Over 5.65 million collective actions of global citizens led world leaders to pledge $7.2 billion usd to ending extreme poverty
On Sunday, 02 December, the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg featured some of the biggest artists and advocates onstage for the first-ever Global Citizen Festival on the African continent. World and business leaders, non-profit organizations, socially conscious artists, and thousands of Global Citizens united and recommitted to achieving the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and ending extreme poverty by 2030.
The Festival featured headlining performances by Beyoncé & JAY-Z, Cassper Nyovest, D’banj, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Femi Kuti, Kacey Musgraves, Pharrell Williams & Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage, Usher & Black Coffee, andWizkid.
Hosted by Trevor Noah, co-hosts included Naomi Campbell, Sir Bob Geldof, Danai Gurira, Gayle King, Bonang Matheba, Tyler Perry, Nomzamo Mbatha, Anele Mdoda, and Dave Chapelle.
More than 75,000 Global Citizens attended, and millions watched and listened live in over 180 countries through premier broadcast partners SABC, Multichoice, Viacom’s MTV, MSNBC, iHeartMedia and Canal+.
In the months leading up to the Global Citizen Festival, Global Citizens took over 5.65 million actions leading to 58 commitments and announcements worth 163 trillion ZAR ($7.2 billion USD), which are set to affect the lives of 137.4 million people. Global Citizens will continue to use these commitments to hold governments and businesses accountable to deliver on their promises in the years to come.
The Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 set a historic stage for not only donor countries but also for African countries standing up for his hope for the future, making sure that Africa was standing up and getting its voice heard.
Global Citizen surpassed its goal for commitments of $1 billion USD by seven times, with commitments from the World Bank, Vodacom, PEPFAR, Cisco, the government of South Africa and not to mention co-hosts of Mandela 100, the Motsepe Foundation. These donations alone added $5.4 billion USD on top of projected new commitments.