SOUTH AFRICA: Academy award winner Forest Whitaker kicks off his two-week-long tour of South Africa

Record ID: 454590

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Academy award winner Forest Whitaker kicks off his two-week-long tour of South Africa
  • Date: 26th April 2007
  • Summary: PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES AND CULTURAL MUSICAL PERFORMANCE, DRUMMING
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA2IBKUG2MTEWCE6T10G5NDCAJ6
  • Story Text: First the red carpet, then the statuette, now South Africa. Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker arrived at Johannesburg earlier on Thursday (April 19), accompanied by his family.
    Whitaker will be on a 'goodwill tour' lasting two weeks. The 45-year-old film star, who was honoured with an Oscar for "Best Actor" at the 79th annual Academy Awards in February, is touring the country as the guest of South African Tourism and South African Airways.
    Whitaker will be joining in the nationwide celebration of Freedom Day, commemorating South Africa's first post-apartheid, democratic elections in 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected President.
    "Very excited about the Freedom Day celebrations in Durban as well…so It's going to be a great time for us," said Whitaker shortly after his arrival.
    "It's exciting, I can't wait to see the city, I saw it from the air, it's beautiful, and I have heard so many things about this place, so I'm really looking forward to it, we are going to spend a little of time here, so it's going to be a beautiful moment for my entire family," he added.
    Whitaker is scheduled to visit Durban and Cape Town, were he's expected to tour Robben Island.
    During their stay, they will interact with local people, enjoying the wide range of South African cuisine. They are expected to return to the U.S. on April 30.
    The actor also received the 2,335th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California on Monday (April 16) outside the building where he picked up his Oscar earlier in the year.
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