Stevie Wonder and Green Day will headline a concert in New York to mobilise support for efforts to eradicate global poverty.
Happy pop star Pharrell Williams, chart-topping electronic duo The Chainsmokers and alternative rockers The Killers will also play the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on September 23, organisers announced on Tuesday.
Wonder said the festival came at a "crucial time", adding in a statement: "When we commit ourselves to life issues, we are showing love of the Most High."
The festival has drawn A-list stars annually since 2012 as the largely young audience presses world leaders for commitments to development as they gather in New York for the UN General Assembly.
The 2017 edition comes in a sharply different political climate even as needs mount amid crises ranging from intractable wars in Syria and Yemen to hunger on the Horn of Africa.
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Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said the timing was critical — after Donald Trump's shock US presidency win and Britain's vote to exit the European Union but also amid a rejection of right-wing populism in elections in France and The Netherlands.
"Now is a hugely important point for there to be a line drawn in the sand that says foreign aid matters, investing in education matters, investing in food and hunger matters," says Evans.
The festival, which has expanded over the past year to India and Germany, is free of charge with fans earning tickets by taking actions such as writing letters to their governments.
Hoping to expand its reach, the festival for the first time will be proceeded by a Global Citizen Week of discussions, films, art and music around New York.
Evans says the festival wants to reach out to people, including political centrists, who believe in the possibility of making change in the world.
"In the same way that extreme poverty has been halved in the past 30 years while I've been alive, actually in the next 30 years we can end it all together," he says.
Other acts to play the Global Citizen Festival include folk rockers The Lumineers, soul singer Andra Day, rising Canadian pop songwriter Alessia Cara and rapper Big Sean.
* Agence France Presse
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
