The Ben E. King standard Stand By Me gets a powerful makeover in a new music video.

The project features 46 singers, rappers and dancers from 14 countries - all people with disabilities - performing the song from their homes.

The performance aims to raise awareness of how they have been significantly affected by the pandemic and also carries messages of hope, positivity and solidarity.

The four-minute music video premieres on True Colors Festival's YouTube channel at noon today.

The True Colors Festival and music video are initiatives by Tokyo-based non-profit organisation The Nippon Foundation as part of its overseas programmes for supporting people with disabilities.

The festival in Tokyo was conceived as a lead-up event to the Olympic Games.

According to the executive producer of the music video and festival, Singaporean Audrey Perera, 58, the compromised immune system of some people with disabilities makes them more vulnerable to infection, while others who are fully reliant on caregivers may find themselves without their basic support systems.

She said: "We wanted a song with lyrics that could be understood at different levels, a song that was universally loved and instantly recognisable.

"The message is about standing by one another, about ensuring no one is left behind, whether during the pandemic or beyond. It's a promise to stand by you and an appeal to stand by me."

One of the artists featured in the video is home-grown talent Danial Bawthan, 25, who goes by the stage name Wheelsmith.

The rapper, composer and music producer was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when he was four years old.

It was a learning experience for him.

He said: I saw the arrangement process as it took shape and how they squeezed in 46 performers."

Also featured is American singer-songwriter and motivational speaker Sparsh Shah, 17.

Despite being born with an incurable disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, which makes his bones extremely brittle, he has rapped at more than 150 events for audiences of up to 50,000 people, including at the United Nations headquarters.

Shah said: "This project is proof of the extraordinary power that technology has to bring humans together, regardless of who and where we are in the world."

Other artists featured in the video include Caliph Buskers, a Malaysian pop band of visually impaired vocalists and instrumentalists; Filipino singer Alienette Coldfire, who placed third in the 2016 edition of France's Got Talent; and Finnish rapper Signmark, the first deaf artist to be signed to record label Warner Music.

To make the video even more inclusive, all the lyrics have been translated into sign language.

• The True Colors music video will premiere on True Colors Festival's YouTube channel at noon today.