Beyonce and Bono to play at Obama concert

Tony Blair famously tempted fate by inviting around a then very youthful Noel Gallagher of Oasis to Downing Street after Labour's landslide victory in 1997. Barack Obama is playing safe with his own pop star admirers. The concert being held in his honour at the Lincolm Memorial in Washington on Sunday, which the President-elect is rumoured to have agreed to attend, features a line-up of ultra-safe, user-friendly stars, among them Beyonce (pictured), U2 and Bruce Springsteen.

Stevie Wonder, Usher, Mary J Blige and Sheryl Crow are also scheduled to perform at the event, where historical passages will also be read by singer Queen Latifah and actors Jamie Foxx and Denzel Washington.

The executive producer of the show, George Stevens Jr, appears surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction from those who were asked, although a cynic might suggest that a place on the bill, given that it will be watched by millions across the world, is the single biggest opportunity to raise your profile and notch up massive record sales since Live Aid.

Perhaps mindful of this, the artists have been asked to perform songs suited to the occasion, rather than their own hits. Meanwhile, Sting, former lead singer of The Police, and Elvis Costello, are to head up another all-star line-up at a charity concert marking Obama's inauguration on January 20. ·