Elton and the band will give a free charitable concert in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, June 16. The concert will take place on one of the biggest city squares, Maidan Nezalojnosti (Independence Square) and will be broadcast live on the Ukrainian TV channel 'New Channel'.

Elton said, 'I am delighted to announce that on Saturday 16th June 2007 I will be playing to the citizens of Kiev at a free AIDS awareness concert in one of the city's most beautiful squares. My Foundation has funded twenty-three HIV/AIDS related projects in Ukraine over the last six years totaling over $2.6 million. This concert will enable us to fund future projects for around the same amount. No one envisaged, back in the early '90s, that Eastern Europe would fall prey to such a devastating disease. It is estimated that, by 2014, there will be over one hundred thousand infected children alone, of which forty two thousand will be orphaned; there is so much to be done if we are to control the relentless spread of this terrible disease. Without the close friendship and collaboration of my two very good friends, Elena and Victor Pinchuk and their Foundations, this concert, and our future partnership, would not be possible. I would like to dedicate the concert to them and to the many Ukrainians with HIV/AIDS that they have supported'.

'The Elton John concert will attract attention of every single Ukrainian to HIV/AIDS problem in our country', said Elena Franchuk, the founder of the ANTIAIDS Foundation. 'Today it is not enough to inform about disease and ways of transmission. Today our target is to change the patterns of behavior, to teach the whole country how to live in the epoch of the AIDS epidemic.
At the end of May the ANTIAIDS Foundation launched the new program 'On The Edge', aimed at helping to change the trends of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine. In the context of this program Elena Franchuk and the Elton John AIDS Foundation united efforts to improve the lives of children involved in the epidemic, and to attract the attention of Ukrainians towards HIV/AIDS problem. In the spirit of this cooperation, Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation pledged a $2.5 million grant for the 5 year program of the Elton John AIDS Foundation in Ukraine.

To mark this cooperation, Elton will give a free charitable concert in the center of Kiev to draw attention towards HIV/AIDS problem in Ukraine. The main message of the concert is that Ukraine is on the edge of the AIDS epidemic, and every effort counts. Before the concert starts, volunteers will give out information, condoms and addresses of the HIV testing and counseling centers.

According to the socio-economic forecast of HIV/AIDS epidemic conducted by the World Bank, 40,000 children will become full orphans and up to 169 thousand children will lose one of their parents due to the AIDS epidemic by 2014. Most of these children will inherit HIV status from their parents.

To change the lives of children involved in HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, the Elton John AIDS Foundation developed the 5-year project, aimed at supporting foster families, decreasing stigma and discrimination of HIV-positive children, addressing their psychological needs, and teaching parents and guardians how to talk about HIV with children.

'The majority of people know about AIDS, but they don't think it could ever be their problem', said Elena Franchuk, founder of the ANTIAIDS Foundation. 'That's why they behave as if they are below the threat. But AIDS is not a distant problem any more. It's not a problem of risk groups as it used to be. There is no more somebody's problem, it's everybody's problem from now on. It's not true any more to think of HIV as a disease of the most at-risk population. We should think of HIV as our disease that affects ourselves, our relatives, our friends and neighbors. We're all on the edge'.

Elton John AIDS Foundation (http://www.ejaf.org)
The Elton John AIDS Foundation (UK) is an international non-profit organisation funding direct patient care services that help to alleviate the physical, emotional and financial hardship for those living with HIV/AIDS as well as AIDS education.

During the past fourteen years, the EJAF has raised over US$85 million and supported over 4000 projects in 55 countries worldwide including the Ukraine, Russia, Romania, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and South Africa. Over 12 million people have been assisted.

The Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation (www.antiaids.org/en)
Elena Franchuk has long been involved in business and charitable activities in Ukraine. She established her foundation in September 2003. It is the first and sole Foundation in Ukraine committed to fighting HIV/AIDS. The Foundation's activities are aimed at: drawing the attention of opinion makers, government authorities and business leaders to the HIV/AIDS problem; implementing large-scale informational and educational campaigns; providing direct support to people living with HIV/AIDS; attracting resources for supporting relevant projects on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; and diminishing the stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Victor Pinchuk Foundation develops and supports projects that contribute to the development of Ukraine. The six fields of activity and the projects of the Foundation have been selected because of their strategic importance for the future of the country. In health care, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation provides a program of creation of all-Ukrainian Neonatal Centers 'The cradle of hope'. In the Educational ground, Scholarship Program "Zavtra.UA" is being expanded. In culture, Victor Pinchuk became the founder of the biggest Center of Modern Art in Eastern Europe and co-produced the documentary 'Say Your Name' with Steven Spielberg, about the Holocaust in Ukraine. To provide legal redress for the poor, a program of legal defense and consulting is provided in cooperation with the Soros Foundation. Victor Pinchuk takes an active part in the initiatives, directed to the further integration of the Ukraine into the EU and world community, and also supports various regional charity projects.