Aussie organisation looks to reunite the world amid vaccine rollout
24 April 2021 at 10:24 am
A newly announced event will call on governments, corporations and philanthropists to step up and help fund an extra two billion vaccine doses for poorer countries
Global superstars including Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez and the Foo Fighters are taking part in a special streamed concert to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and encourage people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.
International advocacy organisation Global Citizen, which was founded in Melbourne in 2008, has announced it will host a global broadcast and streaming special called VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World.
This event will be pre-taped at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and air on major US television networks on 8 May. Australians will also be able to watch the concert on Global Citizen’s YouTube channel on 9 May (10am AEST).
The concert will be hosted by Selena Gomez and features performances from artists including Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder (from Pearl Jam) and the Foo Fighters.
As well as inspiring vaccine confidence, the event also aims to advocate for the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for everyone around the world.
Organisers are calling on governments, corporations and philanthropists to step up and pledge US$22.1 billion (A$28 billion), which is enough to get two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, tests and treatments to the world’s poorest countries by the end of the year.
Gomez said she was honoured to be hosting the event.
“This is a historic moment to encourage people around the world to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, call on world leaders to share vaccine doses equitably and to bring people together for a night of music in a way that hasn’t felt possible in the past year,” Gomez said.
“I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Hugh Evans, the co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, said the world was in a race against time to build vaccine confidence and ensure people are protected.
“There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but getting vaccines to everyone, everywhere regardless of who they are or where they are from, is key to ensuring the end of this pandemic around the world,” Evans said.
“We must all unite to get back on track to eradicating extreme poverty.”
