London prepares to honour Nelson Mandela with birthday concert

London  - One of the biggest and most glamorous birthday parties ever held will take place in London Friday where stars are lining up to mark the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela.

Performers at the three-hour concert in Hyde Park Friday evening are to include troubled singer Amy Winehouse, Queen, Annie Lennox, Paul Rodgers and Leona Lewis.

They will play to a crowd of 46,664 people - the same figure as Mandela's prison number and the name of his AIDS charity.

Winehouse, 24, whose participation had been thrown into doubt after treatment for the lung disease emphysema, could be the highlight of the night.

She is expected to perform a version of the song Free Nelson Mandela, with its composer Jerry Dammers, which became the signature tune for the anti-apartheid movement in Britain.

Mandela, who has been in London all week meeting politicians, Queen Elizabeth II and celebrities, will turn 90 on July 18. (dpa)