Global Citizen Festival enlists top talent for massive yearlong 2020 concert campaign 

The annual Global Citizen Festival is happening this weekend in New York but founder Hugh Evans is thinking bigger.
Usher in New York (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)
Usher in New York (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP): The annual Global Citizen Festival is happening this weekend in New York but founder Hugh Evans is thinking bigger.

He's enlisted some of the world's top talent including Hugh Jackman, Pharrell and Chris Martin to kick off a yearlong campaign called Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.

"It is a massive movement," said Jackman, who will co-host Saturday's Global Citizen fest with his wife Deborra-lee Furness.

Jackman said Thursday that Evans' dream of eradicating extreme poverty seems achievable. "You get that feeling, this is going to happen."

The initiative will culminate with a live 10-hour concert held across five continents on Sep 26, 2020.

Performers taking part include Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Eddie Vedder, H.E.R., Miley Cyrus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Usher and more.

It will be broadcast live from New York, Lagos, Nigeria and other cities in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

<em>Chris Martin in New York (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)</em>
Chris Martin in New York (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)


"It just felt like an amazing, direct way of using what we do to help everyone use their own voice," said Martin of Coldplay.

Saturday's Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park will feature performances from Queen, Adam Lambert, French Montana and more.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan will also help keep the event moving.
 

<em>H.E.R. in New York (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)</em>
H.E.R. in New York (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)

The festival calls on government and businesses to fight infectious diseases, empower women and girls, combat plastic pollution and provide quality education.

MSNBC will simulcast the festival, and iHeartMedia will broadcast the festival on the radio.

Brosnahan said she's excited because she hasn't missed a Global Citizen Festival in six years.

"I've never been to something before where everybody is there because they believe in the kind of world that we could live in and the kind of world that we could collectively create," she said. "I can't wait."

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