The Manhattan Beat: 2017 Global Citizens Festival NYC

Musicians and activists bonded to make commitments toward health, gender equality, education, and other poverty issues at the sixth annual Global Citizen Festival NYC in Central Park on September 23, 2017. Stevie Wonder, Green Day, Pharrell Williams, the Killers, the Lumineers, the Chainsmokers, Big Sean, Andra Day, and Alessia Cara performed, and activists Priyanka Chopra, Lupita Nyong'o, Demi Lovato, Malin Akerman, Kal Penn, Freida Pinto, and others spoke about the battle to protect US foreign aid, the campaign to increase access to mental health care around the world, and the fight for racial justice at home and abroad.

The festival, which started in New York in 2012 and has spread to other countries, was organized by Global Poverty Project as a movement to end extreme poverty around the world by 2030. In the weeks before the festival, some 60,000 participants earned free admission to the festival by taking actions to fight extreme poverty, such as calling congress, contributing to charity acts, signing petitions, sending tweets, and watching videos. The event was live-streamed globally on television, online and in public locations. This concert was timed to coincide with the UN General Assembly to raise awareness and leverage government aid.