Rolling Stones to play free show in Cuba

The Rolling Stones say a free show in Havana later this month will be a landmark event for the band.

British singer Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs on stage during their concert at the Morumbi Stadium, in Sao Paulo, Brazil Source: AAP

The Rolling Stones say they will play a free concert in Havana on March 25, becoming the biggest act to play Cuba since its 1959 revolution.

The Stones will play in Havana's Ciudad Deportiva three days after President Barack Obama visits Havana.

The concert is expected to draw a massive audience in a country where the government once persecuted young people for listening to rock music, then seen as a tool of Western capitalism.

Along with dropping that policy, the Cuban government has increasingly allowed large non-official gatherings.

The band says in a statement that "we have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too".