A star-studded lineup of world leaders and musicians will respond to the call at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival on Saturday to end extreme poverty.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and teen activist Malala Yousafzai and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, alongside humanitarians Bill and Melinda Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bono, and many more, will commit to join the fight to end extreme poverty by 2030.
The free-ticketed concert on Sept. 26 aims to encourage people to complete an action journey, such as encouraging world leaders to advance educational resources for women and signing petitions to help end extreme illnesses like polio. The festival, headlined by Beyoncé, Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay, will be held on the Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park, where 60,000 global citizens will gather.
In a press release from The Global Poverty Project, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said he hopes “to show Sweden’s unwavering commitment to fight inequality, together with the global community.”
“We are ready to be part of a new push for the eradication of poverty, especially through granting access to water, sanitation and hygiene around the world. It’s a huge task we have in front of us — so let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work,” said Löfven.
MSNBC’s partnership with The Global Poverty Project helps support the global goals to end extreme poverty by 2030, tackle climate change and advance educational resources for women.
This year “is an unprecedented moment for global action,” said Hugh Evans, CEO of The Global Poverty Project. “This extraordinary group of leaders, activists and advocates have the power to help realize the ambitious Global Goals, changing the lives of billions. I have never been more proud to be a part of the Global Citizen movement!”
Other world leaders and activists joining the fight include Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz; the concert will be hosted by Hugh Jackman, Deborra-Lee Furness, Stephen Colbert, Salma Hayek Pinault, Kerry Washington, and Olivia Wilde.
The 2015 Global Citizen Festival will air live from Central Park on MSNBC and MSNBC.com from 3-10 p.m. ET. YouTube will also livestream the Festival on youtube.com/globalcitizen, presented by T-Mobile, and an audio feed of the concert will also be simulcast live on the “Global Citizen Radio” digital station on iHeartRadio, and digitally streamed on the innovative music and entertainment platform, TIDAL.
For more information, visit GlobalCitizen.org and follow @GlblCtzn on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #GlobalCitizen.
