The 61st birthday celebration of the late Reggae legend Bob Marley will be held in Ghana in February 2006 with a series of concerts and other programmes.

The concerts, which will be held in Accra and Kumasi, will feature well known groups and musicians such as "Culture", "The Marley Family", "The I Threes", "Morgan Heritage" and some local groups including Amandzeba Nat Brew.

The celebration of Marley's Birthday, which will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City, will also feature lectures, symposia, workshops and exhibition of photographs.

The programme is being organised by the Bob and Rita Marley Foundations, following a highly successful 60th birthday celebration of the late star early this year in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Titled "Africa Unite", the event, which seeks to combine entertainment and education, will highlight the activities of both Foundations while stressing on the need for massive support for the development process in Africa.

Among the aims of the Rita Marley Foundation is the eradication of poverty and hunger in selected communities through empowerment, investments and improvement of educational/health facilities.

It has also initiated a number of projects in Ghana. These include a Health Centre in Konkornu, near Aburi in the Eastern Region as well as youth leadership programmes and schools.

Millions of reggae fans around the globe remember the brilliant and evocative music Bob Marley gave the world - music that stretches back over two decades and remains timeless and universal.

At the end of an European tour in 1980, Bob Marley & The Wailers went on yet another tour of the United States. Marley played two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York but was taken ill and later diagnosed as suffering from cancer.

Marley fought the disease for eight months. The battle, however, proved to be too much. He died in a Miami, USA Hospital on May 11, 1981.