International advocacy organisation Global Citizen today announced that Beyonce, JAY-Z, Cassper Nyovest, D’banj, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Femi Kuti, Pharrell Williams and Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage, Usher, and Wizkid will headline the first Global Citizen Festival to be held in Africa, a free-ticketed event on Sunday, 2 December 2018 at the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg.
The December event is the culmination of Global Citizen’s “Mandela 100” campaign in partnership with the House of Mandela; a series of global events honouring the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela in his centenary year.
Oprah Winfrey will deliver a special keynote address remembering Nelson Mandela and his legacy.
Executive producers of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 include Dr. Precious Moloi Motsepe, Patrice Motsepe, Kweku Mandela, Dave Holmes, Declan Kelly, Liza Henshaw and Hugh Evans.
Hosts of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 include Naomi Campbell, Sir Bob Geldof, Gayle King, Bonang Matheba, Tyler Perry, and Forest Whitaker.
The Festival broadcast will be produced by Ben Winston and Fulwell 73 Productions.
Nelson Mandela famously called for this generation to realise an end to extreme poverty in one of his last public speeches, and Global Citizen has campaigned on this message with activist-driven events in Vancouver, London, Brussels, and at the upcoming 2018 Global Citizen Festival to be held in New York’s Central Park on 29 September.
Activists and music fans can begin to earn their free tickets starting on August 21st and can sign up today at www.globalcitizen.org.za, demanding world leaders make major investments to end extreme poverty and take a stand for women and girls. The “Mandela 100” campaign seeks to mobilize USD $1 billion in new commitments for the world’s most marginalised people, with USD $500 million set to impact the lives of 20 million women and girls worldwide. These investments will be aimed at ending hunger and increasing access to good nutrition, ending neglected tropical diseases, reducing HIV transmission rates, ensuring every child receives a quality education, reforming and repealing sexist laws, providing funding for women’s health and family planning, and ensuring access to clean water and safe sanitation world wide.
“Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest examples of resistance, patience, and forgiveness that our world will ever know. It is our great honour to campaign in his name and answer his call to be the generation to end extreme poverty,” said Hugh Evans, Global Citizen, Co-Founder and CEO.
“Nelson Mandela believed in people’s potential for goodness, and inner potential to change things for the better, for each other and for ourselves he believed that poverty and injustice were man made problems, that we could solve together. One hundred years on from his birthday, this year’s roving Global Citizen Festival will be held in his honour – in Johannesburg on December 2nd. It has been such a pleasure to put together, and all of the artists have been amazing to work with, perhaps because this is a chance for us to show that we all believe in the same things he did: love, acceptance and forgiveness,” said Chris Martin, Global Citizen Festival curator.
“I am pleased to lend my support to the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, in celebration of Madiba’s rich legacy of social justice, compassion and activism. Each one of us must take inspiration from his fight for equality by being the generation to end extreme poverty. We must ensure that no child or adolescent die from preventable causes, including hunger and malnutrition. I call on world leaders, civil society organizations, business leaders and change agents everywhere to join Global Citizen and take action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Graça Machel, Founder and Chairperson, The Graça Machel Trust.
“The future of the world lies in the hands of young people. Over half the world is under the age of 25. We must inspire and support them to be the generation to end extreme poverty. Nelson Mandela believed that poverty is man-made and must be overcome by human action. That’s why I’m delighted to support the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, to call on young people and world leaders to take action for a brighter future for everyone,” said Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations Secretary-General.
Ed Sheeran said, “I’m really looking forward to playing the Global Citizen Festival and paying tribute to Nelson Mandela who has inspired so many to fight for what they believe in. It should be a great day!”
Eddie Vedder said, “It is such an honor to be given the chance to head to South Africa to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s incomparable legacy. He showed an entire generation what it means to be a leader and make a difference for the world’s poor. I’m so grateful that this event will serve as a reminder of his great work and inspire us all to carry on in his name.”
“Nelson Mandela’s life story is a testament to the power of the human spirit and one man’s ability to change the world by standing up for what he believed in,” said Oprah Winfrey. “It is one of the great honours of my life to have spent so much time with him, and I look forward to celebrating his courageous life.”
Naomi Campbell said, “I’m truly honoured to celebrate the legacy of Nelson Mandela by co-hosting the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in South Africa. Madiba was a man whose values and wisdom have left a lasting imprint on this world. I cherish everything he taught me about giving, sharing, and forgiving, and I look forward to celebrating his life on December 2nd.”
Sir Bob Geldof said, “I share my friend Nelson Mandela’s belief that poverty is a manmade condition. And its greatest curse. Global Citizen is carrying on a legacy set in place by one of the kindest, most generous, and most courageous and wisest of leaders that our world has ever seen and I am proud to be a part of Mandela 100. It is time we fulfill his call to eliminate extreme poverty with all its attendant evils.”
A number of world leaders will address the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway and President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, who both serve as co-chairs of the UN Secretary General’s Advocacy Group for the Sustainable Development Goals, President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development, David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, Board Director of The Power of Nutrition, and Peter Sands, Executive Director of the The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Starting today, music fans and activists can sign up at www.globalcitizen.org.za to be among the first to be notified of the action journey launch. Actions include emailing world leaders, signing petitions, and using social media to generate commitments in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Festival will be the culmination of a six-months long campaign engaging Global Citizens around the world on seven Global Goals:
POVERTY: (Global Goal 1): End all forms of poverty everywhere
ZERO HUNGER (Global Goal 2): End all forms of hunger and malnutrition
HEALTH (Global Goal 3): Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
EDUCATION (Global Goal 4): Ensure every child has access to a quality education
GIRLS & WOMEN (Global Goal 5): End all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere to ensure that #SheIsEqual
WATER & SANITATION (Global Goal 6): Ensure everyone has access to clean water and sanitation
LIFE BELOW WATER (Global Goal 14): addressing the threat plastic pollution poses to the oceans
Global Citizen is proud to join forces with the most forward thinking and innovative organizations committed to the mission and movement of ending extreme poverty.
The Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 will be presented by Major Partner The Motsepe Foundation, with major partners, Johnson & Johnson, Cisco, Nedbank, Vodacom, Big Concerts, House of Mandela, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeepers, Eldridge Industries, and Associate Partner, HP.
Since the first Global Citizen Festival in New York in 2012, Global Citizen has grown into one of the largest, most visible platforms for young people around the world calling on world leaders to honour their responsibilities in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and ending extreme poverty by 2030. The organization has taken its action-based model to Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and Canada, and created a platform for activists to learn about the issues they care most about, take action, and earn rewards for doing so.
Global Citizens have generated commitments and policy announcements from leaders valued at over $37.9 billion that are set to affect the lives of more than 2.25 billion people. This year alone Global Citizens have secured 29 commitments totaling over $2.9 billion that are set to affect the lives of more than 501 million people by 2030.
