Politics-Weary Romanians Welcome Michael Jackson To `Relieve Tension'

BUCHAREST, Romania - These are "Dangerous" times in Romania, where state television is alternating election updates with Michael Jackson look-alike contests and music videos.

The Bucharest concert on Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" concert tour is set for tomorrow in the 62,000-seat National Stadium, once the scene of Communist military parades.

"We are fed up with politics," said Daniela Piriu, 27. "Jackson's concert will remove the tension in this city for a change."

Campaign posters of President Ion Iliescu and his rivals in last Sunday's election have paled next to the ubiquitous Jackson placards. Shops are offering Jackson T-shirts, and a 30-foot replica of the "Dangerous" album cover adorns the Intercontinental Hotel, where Jackson's staff is staying.

Jackson himself was in seclusion yesterday at Snagov Palace, an estate that belonged to Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

The 34-year-old performer was greeted by thousands of fans Monday as he arrived for what is billed as the biggest-ever performance by a Western pop star in this country that until 1989 was isolated by Ceausescu's Stalinist regime.

Today, Jackson was to meet with Iliescu, the apparent winner of Sunday's election, and visit Romanian orphans. He also was scheduled to tour the castles of Count Dracula in Transylvania.

All concert proceeds are to benefit 100,000 orphans housed in squalid state-run institutions in Romania.

In each of the other 18 countries on Jackson's tour, part of the proceeds went to his Heal the World Foundation, dedicated to helping children.

The Bucharest concert will be broadcast next month by the U.S.-based Home Box Office cable channel.