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LONDON - Princess Diana's fun-loving and unpretentious spirit is to be brought back to life at a star-studded concert in London on Sunday that will serve as a posthumous birthday bash and tribute from her sons.
Diana, who died in a car crash in a Paris tunnel 10 years ago in August, would have been 46 years old on July 1, the date of the charity "Concert for Diana" at London's new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium.
It would have been a birthday party she would have loved, her sons hope.
Performing at the event will be the princess's favourite stars like Duran Duran and Supertramp as well as Sir Elton John -- who played a special rewritten version of "Candle in the Wind" at Diana's 1997 funeral.
Prince William, 24, told the BBC that he and his brother Prince Harry, 22, believed that a concert was a more fitting tribute to their mother -- dubbed "the people's princess" by Tony Blair -- than just a church memorial service.
"We wanted something that would really bring her whole spirit -- her joy of life and everything that we thought she stood for," Prince William said in the interview broadcast earlier this month.
The church service scheduled for August 31 will be a quieter affair attended by people from both sides of the family, including Queen Elizabeth II.
A glamorous, extroverted and outspoken women who both courted and crossed swords with the media, Diana cut a different image from most royal family members who are more reserved in public and follow centuries-old protocol.
The concert is in step with the times, when British people in general are much more demonstrative with their emotions -- as witnessed by the mass public outpouring of grief following her death.
"It's a 21st century way of dealing with a royal anniversary," Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, told AFP. "As a modern day's people's princess, a concert seems eminently appropriate."
Little expected young members of the royal family to attend the concert, with the older ones like the boys' father Prince Charles staying away. "It's really aimed at the younger generation of royals," Little said.
Prince William described how music was his mother's "big release," adding that he and Prince Harry used to catch her dancing around her room when they were younger. He admitted even that it embarrassed them.
He said that everything she did was "from the heart," adding that she "loved caring for people and she loved helping."
Diana was known for her charity work, particularly in the fight on behalf of sufferers of AIDS or victims of landmines.
The concert is also aimed at silencing Diana's critics who overlook the good she did, the princes added. It will raise money for the charities close to her heart as well as the charities her sons support.
"After 10 years, there's been a rumbling of people bringing up the bad and over time people seem to forget -- or have forgotten -- all the amazing things she did and what an amazing person she was," Prince William said.
Nearly two dozen performers have signed up so far for the concert.
They include Quo and Rod Stewart who are joined by US rapper Kanye West, British singers James Morrison, Natasha Bedingfield and Lily Allen, US rock band Orson and British pop act The Feeling.
British singers Bryan Ferry and Joss Stone and US rapper Pharrell Williams will appear, while composer Andrew Lloyd Webber will stage a medley of songs from his musicals and the English National Ballet will perform.
It will be followed almost a week later in Wembley with the July 7 climate change awareness Live Earth gig, featuring Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Diana married Prince Charles, heir to the throne, in 1981. The couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Diana was killed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997 along with boyfriend Dodi Fayed and his chauffeur Henri Paul. - AFP/ra
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