South Africa’s Soweto Gospel Choir have announced a UK tour of their Grammy-winning album.
The group will perform their 2018 Freedom album which celebrates and commemorates the South African “democratic movement’s struggle for freedom” and the life of the country’s former president Nelson Mandela.
Beginning on October 15 at the Darlington Hippodrome, the tour will travel across the UK and run through to October 26.
The gospel choir hails from Soweto, a town outside Johannesburg and the home of Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s democratic movement.
Their albums Blessed, African Spirit and Freedom all won the Grammy for best world music album in 2007, 2008 and 2019 respectively.
The group has been entertaining audiences across the globe for nearly two decades and have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music including U2, the late Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
This will be their first time back in London since 2006 and, apart from a performance in Edinburgh, their first time in the UK in 10 years.
In the upcoming tour, the choir has said from their “uplifting and joyous repertoire” they will perform freedom songs celebrating the life of Mandela, as well as international gospel classics and a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and the classic Amazing Grace.
Producer Andrew Kay said: “The Soweto Gospel Choir members are thrilled to tour the United Kingdom after so many years of absence.
“The group continues to inspire fans worldwide, but the reaction we get from audiences in the United Kingdom is unforgettable.
“We hope that our uplifting message of hope, faith and joy reaches audiences new and old on this special return visit as we celebrate the legacy of the great Nelson Mandela.”
The tour is due to kick off in the Darlington Hippodrome on October 15 and will travel across the UK including Wolverhampton, London, Malvern, Aberystwyth, Manchester, Birmingham, Hull and ending in Bradford on October 26.
There will also be a national press night at London’s Cadogan Hall on October 18.
