Pop star Britney Spears hopes to raise upwards of $2 million for kids affected by the World Trade Center disaster when her North American tour kicks off in late October. The singer will donate $1 from every ticket sold for the 31-show tour to the children of police officers and firefighters lost in the horrific terrorist attacks.
The teen idol also aims to raise money for the victims through her own charitable group the Britney Spears Foundation by selling exclusive tour merchandise and auctioning off front row tickets to the concerts. While the 19-year-old is dedicated to making a contribution, she and boyfriend Justin Timberlake of ’N Sync have not signed on to Michael Jackson’s benefit song, however, despite earlier reports to the contrary.
Britney was in Australia when she first learned of the attacks in New York and later bowed out of further stops abroad. “After much thought and deliberation it is with great regret that I have decided to cancel my planned European and Latin American promotional trips,” she said in a statement. “I trust you will understand my decision to return home and spend time with my family and loved ones.” She’s expected back in the US sometime this week.
Plans for the starlet’s North American tour are well underway and insiders are predicting big things from the Lucky singer. “The show is gonna be really, really theatrical – it’s really complicated,” says tour director and choreographer Wade Robson. “It’s a massive show with a lot of new music… You’re gonna learn a lot more about her as a person. The show is really about how she’s becoming a woman, how she’s finding herself and her independence. She knows what she wants to do, she knows who she wants to be, and that’s what the show’s about.”
The tour is scheduled to debut on October 26 in Miami with later stops in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles. The sultry singer’s new album, Britney, featuring the single I’m A Slave 4 U, hits stores on November 6.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
