Yahoo Finance Selena Gomez to host Vax Live concert featuring special guests Prince Harry and Meghan, Chrissy Teigen, more
Celebrities are coming together to make a call for vaccine equity.
The international advocacy organization Global Citizen previously announced a new special, Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World. Hosted by Selena Gomez, the concert is intended to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and to help make a push for getting COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere.
The special asks that philanthropists and corporations donate enough "dollars-for-doses" to vaccinate over 27 million health workers serving on the frontlines of the global pandemic. It will also call on world leaders and global change-makers to prioritize equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world.
On Tuesday, organizers announced eye-catching new additions to the lineup, including special appearances from Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex; President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris as part of Global Citizen's partnership with White House initiative "We Can Do This"; and President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia.
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Other newly announced special guests include Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, David Letterman, Gayle King, Jimmy Kimmel, Nomzamo Mbatha, Olivia Munn, and Sean Penn.
"I'm honored to be hosting Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World," Gomez said in a statement. "This is a historic moment to encourage people around the world to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, call on world leaders to share vaccine doses equitably and to bring people together for a night of music in a way that hasn't felt possible in the past year. I can't wait to be a part of it."
Set to be pretaped at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, the concert will feature performances from Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin, and H.E.R.
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YouTube will also stream an extended version of Vax Live, which will feature additional performances and appearances by NCT 127 and YouTube creators Daniel El Travieso, Kati Morton, ShootforLove, Thembe Mahlaba, and the Try Guys.
"As a global community, we are in a race against time and the key to coming back together is the vaccine. We need to build vaccine confidence in the U.S. and globally, and encourage people to take the vaccine as quickly as possible," said Hugh Evans, Global Citizen co-founder and CEO, in a statement. "There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but getting vaccines to everyone, everywhere regardless of who they are or where they are from, is key to ensuring the end of this pandemic around the world. We must all unite to get back on track to eradicating extreme poverty."
The concert is executive produced by the Ad Council, YouTube Originals, iHeartMedia, Teneo, and Live Nation. Vax Live has support from the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister of Italy and G20 chair Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez, and the State of California.
This is part of Global Citizen's year-long 2021 Recovery Plan for the World, a campaign and series of events that aims to help end COVID-19, end the hunger crisis, resume learning everywhere, protect the planet, and advance equity for all.
Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World will air Saturday, May 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube, and iHeartMedia radio stations and the app. It will also air at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
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