50 Cent heads for Cyprus

MULTI platinum selling hip-hop superstars 50 Cent and Akon have been booked to give a one-off performance at Nicosia GSP this summer.

The headline acts are due to perform at the launch of Medfest, the first international music festival organised by AP Entertainment and One Events, on Saturday July 28.

Hip Hop mogul 50 Cent, who sits comfortably alongside the likes of Tom Cruise and Oprah at No. 8 on the Forbes Power List, will be performing an exclusive set showcasing tracks from his forthcoming album Curtis, as well as previous smash hits including Candy Shop, Just a little bit and In da club.

Also, fresh off his successful US tour with Gwen Stefani, Akon is set to perform hits from his current album Konvicted, which has sold over three million copies to date since its December release.

AP Entertainment Managing Director Philip Stavrou said the purpose of the festival was to give Cypriots the opportunity to experience a concert of such a grand scale firsthand.

“We think Cyprus is ready for this. Everyone in Cyprus knows about concerts that are held in other places but they don’t go to them. We thought it would be nice to have something of their own,” Stavrou told the Sunday Mail yesterday.

Based on the success of this year’s festival and the response from the public and businesses, Stavrou said the organisers hoped to host the festival for at least another five years.

“This is not just a one-off thing,” he said.Stavrou said booking the two superstars had been made possible through contacts that members on the organisers’ team had made during their years in the industry working for Warner Brothers and MTV Europe.

He added there would be two or three more big names due to join the festival, whose names would be announced in the following weeks.

“We might have a well known reggae artist just to mix it up a bit,” Stavrou said.

Tickets for Medfest went on sale yesterday via Ticketweb and are also available directly from the GSP Stadium box office, and all other usual ticket agents.

Tickets are priced from £30. Standard booking fees apply.

www.ticketweb.co.uk or www.medfest2007.com; Ticketweb, 0044 8700 600 100 (24hr); GSP Stadium, 22-874050