His appearance on the stage at Turkiston Palace followed performances by a Chinese folk music group, Italian singer Massimo Golfano and Turkish singers Mustafa Bozkurt and Ahmed Koc, with Alexander Ristich of Lions Club Austria, presenting a check for €4,505 to “In the Name of Life” National Breast Cancer Association .

The eagerly-awaited charity concert in Tashkent comes as part of the Asrlar Sadosi (The Echo of Centuries) Festival of Traditional Culture 2013, with the main events having kicked off in the Sarmishsai Gorge, Navoi Region, whereto the Turkish heartthrob will travel along with his vibes to participate in the festival gala concert.

The night kicked off with performances by Chinese folk music group Jianr nang ju. Next came the soulful voices of Turkey’s Mustafa Bozkurt and Ahmet Koc. After the two wrapped up their parts, the president of Lions Club Austria, Alexander Ristich, was welcomed onto the stage. In what played up the event’s charitable nature, Ristich presented a check worth €4,505 to Shakhnoza Umarova, the Director of the National Breast Cancer Association of Uzbekistan (NBCAU).

Mustafa Sandal took charge of the stage moments after the charity act. Sandal, who performed hits such as ‘Araba’ and ‘Istarsan’, once so popular in Uzbekistan, as well as new songs, clearly struck a chord with the Tashkent public and added a fair dose of pizzazz to the fundraiser.

All proceeds from the concert, as well as the money from Lions Club, will go toward supporting women living with breast cancer in Uzbekistan. The 4,505 euros was raised in Vienna through a charity event for the benefit of breast cancer sufferers organized by Fund Forum Representative Office in Austria in partnership with Lions Club in December last year. The money has now made it to the NBCAU’s coffers.