The Weeknd, BTS, and Billie Eilish will perform at Global Citizen Live on September 25, a 24-hour event aimed at raising money and awareness for global issues such as COVID-19, climate change, and extreme poverty.
Hugh Evans, the CEO of Global Citizen, hopes that the event, which coincides with the UN General Assembly, would inspire governments, corporations, and donors to fund a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses by September, particularly in Africa.
Also, the international advocacy group intends to raise $6 billion for famine relief efforts. This is for the estimated 41 million people on the verge of starvation around the world, as well as enough money to plant a billion trees to help combat climate change. Evans points to the current space competition for anyone who doubts that these institutions will be able to raise additional money to donate.
“As millionaires take to the skies, we need to remind people that we only have one planet, and we need to make sure that we care for it and those who live on it,” Evans told the Associated Press. “This is something that the ultra-high-net-worth community can do right now to fix the world’s problems.
“We’re talking of a $6 billion investment to address famine relief efforts across Africa, which seems huge in contrast. To be honest, Jeff Bezos could write that cheque tomorrow and it would be a tenth of a percent of his overall wealth.” He continued, “I’m all for individuals daring to dream large, and may they do so even bigger, but let’s also dream about a world where the worlds extremely dumb social evils are addressed by those with the resources to do so.”
Global Citizen Live will take place on six continents, with performances ranging from pop sensations H.E.R., Lizzo, Lorde, and Ed Sheeran to rockers Coldplay, Green Day, and Metallica, as well as international performers such as Andrea Bocelli, Lang Lang, Angelique Kidjo, and Femi Kuti.
Central Park in New York City, the Champ de Mars in Paris, as well as sites in London and Los Angeles, will host live events. Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, South Korea, and Lagos, Nigeria will all contribute performances and hosted portions.
Global Citizen Live, like nearly all of the organization’s events, will encourage millions of followers to push their governments or individual firms to give or take steps to help the organization achieve its objective of ending extreme poverty by 2030. COVID-19 and the resulting economic standstill, according to Evans, have hampered that goal, sending 150 million people back into extreme poverty.