Beyonce, Coldplay, Pearl Jam and Ed Sheeran performed for 60,000 fans at the fourth annual Global Citizen Festival on September 26, 2015 at New York City’s Central Park which featured speeches by Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama. The list of performers also included Common, who was joined in a surprise appearance by Sting, and Ariana Grande, who sang with Coldplay. Leonardo DiCaprio, Bono, Salma Hayek-Pinault, Kerry Washington, Usher and Bill Gates were also among the speakers, in addition to leaders from 13 nations. Fans won free tickets to the event for actions to support the Global Citizen Project’s 17 goals which include ending extreme poverty by 2015.
Hugh Jackman and Stephen Colbert hosted the festival, and they were joined on stage by numerous entertainers including DiCaprio, who reiterated one of the themes of the event, “Don’t be a bystander.” He said, “We have gathered to commit to global goals…50 million African children will suffer from malnutrition in the next decade,” he continued. “The world needs to manifest change. It is incumbent upon all of us to get involved. Please take action.”
Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed, “I love Coldplay,” before speaking about the Global Citizen goals. He told the crowd, “Be a light to the world, a sea of global citizens…This is about possibility. We can change the world. I refuse to believe we won’t try. We can do this.”
In pre-taped remarks, President Barack Obama stated, “Children are dying. It is a moral outrage…With the new sustainable goals for development, that is how change happens…We must uphold dignity for every human being.”
Beyonce appeared at the United Nations Sustainable Goals Summit the day before the festival, and she made a spectacular entrance in Central Park, rising 30 feet above the stage before kicking off her captivating 60-minute set with “Crazy In Love.” Wearing a white body suit with black thigh high boots, she said, “I want to soak up this moment. I am so honored to be on this stage.” In the middle of her show, she was joined by Sheeran for an acoustic duet on “Drunk In Love.” On a night when numerous speakers discussed female empowerment, Beyonce echoed that theme with her songs “Run The World (Girls),” “Independent Women,” and “Survivor.” She added a powerful exclamation point; audio of Maya Angelou reciting her classic “Phenomenal Women” poem, before performing “Grown Woman.” With twelve high stepping female dancers, she dazzled the crowd, closing with “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).”
Following her performance, Beyonce introduced Michelle Obama, who commented, “Like Beyonce, I believe in the promise of girls worldwide.” The First Lady promoted her new education initiative, “62 Million Girls,” dedicated to the 62 million girls worldwide who do not attend school. “They deserve the chance for education,” she stated. “That chance is at the core of ending global poverty.”
Mrs. Obama was followed by Bono, who recalled how he worked with Nelson Mandela when he was 19 years old. In expressing his support for achieving the Global Citizen goals to improve the world, the U2 leader recalled one of Mandela’s sayings, “It is always impossible until it is done.” He supported Obama’s “62 Million Girls” program, commenting, “Every child, boy and girl, deserves an education.”
Coldplay opened the show with lead singer Chris Martin telling the crowd, “You worked harder than us to get here, so we pay respect to you. Global Citizen is about bringing people together,” he continued. “We thought other people have the same passion, so we joined up. It’s giving us hope.” In the middle of their set, Martin said, “I asked my children, ‘Who would be the most awesomest to perform with?,’ and they said, ‘Ariana Grande.'” The 22-year-old star joined him to duet on her hit, “Just A Little Bit of Your Heart.” Before closing with a new song, “Amazing Day,” Martin said, “Thank you to the Pope for making New York City the most loving place.”
Martin curated the music for the festival, and he was followed on the main stage by Ed Sheeran. He performed a 45 minute solo set, and he was joined by Martin on keyboards for his number one hit, “Thinking Out Loud.”
Common was a late addition to the bill, and he performed his Academy Award winning song “Glory” from Selma. He also rapped The Police classic, “Every Breath You Take,” with a surprise appearance by Sting. They closed with another Police song, “One World.”
Pearl Jam was the final act of the evening, and lead singer Edde Vedder was in awe of the event. “It is an incredible experience to be here with world leaders, people dedicated to making a change,” he said. “We never played a show for an audience entirely of activists. It gives a ray of hope that we can smash cynicism and apathy, and make global poverty a thing of the past.” Vedder paid tribute to the late John Lennon with a song he called appropriate for Central Park and the Global Citizen movement, “Imagine.” Then he said, “It’s not often you sing with a queen.” He was joined by Beyonce for a duet on the Bob Marley classic, “Redemption Song,” before closing with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.”
Just prior to the kickoff of the festival, the United Nations Sustainable Goals summit voted to accept and act upon the Global Citizen Project’s 17 goals:
GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL 17 GOALS
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Good health and well being
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Affordable and clean energy
- Good jobs and economic growth
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Reduced inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Responsible consumption and production
- Climate action
- Life below water
- Life on land
- Peace and justice
- Partnerships for the goals
