Special Report: Grammy Winner Miri Ben-Ari Responds to Cancellation of Noble Peace Laureates' World Summit

BroadwayWorld announced earlier this week that Grammy award-winning violinist, producer and humanitarian Miri Ben-Ari was set to headline the opening concert of the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates at the Cape Town City Hall in Cape Town, South Africa on 13 October. The same day that announcement was made, news broke that the summit had been cancelled. The Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille held a press conference the following day, confirming that the World Summit had been suspended, with the Permanent Secretariat of World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates seeking alternative locations for the event.

The primary catalyst that led to the postponement of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates and its cancellation in South Africa's Mother City was the refusal of the South African government to grant the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the summit, despite a delegation of fourteen Nobel laureates having presented a written request to President Jacob Zuma to allow the Dalai Lama into South Africa, having denied the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner entry twice before in the past five years.

Ben-Ari has released a statement in response to the announcement, saying: 'I am greatly disappointed in the cancellation of the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates and that I will miss the opportunity to headline the World Summit concert in South Africa. Although I was looking forward to performing for such an honorable group of delegates, collaborating with Africa's Youth Orchestra and filming the video for my new song, "Freedom" directed by Kweku Mandela, Nelson Mandela grandson, I am proud to be partnered with those whose actions truly demonstrated this year's theme, "PEACE. Living it!", a true dedication to Nelson Mandela!'

Ben-Ari - a classically-trained violinist known for her revolutionary fusion of classical soul and dance music - had donated her performance "in honor of peace, balance and sustainability" and invited special guests Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (under the leadership of music director, Brandon Phillips) and the University of the Western Cape Creative Arts Choir (conducted by Sibusiso Njeza) to join her performance "Freedom", which had been selected as the official summit theme song in honor of Mandela.

The 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was set to host Peace Laureates and Peace Laureate organisations including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev, President Frederik Willem De Klerk, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and the Chief Albert Luthuli Foundation. Several of the Nobel Peace Laureates slated to attend the summit had withdrawn in protest of the Dalai Lama's visa being denied, including Betty Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkol Karman and Mairead Maguire.

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