For Beirut” party, recalling that there are “many (Lebanese) living” in her country, Mexico, and Luan said she wanted to sing “for this beautiful city of Beirut.” “.
“It was a unique experience for all of us who believe in the power of music through charitable projects,” Laura Pausini said on Twitter after participating in the party.
The proceeds of the tickets for the concert will be entirely for “humanitarian aid to those affected” by the explosion in Beirut, and will be distributed by the Lebanese Red Cross and Save the Children in Lebanon.
On August 4, the blast killed more than 190 people, injured more than 6,500 and displaced some 300,000 Beirut residents, whose homes and institutions were damaged or destroyed.
The price of the ticket was set at ten dollars, euros, pounds sterling or ten thousand Lebanese pounds.
“It’s still too early to tell,” Mika tweeted, “but the stats and number of visits look absolutely wonderful … We’ll bring you more information.”
In conjunction with the party on the “Go Fund Me” website, a donation drive was organized for those affected, the total of which, as of Sunday morning, was about 187,000 pounds, based on the total donations received at the site.
Social media users interacted with the party, especially with the scenes of the Beirut explosion and the investigations and video testimonies of those affected by it. Many considered the party as “influential”, while one of them tweeted, “I look at her with tears in my eyes while the smile is on my face.”
Mika first sang in downtown Beirut in 2008 when organizing one of the Beiteddine International Festivals, then had two concerts in Baalbek in 2010 and 2016.
