Obama Edinburgh visit: Annie Lennox and Kevin Bridges to perform

U.S. President Barack Obama is to visit the Capital in May.

Singing superstar Annie Lennox and best-selling stand-up comic Kevin Bridges are to perform for former US President Barack Obama when he visits Edinburgh next month.

Sharleen Spiteri’s long-running pop-rock band Texas will also be playing at a gala dinner.

The event, which has just been declared a complete sell-out, is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities across Scotland.

Mr Obama has been lured to Scotland by the businessman and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter, after previous visits from Bill Clinton, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.

Annie Lennox will perform for Barack Obama at a gala dinner in Edinburgh next month.

More than 300 separate charities are set to benefit from the event, which saw tickets for a table of 10 go on sale for up to £20,000 when it was announced last month.

A number of young people are expected to attend the event, along with around 1200 business and charity leaders, and philanthropists.

All three acts providing the entertainment at the event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 26 May will be able to choose a charity to benefit from the event, which Mr Obama will be speaking at and taking questions from the audience.

Bridges, who started performing stand-up when he was just 17, has smashed a number of box office records since finding fame on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow in 2009.

He has previously supported the Teenage Cancer Trust and Motor Neurone Disease charity MND Scotland.

Aberdeen-born Lennox, who shot to fame in the early 1980s with long-time musical partner Dave Stewart as the Eurythmics, went on to become the most successful female British artist of all-time, notching up more than 80 million record sales.

Lennox, the first woman to receive a songwriting fellowship at the Ivor Novello Awards, was presented with a Nobel Peace award in 2009 for her work raising awareness of HIV/AIDS.

Texas have sold more than 40 million records since forming in 1985, while Spiteri - who has backed charities including children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent and Children in Need, has also carved out a hugely-successful solo career over the last decade.

Sir Tom said: “I’m proud, privileged and over the moon to announce Oscar winning musician, Annie Lennox, brilliant stand-up comedian, Kevin Bridges and world class rock band, Texas will all play at this amazing dinner.

“What’s even more amazing is that they are all doing this for the benefit of a charity of their choice.

“They are stand out talents of their generation and will provide a remarkable conclusion to what we all hope will be an incredible evening with all profits benefitting Scotland’s children’s charities.

“Demand for this dinner has been unparalleled in our own experience and we can only apologise to those who we cannot accommodate at the dinner.

“We’d like as many young people in Scotland to benefit from this, hence offering a little support to a lot of charities across all of Scotland.”