It’s been quite awhile since Coldplay was an opening act—these days, the British pop-rockers are arena headliners who, on average, draw north of 38,000 fans and gross $3.4 million per city.
But on September 26th, they’ll be an opener once again in front of 60,000 people at this year’s Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park, and they’re totally fine with that.
“We love the Global Citizen movement and we love opening for Beyoncé so this ticks both boxes,” said Coldplay frontman Chris Martin in a statement.
“I am honored to be a part of the Global Citizen Festival,” added Beyoncé. “It has always stood for improving the lives of people everywhere, but this year is especially rewarding as we all join focuses and utilize our talents for one goal: to end extreme poverty globally.”
Beyoncé and Coldplay will be joined by Pearl Jam and Ed Sheeran as this year's performers. As usual, the musical acts are foregoing their usual hefty paydays—according to Pollstar, the four acts’ combined per-city gross is more than $8 million—in order to support the Global Citizen mission.
This year, Martin’s involvement in that extends far beyond committing his band to a free performance. He recently agreed to link up with Global Citizen and curate a mega-concert for charity in a different city each year through 2030. The ultimate goal: spurring audiences to take action to end extreme global poverty.
If readers find this sounds like another service-minded rocker from a rainy European island, Martin wouldn’t disagree. “Everything I do is a Bono move,” he told FORBES earlier this year. “Surely that’s clear after 15 years … of course he has an influence on my work, I’m very proud of that.”
Within days of signing up with Global Citizen, Martin was on the recruiting trail. Pearl Jam was first to sign up, and around the time of the Grammys, Martin reached out to Sheeran and Beyoncé. The former agreed immediately, while the latter asked for time think about it. Eventually, Beyoncé decided not only to perform, but to bring in Chime for Change, a
“Working with Chris has been a godsend,” says Global Citizen cofounder Hugh Evans. “He’s been the best collaborator Global Citizen could have asked for.”
The concert comes at a very important time for global antipoverty efforts. September marks the end of the U.N.’s self-imposed 15-year deadline to achieve Millennium Development Goals including the eradication of extreme poverty and the institution of universal primary education around the world. Up next: crafting a set of goals for the next 15 years.
As usual, tickets to this year’s Global Citizen Festival will be available through a lottery to anyone who takes action to further the cause via the organization’s website. That includes calling upon the U.S. to increase support to the poorest countries from 30% to 50% of its foreign aid budget.
Another key: coordinating worldwide efforts focused on providing universal access to quality primary schools. Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has said it would cost $39 billion to give every child in the world 12 years of quality education—roughly eight days of global military spending.
Since the first Global Citizen Festival in 2012, members of the movement have taken nearly 3 million actions toward ending extreme poverty around the world. The result, according to the organization, is 87 commitments and policy announcements, including cash commitments valued at $18.3 billion. This year’s iteration will be appropriately global, televised in over 100 countries and streamed worldwide via YouTube.
“It’s at once a great honor and very humbling to participate in the Global Citizen Festival,” said Ed Sheeran in a statement. “I look forward to sharing the stage with such an amazing lineup of artists in an effort to raise awareness, educate others, and work toward the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. I truly believe it’s possible if we all work together.”
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