Global Citizen Live New York, held on Central Park’s Great Lawn, the site of the original Global Citizen Festival, was a massive six-hour event that drew tens of thousands of people to take action and be part of a worldwide charitable event that drew attention to and sought commitments from NGOs and wealthy donors to fund efforts for vaccine justice, climate change, poverty, refugee crises, and famine relief. The 24-hour, six continent-spanning festival regularly gave celebrities, CEOs, and leaders of NGOs the opportunity to present milestones in pledged commitments. NGOs like Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation publicly committed millions of dollars towards those causes. Cumulatively, the event succeeded in generating “$1.1B to defeat poverty, 157M trees to defend the planet and 60M+ COVID-19 vaccines to end the pandemic”.
But it was the music that drew many to the event, in-person and online, including top performers like Femi Kuti, Kylie Minogue, Metallica, Ricky Martin, and more. In New York, people waited for hours in the sun to see Billie Eilish and Coldplay. Though Coldplay is a divisive band, few could fault lead singer Chris Martin for offering a generous and egalitarian position on stage. Speaking between songs, Martin noted the band was “headlining” before quickly walking that back and instead noting the band was “closing” the show.
The group’s set showcased some new songs from their forthcoming record, Music of the Spheres, and also welcomed collaborations from performers from earlier in the day including Lang Lang, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, and Eilish along with her brother Finneas. But Martin saved the biggest surprise for last. Instead of a “really long boring Coldplay song”, Martin turned the stage over to Paul Simon.
Photos NYC performance highlights are below.
Alessia Cara
Camila Cabello
Lizzo
Meek Mill
Jennifer Lopez
Billie Eilish
Coldplay
Paul Simon
Additional Images
