UNITED KINGDOM: Security tight at London's Wembley Stadium ahead of Concert for Diana, concert-goers not scared of attacks

Record ID: 1534457

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Security tight at London's Wembley Stadium ahead of Concert for Diana, concert-goers not scared of attacks
  • Date: 4th July 2007
  • Summary: WOMAN BUYING DIANA CONCERT PROGRAM MERCHANDISE STAND
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2007 11:07
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVACDNL2LWBVTURJQK9PZLIRQRW6
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Security measures were increased at London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday (July 1) ahead of the Concert for Diana, following Friday's (June 29) thwarted car bombs in the capital and Saturday's (June 30) incident at Glasgow airport.
    Police could be seen patrolling around the Stadium, carrying out security checks on cars and concert-goers.
    However, while police presence was notable, most concert-goers said they felt it was safe to be attending the event.
    "I'm not worried about it in the least. I believe a heightened sense of security will deter any terrorist activity. So I feel pretty safe," said Chris from Canada.
    His girlfriend Deborah said she had not considered staying home after the incidents. Another concert goer who attended the event with her son said: "I've tried not to think about it. I've lived in London I'm now living abroad at the moment but I've lived in London for many years so I'm not gonna let it get me down. You've got to carry on as normal."
    The charity concert has been organised by her sons, Princes William and Harry, who hope the event will quell her critics and celebrate her humanitarian achievements.
    On what would have been Diana's 46th birthday, Princes William and Harry have lined up a string of pop veterans from Rod Stewart to Duran Duran for a six-hour show being broadcast to 145 countries.
    The princes have asked Elton John to reprise "Candle in the Wind" which he sang at Diana's funeral in 1997. He vowed then never to play it again but Prince Harry said the princes had put in a personal request for the song.
    Diana's death in a Paris car crash years 10 years ago provoked an unprecedented outpouring of grief from the normally reserved British and some commentators fear the concert could strike a mawkish note.
    "There might even be a danger of the whole event descending into a cringingly sentimental affair," The Daily Telegraph said of preparations for the music and dance extravaganza at London's refurbished Wembley Stadium.
    Prince William is sharply aware of the mixed press his mother has received over the past decade as a glamorous humanitarian who bemoaned the media for hounding her but cultivated them to burnish her image.
    The Diana concert faces stiff competition in a packed pop calendar with fans still scraping the mud off after the rain-sodden Glastonbury Festival and Al Gore staging "Live Earth" concerts next week around the world to highlight the climate crisis.
    British singers Bryan Ferry and Joss Stone along with U.S. rappers Pharrell Williams and Kanye West are to join the line-up while composer Andrew Lloyd Webber will stage a medley of songs from his musicals and the English National Ballet will perform.
    Other young royals are due to attend the concert along with William and Harry but their father, Prince Charles, who divorced Diana in 1996, is not scheduled to appear.
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