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LONDON - An international lineup of pop stars paid tribute to Princess Diana on Sunday at a marathon memorial concert watched by her sons William and Harry and a crowd of 60,000 at London's Wembley Stadium.
Elton John, friend of the princess who sang at her funeral, opened
with Your Song in front of giant photographs of Diana taken by Mario Testino that were beamed on to the stage backdrop, and closed proceedings more than six hours later.
In between came Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, The Feeling, Fergie, Kanye West, Sean "Diddy" Combs with I'll Be Missing You, Orson, Lily Allen, crowd pleasers Take That, Pharrell Williams and Diana favourite The English National Ballet.
Sunday would have been Diana's 46th birthday.
Her death in a car crash in Paris in 1997 provoked an unprecedented outpouring of grief from the normally reserved British, reflecting their love of the royal dubbed the "queen of hearts" who was one of the world's most photographed women.
Welsh crooner Tom Jones showed he could still rock at 67, getting the crowd, and the princes, to their feet with Kiss, and Rod Stewart, at 62, had the audience waving and singing along to Sailing.
The princes, who danced and joined a Mexican wave during the concert, organised the event to mark the 10th anniversary of their mother's death and celebrate her charity work, which they felt had been forgotten amid negative press.
"For us this has been the most perfect way of remembering her and this is how she would want to be remembered," William, 25, said at the end of the gig, to loud applause.
Fans at the newly refurbished Wembley stadium, touched by sunshine after days of rain, shared memories of the princess.
"I camped out in London for her funeral, so I really wanted to be here today. She was a caring person who always thought of others," said Julie Rocks.
Actor Kiefer Sutherland, one of several celebrity presenters along with Dennis Hopper, and sports heros John McEnroe and David Beckham, called Diana a "great icon of giving".
Harry, 22, mentioned his fellow soldiers serving in Iraq. The third in line to the throne had been due to be deployed in Basra this year, but military commanders decided against sending him there, deeming it too dangerous.
"I wish I was there with you. I'm sorry I can't be ... stay safe," he said.
Security at the concert was heightened after two car bombs were found on Friday in central London and two men rammed a four-wheel-drive vehicle into Glasgow airport on Saturday.
The event also faced competition in a packed pop calendar with fans still scraping mud off after the rain-sodden Glastonbury Festival and Al Gore staging "Live Earth" concerts on July 7 around the world to highlight the climate crisis.
The show, interspersed with video clips from charities Diana supported and footage of her as a child, was broadcast to around 140 countries with a potential audience of 500 million people.
William's ex-girlfriend Kate Middleton was in the audience, amid speculation the couple may have resumed their relationship.
Harry was joined by girlfriend Chelsy Davy, and also in the crowd was Diana's brother Charles Spencer, who gave the oration at her funeral which included a bitter tirade against the media.
- REUTERS
