More than 1 200 000 PCs were connected to the live Internet broadcast of the 46664 - "Give one minute of your life to stop AIDS" concert on 29 November in Cape Town. The event was broadcast around the world over the Internet thanks to a single network of ISPs and portals created by Tiscali. The on-demand Webcast has also achieved landmark success with 350 000 on-demand requests from all over the world recorded in the first 24 hours.
The number of Internet users worldwide that will be able to follow the event is destined to grow as the concert will be available for the next three months.
"To think that people from as far away as China, Japan and South America could participate in this event through the Web site and contribute actively with donations and messages is a clear example of how powerful the capabilities of Internet media has become. Mr Mandela and the artists in Cape Town were listened to the world over, and the Internet was the main mouthpiece by which a global audience was reached," says Diego Massidda, CEO of Tiscali SA.
Above and beyond the overwhelming success in terms of audience, the Webcast is also an important step in the history of online events due to the high-quality audio and video of the Internet broadcast.
Tiscali`s decision to create an exceptional content delivery network, which resulted in the collaboration of the world`s main Internet operators also contributed to the success of the event. The network guaranteed maximum quality even during peaks of simultaneous connection during the four hours of performance from Cape Town.
This level of collaboration that saw artist and organisations working together towards a single goal was possible to the vision and charisma of Nelson Mandela, once again in the front line.
Tiscali and the Nelson Mandela Foundation has extended their thanks to all of the partners who made possible an event that contributed in a truly significant way to the global campaign to raise public awareness about the catastrophe of HIV/AIDS and to fundraising.
The Cape Town concert, with the collaboration of international artists such as Bono, Beyonc'e, Anastacia, Queen, Peter Gabriel, Yossou `Ndour, Eurythmics, Zucchero, Yussuf Islam, Ms Dynamite, The Corrs, and Bob Geldof live online was broadcast via the Internet to over 200 countries, not only through the official site, www.46664.com, powered by Tiscali, and by Tiscali`s portals in 15 European countries and SA, but also through the servers and networks of members of GIA (Global Internet Alliance).
Other organisations participating in the initiative included Coca-Cola, Federal Express, Cnet, MSN entertainment and Music, Windows Mediaguide, Real Media Guide, Yahoo! USA, The Telegraph, Overture, E-Spotting, Sony Music, BMG.com, IFPI (International Federation of Phonographic Industries), The Times, Corriere della Sera, VNU UK, Reuters.co.uk, Claritas, Media Brokers, TBG Ltd, The Deal Group Media (UK), Telecinco.es, Antena3tv.es, Netvision (Israel), Earthlink (USA), SmarkMedia.com, Top.bg (Bulgaria). This list grows even longer with the official Web sites of the artists that took part in the concert, among which were queen.com and u2.com.
The Cape Town concert will be available on demand for the next three months at www.46664.com, and users will be able to continue making donations online, download exclusive songs performed by the concert`s artists, buy the official CD and DVD of the event from February next year, purchase merchandise and support the fund-raising campaign.
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Tiscali is a premier communications company offering Internet, cellular and mobile services to home, business and corporate users. In addition, Tiscali has a popular portal with over 2 million visitors every month. Tiscali is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiscali International, which is listed on the Paris and Milan Stock Exchanges and is the second largest Internet service provider in Europe, providing access and a wide variety of content, applications and services to its customers. It has the largest geographical footprint of any European Internet provider with local operations in 15 countries and 7.6 million active users.
The company is set apart from other market players through its ability to offer voice and data communication solutions delivered over both fixed and mobile telecommunications networks.
http://www.tiscali.co.za
46664 - Give one minute of your life to AIDS
Inspired by the vision and leadership of Nelson Mandela, the 46664 campaign was born to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as funds for SA with proceeds going to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The aim is for this initiative to be the largest call to action for HIV/AIDS in history.
The 46664 campaign is an unprecedented collaboration between musicians, celebrities, visual artists, the music industry, media, businesses and NGOs.
Producers of 46664 are Jim Beach (Manager of Queen) and JF Cecillon (Chairman and CEO of Music Matrix, and Managing Partner of Fleming Media).
The multi-faceted campaign combines a groundbreaking music launch on the Web and telephones with a concert, CD and DVD releases. 46664`s global media partners are MTV`s Staying Alive and Tiscali. Global event partners are Coca-Cola, BBC World Service, FedEx, Virgin Atlantic, SABC and The Fleming Media Group. Local event partners are BMW, Nissan and Sheraton Hotels.
In a music industry first, the music from the campaign will be exclusively available via telephone lines and on the Web - www.46664.com powered by Tiscali - where exclusive music tracks from artists involved in 46646 can be downloaded. People can also call a premium line - 09060 1 46664 in the UK - with proceeds going to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Local numbers for eighteen other countries, from the US to Australia, can be found on the Web site (and listed fully below).
Celebrities participating with messages of support on the phone lines include Bill Clinton, David Bowie, Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, Pink, Shakira and Britney Spears.
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