Sitting relaxed after attending the Final between Spain and the Netherlands on Sunday evening, Bryan Adams was happy to open up to FIFA.com about his experiences in Soccer City.

The rock legend is currently midway through his ‘Bare Bones Tour’, playing dates in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and even Nambia before travelling back to Johannesburg next Sunday for a date at the Coca-Cola Dome; the venue where he wowed the crowds last Friday for during the ‘Celebrate Africa – The Grand Finale’ concert with Andrea Bocelli.

But the self-confessed Chelsea fan was eager to talk about his experiences of the game, as well as his admiration for sportsmen and why he feels that football’s better with a vuvuzela.

FIFA.com: Bryan, what did you make of the Final?
Bryan Adams: It was a real surprise, I thought the vuvuzelas were going to be quite overpowering but once you get inside the stadium it’s only the occasional person around you that blows them so it was fun – I’m just wondering whether it will become an international thing now? I’ve heard they are going to ban it in European matches, which is too bad as its kind of fun.

Do you think Spain were worthy winners?
I do think they were worthy winners. I also thought Germany were worthy of a place in the final too. I don’t know what happened to them against Spain, they just didn’t play like they had been throughout the tournament, it was really surprising. It was a great competition though and Spain were very worthy to be crowned champions.

In comparison to Germany, which you were at four years ago, do you notice any differences?
There was a much better atmosphere here.

What did you think of Soccer City?
I liked this stadium quite a bit, it was quite enclosed. The Olympiastadion was good but it was very open, but it’s an amazing piece of architecture. They’re both different in many ways, but both good.

Is Soccer City an arena you’d like to perform at yourself in the future?
Sure, why not!

In terms of your music, your ‘Bare Bones Tour’ really is ‘bare bones’, have you enjoyed getting back to basics with an acoustic set?
I have, in fact so much so that we’re releasing a little record that comes out this year. We’re just figuring out how we are going to put it out as it’s not as easy as it used to be. It used to be you’d make a record and you’d release it through a record company, but who knows now with how the music industry is.

In terms of your musicianship, why did you choose to do this kind of tour?
I did a concert back in 1996 called MTV Unplugged and since then it’s been interesting to see how you could reinvent some of the older songs so it’s always been in the back of my mind to do something. But towards the end of the last decade I’ve been thinking more seriously about making a concert which was just a smaller thing to see how it came off. It started out as just a half hour show to promote a record but it evolved into an hour concert and now it’s a full-on tour.

Do you admire sportsmen, because like you they have to fulfil the expectations of thousands of people?
Oh absolutely. I was thinking in fact, when the players were coming out on to the field, what the pressure must have been like. I’ve been in a similar when I played the Olympics recently and walking on stage you suddenly realise there’s a billion people watching you. Imagine how many people were watching the final, untold millions of people, so the pressure must have been extraordinary for them. Once it got underway and they started thinking about the game it maybe gets better, but I reckon there was a lot of pressure on those guys. You really have to overcome the mental obstacles and just concentrate, and that’s where real sportsmanship comes in.

If you were a coach, which one of your tracks would you play to a team prior to a match?
I don’t know I’ve never thought about it, something uplifting obviously. How about ‘We’re Gonna Win’?

Speaking exclusively with FIFA.com, Adams talks of his enthusiasm for football, his experiences in South Africa and his tip for the Final.

Celebrated Canadian singer Bryan Adams is not only a passionate
musician, but a love of football saw the Grammy Award winner tie in a tour of South Africa with the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Final. Having opened the historic Live Aid concert in 1985, and as the first rock star to come to South Africa in the mid-90s, Adams has a long association with South Africa and the mother continent.

FIFA.com: What was your first FIFA World Cup memory?
Bryan Adams: Probably the 1970 World Cup, with Pele playing for Brazil. I had been living in Portugal for four years prior and all we did there was play football.

Have you been to any previous FIFA World Cups?
Yes I went to the last World Cup in Germany

Do you watch a lot of football? Do your follow a team in Europe?Yes, I follow Chelsea.

Which players do you most enjoy watching?
Drogba, Terry, Ballack….

Have you met many footballers?
Over the years, yes quite a few. I became friends with quite a few of the German footballers like Rudi Voller and Jurgen Klinsmann. Rudi named his son after me!

As a Canadian, which sports did you watch as a youngster? Did you ever play football?
It was mostly football. I also loved the Boston Bruins (ice hockey) because of Bobby Orr. I played football until I figured out that I had a bigger addiction – music.

