NYC ROCKS FOR WORLD TO HEAR
Central Park fest for global vax equality
“Get up, stand up” — for one another and for global vaccine equity.
That was the message delivered by political leaders and celebrities, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, during Global Citizen Live festivities on the Great Lawn on Central Park on Saturday.
The event was the Big Apple’s contribution to the international music festival to raise awareness for humanitarian causes, including efforts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to poverty-stricken countries around the world.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Central Park show, joining UN leaders to amplify the concert’s call for G-7 and EU nations to share at least 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses with needy nations. The crowd erupted when the royals stepped on stage.
“Are we prepared to do what is necessary to end this pandemic?” Harry asked the audience.
“While in this country and many others, you can go almost anywhere to get vaccinated, billions of people around the world cannot,” Markle added.
The Sussexes arrived early, dressed casually in black with matching black masks. Markle wore a short sparkling off-white ress on stage.
The show began with a medley of Bob Marley tunes performed by an ensemble that included Cyndi Lauper, Jon Batiste and Billy Porter. Lauper soon took over, dedicating her song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to the young women of Afghanistan. “Incredible,” concertgoer Lauren Baker, 21, of Ohio, enthused as she bopped to Lauper’s 1980s pop classic.
Baker, in sparkling eye makeup and a T-shirt that read “Climate Change, Social Justice,” praised the Brooklyn-born Lauper as “a feminist icon.”
Coldplay, Billie Eilish and Jennifer Lopez headlined the show, which also featured performances by Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo and Meek Mill.
“I’m excited to be with people, watch music, enjoy the weather, be in Central Park and in my hometown,” beamed Stella Gleitsman, 19, of Manhattan, a student at SUNY Purchase, before the show.
And Julian Puello, of Washington
tonville, said the show was his first concert and that the tickets were a gift from his mother for his 18th birthday one day earlier.
“I think [it’s] awesome,” gushed Puello, a student at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh.
Mayor de Blasio took the stage to boos, as he touted New York’s environmental agenda. “The Covid crisis showed us what is possible when people work together for change,” the Democrat said.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, offered a reminder of the vaccine inequity in a statement.
“Over 75 percent of the more than 4 billion doses administered to date have occurred in just 10 countries, while only 1 percent of people in low-income countries have received a dose,” he said. “We cannot disregard this gross inequity or become complacent.”
Other concerts took place in London, Paris, Seoul and Sydney, among other cities. Headliners included Duran Duran, Elto John, Demi Lovato, Metallic and Ed Sheeran.