Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Ariana Grande at Global Citizen Festival Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen
On September 26th, over 50,000 people made their way to Central Park for the annual Global Citizen Festival, which is an event that that brings awareness for poverty.
As attendees made their way onto the lawn, they were fortunate to see a star-studded show which was headlined by Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, Coldplay, and Pearl Jam. Also, in attendance were: First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden. and 18-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai. Movie Star Hugh Jackman and the new Late Show host Stephen Colbert hosted the festival.
The show was organized to educate the Festival’s mission, which is to end world poverty by 2030. They challenged everyone to support and take action on world hunger, help fight polio and improving educational resources worldwide.
The band “Coldplay” opened up the show with their hit singles “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”, “Yellow” and “Viva La Vida”. After his set, lead singer Chris Martin brought up to the stage, Ariana Grande. They both performed “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart”, which erupted the crowd.
Next, Kerry Washington from the hit show “Scandal” took the stage to introduce Ed Sheeran. He and Coldplay’s Chris Martin put on a show by performing Ed Sheeran’s hit, “Thinking out Loud”.
In between sets several iconic figures including: Vice President Joe Biden, Movie Star Leonardo Dicaprio and Salma Hayek gave moving and inspirational speeches.
After, rapper Common and Sting performed the classic hit “Every Breathe You Take”, it was Beyonce’s turn to take the stage. She started off with her hit song “Crazy in Love. Then, she brought up Ed Sheeran to both perform her song “Drunk In Love”. Finally, she closed out her set with her classic hit with Destiny’s Child, “Single Ladies”. The show capped off with a final performance by the legendary band, Pearl Jam.
Overall, the show was an absolute success and provided once in a life time performances that no one will forget.
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