Bob Marley, 60th Anniversary
Celebration
Music stars from around the world will converge in the Ethiopian
capital Addis Ababa next month to celebrate the 60th anniversary
of the birth of reggae icon Bob Marley, organizers said on Friday
reports Reuters.
Thousands of dreadlocked Rastafarians sporting trademark red,
green and yellow colors are expected to flock to Ethiopia to
remember Marley, who won global stardom by bringing reggae music
to the world stage before his death from cancer in 1981.
Organizers denied reports in some media outlets that there was
a plan to exhume Marley's remains in Jamaica and rebury them
in Ethiopia on the anniversary of the birthday. "There
is no plan to return the remains of Bob Marley to Ethiopia on
February 6. No body is being exhumed," Desta Meghoo-Peddie,
Managing Director of the Bob Marley Foundation, said in Addis
Ababa.
She said month-long cultural events will raise funds for charity
and promote the message of the triumph of the human spirit over
poverty and violence contained in Marley's songs. "The
Marley family is committed to progressing Bob's legacy as a
champion for human rights," Meghoo-Peddie said. "We
invite the world to celebrate with us in refueling the spirit
that will unify Africa, her sons and daughters in the diaspora
and work toward ending violence, poverty, injustice and discrimination,"
she said.
Jamaican-born Marley, who died aged 36, became a legend with
reggae anthems such as "Stir It Up" and "No Woman
No Cry," and is widely regarded as one of the world's most
influential musicians of the past 50 years. The world's most
famous Rastafarian, Marley popularized the sect that considers
Ethiopia its spiritual home and believes the country's late
Emperor Haile Selassie is a divine figure.
Stars including Danny Glover, India Arie, Angelique Kidjo, and
Shaggy will appear alongside members of Marley's family at events
to celebrate his birthday on February 6. Meskel Square, the
major parade ground in Addis Ababa, is undergoing a facelift
for the concert to mark the birthday, which is also expected
to draw stars such as Mali's Baaba Maal, Senegal's Youssou n'Dour
and Teddy Afro from Ethiopia. The celebration will also see
the launch of a book by Marley's wife Rita Marley entitled "My
life with Bob Marley."
The Rastafarian sect took its name from Ras Tafari, Haile Selassie's
name as a young prince before he was crowned in 1930. Legend
has it that Haile Selassie was Ethiopia's 225th monarch in an
unbroken line from Menelik I, the son of the Biblical King Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba who ruled some 3,000 years ago. Rastafarians
consider Haile Selassie, who was murdered in 1975, the son of
God and believe he did not die, although neither the former
emperor nor his family claimed to have any divine powers.
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