Billie Eilish, BTS, Metallica and more to perform at Global Citizen Live

Global Citizen Live, a massive 24-hour-long free music extravaganza featuring some of the world’s biggest pop stars, is set to stream on September 25 to raise funds and address issues such as poverty and climate change.

The big-ticket performers who will entertain audiences include Billie Eilish, H.E.R., The Weeknd, BTS, Doja Cat, Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Green Day, Metallica, Andrea Bocelli, Ricky Martin, Femi Kuti and Burna Boy.

The truly global event will feature performances from cities in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America and will air on a number of platforms including YouTube and Twitter.

The September concert from charity organisation Global Citizen comes after its successful Vax Live event held in May, which generated more than 26 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and $302 million for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator initiative. The event included appearances by President Joe Biden as well as Prince Harry and helped raise the issue of vaccine sharing globally. Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and H.E.R. also took to the stage to perform and raise awareness.

Hugh Evans, CEO of Global Citizen, is hoping the upcoming event, timed to the United Nations General Assembly, will encourage governments, corporations and philanthropists to fund a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses by September, especially in Africa. The international advocacy group also hopes to raise $6 billion for famine relief efforts for the 41 million people worldwide who are estimated to be on the brink of starvation, as well as enough money to plant a billion trees to help counter climate change.

For anyone who questions whether these institutions will manage to generate more money to donate, Evans points to the current space race.

“As billionaires are leaping into space, we need to remind people that we’ve really only got one planet and we need to make sure that we that we actually care for it and for those who are on it,” Evans told the Associated Press. “This is something the ultra-high-net-worth community can solve the world’s problems right now.”

Like nearly all of the group’s events, Global Citizen Live will encourage millions of fans urge their governments or individual corporations to donate or take actions to advance the group’s goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

“It is very important to me to be a part of this historic event to spread awareness and encourage action toward helping the people of Ethiopia during this devastating humanitarian crisis they are faced with,” The Weeknd said in a statement. “It’ll be an honour to perform and help bring support to these citizens who are suffering so severely.”

— With inputs from AP