Despite taking place around the same time as dozens of other U.S. music festivals, the Global Citizen Festival continues to stand out thanks to its public global mission of ending extreme poverty—and its consistent slate of high-profile headliners. The Global Poverty Project’s sixth edition of the festival, which returned to the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park on September 23, provided a daylong event that celebrated numerous world leaders, nonprofits, socially conscious artists, and attendees—also known as “global citizens”—and their commitment to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which involves tasks to end extreme global poverty by 2030.
In the two months leading up to the festival, organizers reported that "global citizens" took 1.6 million actions that secured 29 commitments, 55 announcements, and 13 calls to action, raising $3.2 billion, which is slated to affect the lives of 221 million people. The festival, which also marked the end of Global Citizen Week—a series of more than 30 public, advocacy-driven events and activations in New York—celebrated the achievements with performances from headliners including Stevie Wonder, Green Day, the Killers, and the Lumineers. Event hosts included Hugh Jackman, Deborra-lee Furness, Priyanka Chopra, Demi Lovato, Lupita Nyong’o, and Kal Penn.
Festival sponsors and partners incorporated the event’s social activism themes and goals into onsite activations to engage attendees. “We work closely with our corporate and nonprofit activation partners to create unique and purposeful experiences for our guests,” said David Beame, global event and experiences director for the festival.
Here’s a look at how sponsors and partners such as MSNBC, Care, Citi, and Johnson & Johnson engaged with attendees during the festival.
The festival stage featured the event's signature red arch. New stage elements for this edition included a giant replica of the Statue of Liberty's hand bearing her tourch, with an illuminated flame that featured a cubed design. The stage was designed by Atomic Design and Steve Cohen.
The stage also featured an illuminated cutout of the New York skyline that changed colors during speeches and performances from headliners, including Green Day.
Media partner MSNBC gave away reusable water bottles, which attendees could refill at branded water bottle stations. Beame said the initiative "saved 54,345 single-use plastic bottles that many festivals still heavily rely on."
A branded, illuminated arch welcomed festivalgoers to an area that held numerous onsite activations.Â
As the global health partner of the festival, Johnson & Johnson spotlighted its commitment to fighting H.I.V. through its Make H.I.V. History initiative with its Donate a Photo booth and app. For every photo shared through the app, the company donates $1 to one of its nonprofit partners, chosen by the user from a rotating list of causes. At the festival, Johnson & Johnson highlighted two nonprofit partners in the H.I.V./AIDS space: the Black AIDS Institute and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
The photo booth, which was created by 3D Joe & Max, featured an illustration of the festival that was designed to provide a three-dimensional feel when shared on social media. Attendees were encouraged to hold signs that read #MakeHIVHistory.
Festival sponsor Citi broadcast the event live in virtual reality for the first time, and also hosted an onsite V.I.P. lounge where attendees could watch the performances. The lounge was designed by SoHo Experiential.
Muddling Memories provided cocktails called Cinnamons of Humanity, An Equality Elixir, and Passionate About Change.Â
The lounge showcased vertical garden walls with wooden boxes that featured the Citi logo, the Global Citizen logo, and the phrase "For freedom, for justice, for all." Furniture was provided by Taylor Creative Inc. and plants were provided by Florescer NY.Â
Care, a nonprofit dedicated to ending poverty, hosted a virtual-reality station that transported viewers to a village in Niger to learn about Fatchima, a grandmother whose life changes because of a village savings and loan association.
Cadillac, the official vehicle of Apple Music's Carpool Karaoke: The Series, brought a Cadillac Carpool Karaoke Booth that combined a sound studio with the Cadillac XT5 Crossover. The booth was created by Jack Morton Worldwide and OM Digital.Â
With the help of a green screen, participants could record a social-media-shareable video of themselves singing along to popular songs.Â
