Jacksons announce humanitarian award

Janet Jackson and her brother Jermaine of the Jackson 5 will hold the world's first televised humanitarian award to be launched in Dubai next April, Jermaine announced at a press conference at Downtown Burj Dubai on Tuesday morning.

Making the announcement in the city on Tuesday, the pop stars said the show, Coming Together as One (CTAO), would be honouring celebrities who provide support to needy children around the world.

The four Jacksonarian awards, as they will be called, will be an annual affair and will be beamed on television in a one-hour global special. The awardees will be picked by a special panel that would include the Jackson family.

“We want to honour visionaries like late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bob Geldof, Angelina Jolie, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore,'' said Jermaine.

“These are people who not only want to see change but have made it possible for a lot of lives,'' said Mohammed Abdul Aziz Sharif, aka Jermaine.

He said funds from the event would be used to support children worldwide through Earth Care International, a global charity. Efforts were on to rope in the London Philharmonic Orchestra to perform along with a local children's choir at the show, he added.

The concept of CTAO, according to Jackson, is to show the world that it can come together, transcending religious and other barriers as people shared a “oneness in the eyes of Allah''. Jackson converted to Islam in 1989 following a visit to Bahrain, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

Dwelling on the possibility of a family reunion performance at the award show next year, Jermaine said: “I am hoping that Michael (Jackson) gets tired in London and calls us to do the show together. We are ready to do it any time.''

Jermaine said his family had zeroed in on Dubai for the show as it is “the perfect home for such an event, a place where people would be positive about such a cause.'' He said he would be frequenting Dubai more often because of the show and added that, “I would love to buy property here.''