What are your impressions of South Africa?
I’ve always loved it here, and the people have always been great to perform to. We were the first rock band to come into South Africa in 1994.

How do you feel to be a part of this huge event?
Just being here is quite hard to believe, but I booked my tour around the Final so I could come and see the game and also do some gigs.

You obviously launched the Bryan Adams foundation – tell us a little bit about that and what projects it has assisted in Africa?
I launched the foundation in 2006 with the hope that with my name I could help make a few people’s lives a little better. In Africa the foundation has supported the building of a school in Zambia, a foundation to help people with the disfiguring disease noma, ‘Facing Africa – Noma’, in Nigeria and Ethiopia, and the FXB after-school program operating in the townships of Johannesburg for children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.

Back in 1985 you were involved in the US leg of Live Aid – how did you initially get involved?
Bob Geldof called me a year before to see if I would perform on it if it could be pulled together. I didn’t hear from him for a while, then I got another call to say it’s happening, here’s the date.

Have you seen progress in Africa in that time?
Since I first came to Africa, I’ve seen huge development. However, I don’t know how much better life is here for the African people, it seems to me life is just as hard.

In 1988 you played at Nelson Mandela’s concert at Wembley – did you get to meet him? What do you think of him as a person?
I performed for this concert in the hope he would be released in 1988, and he was shortly afterwards. I’ve not met him, but maybe my dream will come true one day. I’d love to shake his hand.

Speaking of Wembley, that’s a footballing Mecca – it’s a real special place isn’t it?
Absolutely, it’s incredible for all events, we performed there in the 1990s, I’ll never forget it.

You’re quite a celebrated photographer – which football player or team would you most like to shoot, and why?
I’ve photographed many footballers over the years, the German national team were the last ones. I’d like to do a photo essay on David Beckham, or Ronaldo.

Can we hear any African influences in your music, or will we?
I’m afraid I’m just a skinny white boy, to have that African thing you have to have been here for some time, or be from here!

With Canada not here, which team have you been supporting at South Africa 2010?
I’ve given up supporting any particular team, because my judgement, especially after this World Cup, is way off.

If you had to compare the world of music and football… what would be the equivalent of the FIFA World Cup Final in the world of music?
Probably something like the Live Aid concert that happened in the 1980s, nothing has quite compared to that since.

What would you prefer in 2014? To be invited to perform at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil or Canada qualify?
I’d prefer to be invited, because I can’t imagine we’ll qualify, it’s too cold in Canada to play football all year!

Who do you think will win the Final, Netherlands or Spain, and why?
Spain have constantly surprised me in this World Cup and so have the Netherlands. It’s a coin toss.

Sources: FIFA.com (interview), Getty Images (photo)

Prime Minister played “Run to You” with Bryan Adams at 24 Sussex Drive.

Bryan Adams, received recently a Governor General’s Performing arts award in Ottowa, made a small detour and paid a visit to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s home.

Adams arrived at 24 Sussex Drive with his guitar, while Harper joined in on the piano, as the two jammed to Adams’ hit “Run to You”.

Source: 680news.com (Article), Twitpic.com/1kbmrn (Photo)

Bryan Adams and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will help wrap up the forthcoming FIFA World Cup with performances in a July concert, organizers have announced.

Adams, recognized with the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at the Juno Awards gala earlier this month, will take the stage alongside Bocelli and other artists such as South African soprano Pretty Yende for an event titled Celebrate Africa, the Grand Finale.

The concert will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, on July 9 — two days before the World Cup’s final soccer match.

Source: CBC News

Bryan will be touring with his full band in South Africa in July 2010.

Here are the dates confirmed so far:
July 13 – Cape Town,
July 16 – Durban,
July 18 – Johannesburg

Click to see full tour schedule and buy tickets..

Bryan Adams is among six Canadians to win this year’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards.

The honour recognizes “outstanding lifetime contribution to Canada’s cultural life.”

