Pharrell Williams, Andrea Bocelli at free Vatican concert
American songwriter Pharrell Williams and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will co-direct a free concert and light show for tens of thousands of people at the Vatican on Saturday.
'Grace for the World' will be held in St Peter's Square and feature US singer-songwriter John Legend, French-Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo and Thai rapper BamBam.
The show will also include an aerial and light show featuring around 3,500 drones.
Pope Leo XIV is a music lover -- he plays classical piano -- but will not attend the concert, according to his official schedule.
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The event marks the end of the third "World Meeting on Human Fraternity", a series of encounters launched after the 2020 publication of the "All Brothers" encyclical by the late Pope Francis.
"The world is marked by conflicts and divisions, and you are united in a strong and courageous 'no' to war and 'yes' to peace and fraternity," Leo XIV said in a speech to the meeting's participants Friday.
"I would like to thank the artists who, through their creativity, will spread this message to the whole world from Bernini's magnificent colonnade," he said in a reference to the 17th-century Italian architect and sculptor who designed the piazza's famous colonnades.
St Peter's Square can accommodate tens of thousands of people, and the event will be broadcast live on several American and Italian channels.
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"Together, let's reflect through music to spread the message of unity and grace for all humanity", Williams wrote on Instagram ahead of the concert.
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