Stars in mega concert for Expo countdown

BEIJING, Oct. 10 -- Around 40 stars and celebrities will sing their hearts out next Tuesday to fuel Expo fever and mark the 200-day countdown to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

About 40 stars and celebrities will sing their hearts out next  Tuesday to mark the 200-day countdown to the World Expo 2010 in  Shanghai.(Photo Source: Shanghai Daily)

The concert at Shanghai Grand Theater will be live broadcast worldwide through Dragon TV starting 7:30pm.

Tickets are not on sale to the public, but some will be given away to those who answer an Expo quiz sponsored by China Mobile and Tencent Co.

Stars and celebrities include Andy Lau, one of Cantopop's "Four Heavenly Kings" from Hong Kong; Coco Lee, the first Chinese to perform for the Academy Awards; Tsai Chin, an "evergreen" ballad singer from Taiwan; pop singers Sky Wu, Vivian Hsu and Peter Ho; celebrities Li Bingbing and Huang Xiaoming; Super Girls Zhang Liangying and Shang Wenjie; as well as New Age singer and songwriter Sa Dingding, BBC World Music Awards winner in 2008.

They all will sing Expo songs -- and some of their hits -- to stoke enthusiasm for the six-month event that opens on May 1, 2010.

"Better City, Better Life! Let's cheer for the Shanghai Expo. Best wishes for the countdown concert," says a message from NBA star Yao Ming, a Shanghai native who is one of the three ambassadors for World Expo 2010.

The other two envoys are Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan and internationally known pianist Lang Lang.