Let's do it: Cole Porter concert to aid Darfur

The songs of Cole Porter will be featured by leading artists at a concert in London's Royal Albert Hall to raise funds for victims of the conflict in the Sudanese province of Darfur.

Mick Hucknall, David Gray, Chrissie Hynde, Alison Moyet, Ruthie Henshall and Mario Frangoulis - who sang at the opening of the Athens Olympics - will be among those appearing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Larry Hollingworth, of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in London, pleaded yesterday for public support for the concert on 8 December. "This can be a life-changing event for the displaced people in Darfur," he said. "If we can fill the 5,000 seats, it will not influence the lives of 5,000 people but 1.5 million people."