Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, And More To Perform At 'A Very Special Christmas'

12/12/2000 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Kastle

(12/12/00, 1 p.m. ET) - Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Jon Bon Jovi, Macy Gray, Wyclef Jean, Blues Traveler frontman John Popper, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, among others, will perform in A Very Special Christmas From Washington, D.C., a concert to celebrate the achievements of the Special Olympics.

The 90-minute event takes place Thursday (December 14) and will premiere on cable's TNT network on December 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It is the second live concert and telecast of performances by music artists who appear on the A Very Special Christmas benefit album series. Royalties from the sales of the albums have raised more than $65 million for Special Olympics programs around the world.

Special Olympics is an international year-round program of sports training and competition for individuals with mental retardation. One million athletes in more than 160 countries train and compete in 25 Olympic-type summer and winter sports. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics gives people with mental retardation opportunities to develop fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of gifts and friendship with their families, other athletes, and their communities.

-- Jason Gelman, New York

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