Concert to celebrate 50 years of Jamaica's independence

Jamaican athletes, musicians and artists will celebrate their island's 50th anniversary of independence at a special concert at Symphony Hall in Birmingham today.

The event, aptly named Jamaica's 50th Cultural Extravaganza Concert, will be held at Symphony Hall. Among some of those attending will be Jamaica's Olympic gold medal hopefuls, who will be taking a break from their pre-Games training camp at the University of Birmingham.

It is hoped the world's fastest man Usain Bolt will make an appearance today - he did not attend the open Track and Field training session at the University yesterday.

The concert, which is being hosted by a number of organisations including the Association of Jamaican Nationals (Birmingham) UK and Birmingham City Council, boasts Jamelia, Beverley Knight, Jaki Graham and Benjamin Zephaniah as some of the day's performers.

Money raised from the event will be sent to Jamaica as part of a sports development programme.