Singer Rita Ora is to perform at a Hampton Court Palace fundraising concert in aid of the Duke of Sussex’s Sentebale charity.
Harry will take to the stage to welcome Ora and Sentebale ambassador and spoken word performer George the Poet during the event on June 11, which is billed as a celebration of African and Western culture.
The concert will raise awareness and funds for Sentebale, the charity founded by the duke and Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso, to support children and young people living with HIV and Aids in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi – countries where the virus remains a leading cause of death.
His Royal Highness, The Duke of Sussex, will attend the Sentebale Audi Concert in the stunning grounds of Hampton Court Palace on Tuesday 11 June 2019! Come and join The Duke and some of the biggest global performers to help #Sentebale's work – here: https://t.co/SINQhcXfUi pic.twitter.com/PZRerJUqjx
— @Sentebale (@Sentebale) May 29, 2019
Richard Miller, Sentebale’s chief executive, said: “We’re delighted that Prince Seeiso and some of our advocacy champions will be joining some of the biggest global performers to help Sentebale deliver a sustainable, quality programme for children and young people affected by HIV, enabling them to lead healthy, happy and productive lives.”
Among the other acts performing will be INALA, a Zulu ballet created by award-winning choreographer Mark Baldwin and featuring the Soweto Gospel Choir, and Morena Leraba – a musician and shepherd from Lesotho who fuses traditional Famo music with western influences from rock to reggae.
The choir B Positive, who were Britain’s Got Talent finalists in 2018, will also entertain the audience of 3,000, as will Prince Seeiso and two of Sentebale’s Let Youth Lead advocates from Lesotho and Botswana, Rethabile Sereba and Sekgabo Seselamarumo.
The duke staged his annual fundraising polo match in aid of Sentable last week, and helped his side emphatically beat their opponents in Rome.
Harry and Seeiso said in their foreword to the official match programme: “There has been great progress made worldwide in combating the Aids epidemic but HIV remains one of the leading causes of death for adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Three out of four new HIV infections in 15 to 19-year-olds are among young women.
“Stigma is a major factor preventing young people knowing their HIV status and accessing life-saving treatment and care.
“Since 2006 we have been working hard to deliver programmes that help the most vulnerable children in Lesotho, Botswana and more recently Malawi get the support they need.”
The concert is open to the public, and tickets are available from major ticketing websites.