In a message to be delivered on Mandela Day Saturday, the UN secretary general said he was joining people throughout the world "in wishing him a happy 91st birthday."

"His commitment to a democratic, multi-racial South Africa, his steadfast pursuit of justice, his willingness to reconcile with those who persecuted him most -- these are just some of the hallmarks of a remarkable man," Ban said.

"May we all continue to benefit from his wisdom, his good works and good humor for many years to come," he added.

"I warmly welcome the global campaign to recognize the birthday of Nelson Mandela, July 18, as an annual opportunity to celebrate this great man and the values and principles that he has come personify over the past seven decades," said the president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, in his own message.

"I hope that Mandela Day will eventually be celebrated as a United Nations international day to serve as an inspiration, in particularly to our young people, and as invitation to join forces in the ever-more complex and urgent campaigns against poverty, racism, ignorance and violence," he added.

Celebrities and politicians are to hold concerts and other celebrations in honor of Mandela from Johannesburg to New York, where France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will join a glittering line-up led by Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, emerging in 1990 committed to democracy and negotiating a deal that led to universal suffrage and the country's first black presidency, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

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