Beyonce and Madonna to perform for Haiti fund

NEW YORK: Beyonce and Madonna have been added as performers to Friday’s multi-network “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, and Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and former President Bill Clinton are among the participants. A statement released Thursday said Beyonce would perform from London, and Madonna from New York City.

The list of musical performers already includes such heavyweights as Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Keith Urban.An estimated 200,000 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck Haiti last week, devastating the nation The two-hour telethon will be shown on all the major networks and a host of other channels. It will be broadcast from New York, London, Los Angeles and Haiti.

People can begin donating even before the start of the 8pm EST concert via phone and text. Viewers can also download musical performances from the show via iTunes for 99 cents. Those profits will also be donated to Haiti relief. Also Thursday, DiCaprio announced he was donating US$1mi to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, the relief effort led by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and one of the organisations benefiting from the telethon.-- AP