46664 was a series of AIDS benefit concerts played in honour of Nelson Mandela by South African and foreign musicians between 2003 and 2008.
Origin
The second time that Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island was in 1964, and he was the 466th prisoner that year.[1] His prison number remained 466/64 until 1982, when he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison and given the prison number 220/82.[2] "Prisoner 46664" continues to be used as a reverential title for him. Shortly before Joe Strummer's death, he and U2's Bono co-wrote the song "46664" for Mandela as part of the campaign against AIDS in Africa.
46664 concerts
Cape Town, South Africa
On 29 November 2003, an event called the 46664 Concert was held at Green Point Stadium, Cape Town. It was hosted by Mandela and its goal was to raise awareness of the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The following artists performed:
The first 46664 event to be staged in Europe took place from 29 April 2005 through to 1 May 2005 in Madrid, Spain. The concerts named "46664 Festival Madrid" focused on Spanish-speaking artists, as shown in the following list:
A surprise guest, expected to be the Spice Girls, had been promised, but the girl group did not perform. Dame Shirley Bassey had been confirmed as a guest, but did not appear on advice from her doctors, following recent stomach surgery.
