Amongst the myriad stars handpicked to perform at the Stephen Lawrence memorial concert, which marks twenty years since his tragic and racially motivated murder, is Emeli Sande, and the singer has opened up about the charity set to benefit from the gig.

"It's such an important charity and the work (that) Doreen is doing, is fantastic. Doreen's story inspired me greatly. It shows if you stand strong you can made a difference and make a change, she explained while speaking at the line-up announcement at Abbey Road Studios in London. "I was quite young when it happened but coming from a mixed-race family it was a big issue that we spoke about, and (we also spoke about) the issues you face being mixed race and this being something that happened in our country." Lawrence’s murder shocked the nation, and sparked an inquiry into the metropolitan police force, which was labelled as inherently racist as a result. Horrific as his death was, it raised awareness of racism in the U.K, and the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust – founded and chaired by his mother Doreen – continues to do great work.

Further special guests will accompany Sande, like Rizzle Kicks, Labrinth, Jamie Cullum and Soul II Soul, with more to be announced over the coming weeks. Tickets for the event will go on sale on Friday 21 June, with the actual event taking place at London's O2 arena on 29 September.

Emeli SandeEmeli Sande at the NARM Music Biz Awards dinner party

Rizzle Kicks
Rizzle Kicks are also set to perform