Africa Rising Festival, Royal Albert Hall, London

On paper, ThisDay's Africa Rising Festival looks like a crafty PR exercise in convincing the world that the problems of Africa aren't that bad. Fair enough, you might say. Many continents have experienced their share of crisis, but Africa is rarely given the chance to prove it can fend for itself. So here's ThisDay to the rescue – a Nigerian publishing group led by media mogul Nduka Obaigbena who's been putting on this glossy appeal to help his brand since 2006.

The London event is the last in a tour of international gigs that have called on the power of black stars including Jay-Z, Mary J Blige and models Alek Wek and Tyson Beckford to honour Africa but also find "sustainable solutions" to its deep-rooted issues. What that means is anyone's guess. You'd expect plans for affirmative action in more conservative settings, rather than with designers and musicians flaunting their wares to inspire power to the people. And it's not as if collection buckets are being passed around, either.

Yet Colin Powell is here, and as a military man who's become more respectable since calling it quits on Dubya in 2004, he represents the event's main source of social empathy, rallying the audience to stand up for the continent. "As we look at the world now, it is Africa's turn!" shouts the former US Secretary of State to rapturous applause. He later proves he's down with the cause by joining the zealous Nigerian rapper Olu Maintain for a spot of "yahoozing" – a hip-hop dance as ridiculous as the Rolex Sweep. Go Powell.

It's all like a kitsch awards show, but without the gongs. ThisDay campaigner Naomi Campbell is absent and, while Beckford and Wek make up the celebrity model count, other stars on the bill struggle to live up to this grand finale. Asa, a lovely Nigerian folk songstress, is too obscure to be fully appreciated, and she's lumbered with kicking off the proceedings to a half-empty hall.

Nigerian ragga star 2Face Idibia is just generic; Seal is incredibly fervent, but doesn't stay around long enough to help Youssou N'Dour maintain the momentum, and before long the Senegalese legend's set also starts to drag. Then there's Christina Aguilera, the show's bizarre pick of headliner who only mentions Africa twice.

Catwalk displays between the music are classy thanks to the likes of Deola Sagoe, Chris Aire and Ozwald Boateng, but by the time the audience file out as Aguilera wraps up with "Stronger", it's obvious Africa Rising has failed to drive its point home. Where's Bono when you need him?