Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will celebrate his 80th birthday at a concert in London featuring rock groups including The Scorpions.
The Scorpions song Wind of Change was massively popular in the perestroika-era, which Gorbachev presided over.
The London Royal Albert Hall gala concert on March 30 gala will also feature performances by Brian Ferry, Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, Belgium's Lara Fabian, Russia's baritone Dmitry Khvorostovsky, and ex-Spice Girls Melanie C.
Hollywood star Sharon Stone will host the event.
The tickets for the concert went on sale on November 1 last year, with prices starting at 35 British pounds ($56). However, 12-person VIP boxes cost 100,000 British pounds ($160,000) and include a dinner and souvenirs.
Part of the money from the concert will cover costs. The rest of the money will be donated to charity. Organizers estimate that the proceeds from the concert will total some five million British pounds ($8 million).
Gorbachev was the seventh and last leader of the Soviet Union and is well known for his reform attempts, which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
LONDON, January 20 (RIA Novosti)
