A star-studded concert featuring Italian artists including Andrea Bocelli, Claudio Baglionic and Zucchero has raised `A31 million for the UN Refugee Angency’s work for the conflict and tsunami-displaced in Sri Lanka.

On Monday night, "Music for Asia: not to Forget" drew a galaxy of Italian stars together in a unique event to raise funds for the humanitarian ciris. Some 10,000 people attended the concert, held at the FilaForum of Assago in Milan, in support of the event which was organized by media Friends (part of the media group owned by Italian prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi).

Singer Antonella Ruggiero said. "The tsunamic was a dramatic event that hit the sensitivities of everyone, including artists. That’s why we felt we had to help not only as individuals, but also to get together and help in a bigger way."

Among the highlights of the three-hour concert were a piano and guitar duet by Bocelli and mario Rejes, and a virtual duet by Zucchero and the late Miles Davis. The performers, who also included Alexia, Biagoio Antoniacci, Gigi D’Alession, DJ Francesco, Negrita and Velvet, were accompanied by an orchestra conducted by maestros Fio Zanott, Luio Fabbri and Peppe Vessicchio.

A video reportage sot in Ampara, Jaffna and Galle was screened during the concert, giving the audience a glimpse of the situation on the ground — the destruction and how people doubly hit by the conflict and the December 26 tsunami are trying to rebuild their lives.

Funds raised from the concert will help support the most vulnerable people displaced by the conflict and tsunami throughout Sri Lanka, being channelled into several UNHCR programme and protection activities which aim to ensure that all displaced persons live in safety and dignity, and are aware of their rights with equal access to support systems.

By the end of the concert `A31 million had been raised through ticket sales and donations through credit cards, SMS and landlines. "It was quite revolutionary how the small donations through SMS and phones expanded the width of our donor base," said UNHCRLionello Boscardi.

UNHCR Representative a.i. in Sri Lanka, Mr. James Lynch, said today "I would like to express my profound thanks to the Italian people, concert organizers Media Friends, Mediaset and all the artists and sponsors of this wonderful event, for their kind generosity and firm commitment to the displaced people of Sri Lanka," adding, "The funds raised from the concert will be put to good use, helping displaced people who have experienced both the effects of a twenty year conflict, and the horrors of a natural disaster."

The Sri Lankan Ambassador to Rome ended the evening by thanking the artists and audience for supporting his compatriots.