Metallica and Mariah Carey to headline Global Citizen NYC concert

NEW YORK

Metallica, Mariah Carey and the Jonas Brothers will headline a free concert in New York’s Central Park next month marking the 10th anniversary of the Global Citizen Festival hosted by the international non-profit organization fighting extreme poverty.

The September 24 event will also include a concert around the world in Accra, Ghana featuring Usher, SZA and HER

But the day will be less of a celebration than a call to action to immediately address many international crises, said Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans.

“We are actually at a critical inflection point where COVID has pushed nearly 100 million people into extreme poverty and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the situation worse,” he said. he declares. “As many as 323 million people are now facing acute hunger. And if we don’t act urgently now, up to 200 million more people risk being pushed into extreme poverty by November, bringing the total number of people living in extreme poverty to more than a billion people.

International organizations count people living on the equivalent of $1.90 a day as living in extreme poverty.

‘Quantico’ star Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who will host the Central Park event, says Global Citizen has always encouraged people to use their voice to convince world leaders and policy makers to take action against hunger and poverty. However, the need to focus on these issues is now even more pressing.

“If we want to do something about this, we need urgent mobilization,” Chopra Jonas told The Associated Press. “So just to see all these people from different walks of life, from different professions – ordinary people coming together, motivated to make change now on an urgent basis – is so inspiring.”

As with all Global Citizen events, concert tickets are free. However, to get the tickets, people must join Global Citizen and take action on a series of campaign issues.

Pop star Charlie Puth, Latin sensation Rosalia, country star Mickey Guyton and Italian rockers Maneskin also headline Central Park, while rapper Stormzy, Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems and Ghanaian stars Gyakie, Sarkodie and Stonebwoy will also perform in Accra. Both concerts will be broadcast and streamed on ABC, ABC News Live, FX, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Twitter, YouTube and other outlets. ABC will air a primetime special, “Global Citizen Festival: Take Action NOW,” beginning broadcasts Sept. 25.

Global Citizen says it hopes to use the platform provided by the concerts to encourage fans to demand specific changes from leaders in government, business and philanthropy. Evans wants to convince Scandinavian countries, along with Ireland, Portugal and others, to transfer their special drawing rights to the International Monetary Fund, which provide access to about $100 billion in affordable finance, to low-income countries. , particularly in Africa, to reduce their debt repayment.

In addition to asking the United States to donate more to fight climate change, he also wants around $500 million in donations and grants for African farmers so they can grow more crops, rather than depending on the wheat and fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia, which were both in short supply due to the war.

“We must also consider that supporting women and girls around the world and their talents is the closest we have to a silver bullet for poverty eradication,” Evans said. “We call on the wealthiest nations to provide $600 million in critical investments in education, sexual and reproductive health and economic empowerment for them.”

Global Citizen’s formula for using social media and follower interest to convince corporations and foundations to donate has worked. Since its first Global Citizen Festival in 2012, the advocacy organization estimates it has helped direct $41.4 billion to its causes and improved the lives of more than 1.15 billion people.

“These are pressing issues,” Evans said. “That’s why our campaigns are focused on ending extreme poverty now — not next year, not the year after that, but now. We need to tackle the issues that matter most, whether it’s gender equality, climate change or the structural issues that keep people poor.

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