Each winner receives $25,000 and will be honoured at a gala at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on May 1. Governor General Michaëlle Jean will present the awards April 30 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Adams, who is touring internationally with his Bare Bones solo acoustic show, performed his song Bang the Drum with Nelly Furtado at the Olympic opening ceremony.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca

Click to listen to full-length audioclip of the song “Bang The Drum”

Click to see more photos from this event

They performed to the song “Bang The Drum”, which had been composed by Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams himself.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics are always great events worth watching out for, and the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics 2010, that is taking place in Vancouver was no exception. It goes without saying, however, that the festivities of the opening ceremony this time were a bit dampened, and began on a rather somber note. The authorities were dealing with the death of the Luger Nodar Kumaritashivli in an accident just hours before its opening. Despite the grave mood, however, the opening ceremony was, like every other time, a star studded event, complete with the likes of Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado, among others.

Most of the star performers at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics 2010 were, predictably, Canadians. It was not certain whether Nelly Furtado would be performing in the ceremony or not, as the names of the performers had not been given out by the authorities till the actual ceremony. However, it was being speculated that she would be among the performers, along with Bryan Adams, whom the pop singer took the stage with.

Nelly Furtado came on the stage along with fellow Canadian singer Bryan Adams right after the Parade of Athletes. The two matched their vocal chords to pay a moving and invigorating tribute to the games and the athletes who take part in it. Nelly Furtado was dressed in a blue one shouldered gown, and Bryan Adams looked his usual dapper self in a formal suit. They performed to the song “Bang The Drum”, which had been composed by Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams himself.

Source: thaindian.com

Bryan is donating prime concert tickets and exclusive Meet & Greet experiences to each of his American shows in February. The auction, in conjunction with Universal Music Group is being run through ebay and will benefit the Red Cross Haiti Relief.

Ticket packages are available for shows from February 19th through 24th in S. Dakota, N. Dakota, Iowa and Indiana. Auction ends Monday, Feb 15th.

Now please click here to bid and show your support for Haiti.

Source: bryanadams.com

Bryan Adams sings the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver 2010 for German TV – ARD. The Canadian wrote the song “One World, One Flame” exclusively for the ARD.

From 1th of February the song is to hear on the ARD and the radio. The song will guide the audience of ARD through the Olympic Games. ARD sports coordinator Balkausky Axel said: “We are very pleased that we could win Bryan Adams for writing and singing this song only for our broadcasts of the Winter Olympics.” Adams is not only world-famous, but stand up for Canada more than any other musicians. With “One World, One Flame” he has written a song that fits perfectly into such a big event like the Olympics. “We are very excited to see how our audience will accept it,” added Balkausky.

The song “One World, One Flame” to buy at Amazon@Germany.

Source: ARD.de

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CTV are pleased to announce that Bryan Adams is the recipient of the 2010 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award.

The Award, named after CHUM Ltd. founder Allan Waters, is made possible by funding from the CTVglobemedia-CHUM benefits package and recognizes an outstanding Canadian artist whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada.

The Allan Waters Humanitarian Award will be presented to Mr. Adams during THE JUNO AWARDS broadcast on Sunday, April 18, 2010 on CTV.

Since the early days of his music career, Adams has been at the forefront of fundraising and social awareness events from Amnesty International “A Conspiracy of Hope” and Rock for Amnesty Tours, Live Aid, Live 8 and One Night Live. In 1985 Adams co-wrote and took part in the recording of “Tears Are Not Enough,” Canada’s song to help raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.

Over the years he has been a part of the annual Prince’s Trust Rock Gala, the “Reach Out to Asia” campaign to help the underprivileged, and in 2006 he became the first westerner to perform in Karachi, Pakistan, after 9/11 with funds raised going towards victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. He has successfully campaigned for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with Greenpeace as well as animal rights through PETA.

His photography has raised money to benefit cancer research and in 2006, he established The Bryan Adams Foundation, to further advance the education and learning opportunities for children and young people worldwide.

“Without any fanfare Bryan’s Foundation has quietly worked to enrich the lives of children and young people here at home and in the far flung corners of the globe,” explains Melanie Berry, President & CEO of CARAS. “It is an honour and a privilege to recognize his history of philanthropic work with the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award.”

“I am honoured to accept this award,” noted Adams, “and hope that it will inspire and encourage others to contribute and/or also give back.”

Bryan Adams is one of the most recognized rock music artists in the world. He is a Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee, has been awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia in addition to numerous music industry awards. He is currently touring with his acoustic guitar on the Bare Bones Tour, and has the feature song “You’ve Been A Friend To Me” in the film Old Dogs.

CARAS gratefully acknowledges CTV for its outstanding support of Canadian talent and for its support of this award.

Source: junoawards.ca