The upcoming weather conditions in the Northeast have resulted in yet another major cancellation. The annual Global Citizen festival was to have taken place tomorrow, Saturday, September 26, on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Hosted by Hugh Jackman, the roster of performers was set to include: Alicia Keys, Yeonjun, Ms. Lauryn Hill & Wyclef Jean, Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Lainey Wilson, Shaboozey and Tomorrow X Together. The event has issued the following statement:
Dear Global Citizens,
Due to the extreme weather forecast for New York City this weekend, we have made the difficult decision, in consultation with the City of New York and NYC Parks, to cancel this year’s Global Citizen Festival.
Forecasts predict dangerous conditions and circumstances in which we cannot safely bring tens of thousands of Global Citizens, artists, crew, vendors, partners, and staff onto the Great Lawn, let alone all of the equipment required. Safety has to come first. This is the first time in 14 years we’ve had to cancel. We have spent this week working through countless contingencies, which were ultimately not possible, and cancelling is a decision we have not taken lightly.
Over the last six weeks, Global Citizens took 3.5 million actions that secured $208.8 million in financial commitments, which will impact more than 9.5 million people. These commitments will:
· Help more than 2 million children access education and stay in school.
· Support 7.5 million people, including smallholder farmers, women, youth, and indigenous communities.
Major commitments include:
· Ireland and Canada committed $151.6 million to help children get in and stay in school.
· Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Guinea, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, the Minderoo Foundation, and the Green Climate Fund will support small farming businesses.
If you purchased tickets to the Festival, your refunds will be processed automatically. If you made a donation to secure your ticket, you can have this refunded, too. You will receive an email today that lays out your options.
The Festival is one day, but the actions you took and the impact you created will reach far beyond Central Park. Conflict, extreme weather, and rising costs are forcing millions of families from their homes, disrupting education, threatening food supplies and pushing communities back into extreme poverty, but we have seen what is possible when we take action together.
Together, we have invested time, energy, and hope into the movement. You took action to earn your tickets. You made plans, booked travel, and in many cases came to New York from across the country and around the world to be with us in Central Park, and we are sincerely grateful for your commitment to our mission.
Food that was due to be available at the Festival will be donated to local organizations serving the people of New York City.
We are enormously proud of what we have achieved together this year – one of the most impactful years for our movement around the world – and we are deeply grateful to every artist, world leader, partner, crew member, vendor, global citizen, and our team.
We will be back in Central Park next year. We can’t wait for you to be there with us.
