Global Citizen Live generates $1.1 billion to fight poverty

NEW YORK (AP) — Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour concert that featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Lopez, BTS and Elton John and dozens of other stars, raised more than $1.1 billion in commitments and pledges over the weekend to fight extreme poverty.

Broadcasting from sites on six continents, including New York’s Central Park and in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Global Citizen also secured pledges from France for 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for developing countries and corporate pledges for planting 157 million trees around the world.

Vaccine pledges, which also came from the governments of Croatia and Ireland, followed numerous pleas, including from Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, onstage at Central Park on Saturday afternoon.

“This year, the world is expected to produce enough doses to meet the target of vaccinating 70% of people in every single country,” Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said to cheers from the Central Park crowd. “But it is wrong that so much of the vaccine supply has only gone to just 10 wealthy nations so far, and not everyone else.”

The U.S. government pledged $295 million for humanitarian needs around the world caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major philanthropic commitments came from the Lego Foundation, who pledged $150 million to support UNICEF and other partners working with children, and Rotary International, which pledged $98 million in grant funding in 2022.

The event featured numerous music collaborations, including Billie Eilish and Finneas joining Coldplay in New York and Charlie Puth joining Elton John in Paris, but joint efforts took places offstage as well. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and a private foundation teamed up to...