Hosted by Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange, other artistes present were Norwegian vocalist Sissel, Lapp singer Mari Boine, British rock band Suede, opera singer Jessye Norman, Italian vocalist Laura Pausini and Spanish dancer Joaquin Cortes, Willie Nelson, Josh Groban, Michelle Branch, Angelique Kidjo, with a spectacular finale by Carlos Santana and his 11-piece band.
Following are excerpts from the night's programme. Note that some performances have been replaced by the same artistes giving the same performance, at different events. They were included to give a more complete experience of the concert, as the originals were not available.
It began with a video recording of Jennifer Lopez singing "Jenny On The Block".
Marie Boine - I Come From The Other Side
Sissel - Over The Rainbow
Laura Pausini
Josh Groban - To Where You Are
Sissel Kyrkjebø and Josh Groban - The Prayer
Santana and his band
Angelique Kidjo and Santana
Michelle Branch
Michelle Branch - The Game of Love
Joaquín Cortés (not sure where this performance was recorded but it sure looked the same)
Willie Nelson- Always On My Mind
Willie Nelson - The Great Divide
Willie Nelson - Georgia on My Mind
Imagine - by all artistes
What's most cool was, I was staying at the Radisson Hotel and at the hotel elevator, I bumped into the very hot Joaquín Cortés and Jimmy Carter's son and grandchildren.
09-Nov-2011:
1) President Carter was awarded after decades of untiring effort. Makes one wonder why the decision to award the same prize to President Barack Obama in 2009 was made barely half a year into his presidency. The 2010 award was no less controversial. Both 2009 and 2010 laureates were absent from the concerts held in honour of them.
That made me really appreciative that President Carter and family were present at the 2002 concert, so that my American colleague could excitedly shout "President Carter!" when he went on stage.
2) I was almost made to attend this concert on 'colleague-pressure', as the ticket price was really hefty. The Belgian and Dutch consultants among us wanted the best seats available, and nobody had a clue who's on the line-up. We were working so hard back then, nobody really cares about the former US President Carter, not even the American colleague. But the whole "Project-Post-Live-Support-Team" felt that it would be a great experience since we were in Oslo.
On hindsight, it was worth every NOK (Norwegian Kroner)! Compare to other years' line-ups, 2002's concert line-up offered the most diverse talents across the world, though I think President Carter might be happy just to have Willie Nelson sang "Georgia On My Mind" upon his request (he was born in the state of Georgia).
3) I will always be grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime experience and my one-month in Oslo will always be the highlight of my 2002.
