John Legend ,
Janet Jackson ,
The Weeknd and
Shawn Mendes are among the artists slated to appear at the 2018
Global Citizen Festival . The event will take place on 29 September on the Great Lawn in New York City’s Central Park.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness will host the festival, which calls on world leaders to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and end extreme poverty by 2030. The international advocacy group also wants leaders to tackle the maternal health crisis, end child marriage and reduce the use of plastics. The festival is a continuation of a series of events honouring the life and legacy of South African Nelson Mandela in his centenary year. Free tickets are distributed to those selected after becoming members of Global Citizens. [caption id=“attachment_4912361” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]
 Janet Jackson (L), John Legend (R). Images via Twitter @JanetJackson
@johnlegend[/caption] Global Citizen has held festivals since 2012 in New York’s Central Park on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly to rally support, especially among young people, in the fight against poverty. The group has since branched out overseas with seminars and music in
India , Germany and elsewhere. Unlike traditional benefit concerts, Global Citizen distributes tickets for free to supporters who pledge to take actions such as writing their governments to support international development assistance.
(With inputs from The Associated Press)