Beyonce Joins MTV’s ‘Hope For Haiti’ Telethon Lineup

Beyoncé has been added to the bill for the “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief” telethon, airing Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, upping the star wattage for the already massive event.

The singer will join husband Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2’s Bono and The Edge in London to help raise funds for Haiti in the wake of last week’s devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige and more artists will also perform during the two-hour telecast.

George Clooney, who helped organize the event with MTV Networks, will helm the proceedings in Los Angeles, while Wyclef Jean and CNN’s Anderson Cooper will join in from New York and Haiti, respectively.

A number of notable acts have confirmed their participation for the telethon, which will air commercial-free across MTV, VH1, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment Network, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, Centric, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, Epix, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health and Planet Green. Canada’s CTV, CBC Television, Global Television and MuchMusic also will air “Hope for Haiti,” as will BET International, CNN International, National Geographic and MTV Networks International, making the event available in 640 million homes worldwide.

Facebook and Twitter are the official social-media partners for the telethon. All donations will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF and Wyclef’s Yele Haiti foundation. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and United Nations World Food Programme will also benefit from the telethon’s efforts, as aid will be split evenly among each organization’s relief programs for the ravaged island.

Expected highlights from the telecast include U2’s Bono and The Edge joining Jay-Z and Rihanna in London for a one-of-a-kind performance. Kid Rock, Keith Urban and Sheryl Crow are among those who will appear in Los Angeles, and Springsteen, Blige and Shakira are set to take part in the New York portion of the show.

All the performances and collaborations will be available for download on iTunes for 99 cents on Saturday.