Global Citizen Festival

Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 to be held in Johannesburg, Headlined by Beyoncé & JAY-Z, Cassper Nyovest, D'banj, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Femi Kuti, Pharrell Williams & Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage, Usher, and Wizkid.
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Free-ticketed concert to celebrate centenary year of Nelson Mandela, honouring his legacy in the fight to end extreme poverty
 
Global Citizens to earn entry by taking action on health and nutrition, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, and the criminalization of poverty
 
International advocacy organisation Global Citizen today announced that Beyoncé & JAY-Z, Cassper Nyovest, D'banj, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Femi Kuti, Pharrell Williams & Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage, Usher, and Wizkid will headline the first Global Citizen Festival to be held in Africa, a free-ticketed event on Sunday, 2 December 2018 at the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg. 
 
The December event is the culmination of Global Citizen’s “Mandela 100” campaign in partnership with the House of Mandela; a series of global events honouring the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela in his centenary year.
 
Oprah Winfrey will deliver a special keynote address remembering Nelson Mandela and his legacy.
 
Executive producers of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 include Dr. Precious Moloi Motsepe, Patrice Motsepe, Kweku Mandela, Dave Holmes, Declan Kelly, Liza Henshaw and Hugh Evans.
 
Hosts of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 include Naomi Campbell, Sir Bob Geldof, Gayle King, Bonang Matheba, Tyler Perry, and Forest Whitaker.
 
The Festival broadcast will be produced by Ben Winston and Fulwell 73 Productions.
 
Nelson Mandela famously called for this generation to realise an end to extreme poverty in one of his last public speeches,  and Global Citizen has campaigned on this message with activist-driven events in Vancouver, London, Brussels, and at the upcoming 2018 Global Citizen Festival to be held in New York’s Central Park on 29 September. 
 
Activists and music fans can begin to earn their free tickets starting on August 21st and can sign up today at www.globalcitizen.org.za, demanding world leaders make major investments to end extreme poverty and take a stand for women and girls. The “Mandela 100” campaign seeks to mobilize USD $1 billion in new commitments for the world’s most marginalised people, with USD $500 million set to impact the lives of 20 million women and girls worldwide. These investments will be aimed at ending hunger and increasing access to good nutrition, ending neglected tropical diseases, reducing HIV transmission rates, ensuring every child receives a quality education, reforming and repealing sexist laws, providing funding for women’s health and family planning, and ensuring access to clean water and safe sanitation world wide.

"Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest examples of resistance, patience, and forgiveness that our world will ever know. It is our great honour to campaign in his name and answer his call to be the generation to end extreme poverty,” said Hugh Evans, Global Citizen, Co-Founder and CEO.
 
"We are honoured to play a humble role in the Nelson Mandela Centenary Celebrations in honour of our icon, Dr Nelson Mandela who is an inspiration to people throughout the world. We partnered with Global Citizen because of the good work they do in encouraging young people to bring change in the world and   their advocacy and commitment to end Global Poverty. The Motsepe Foundation has over many years initiated and supported projects in education, the provision of skills and expertise, health, research on HIV/AISD, sports, partnerships with religious and faith based organisations and traditional leaders, wildlife and environmental conservation. What I like about this concert is that, as much as much as it is free, young people gain entry based on the points they have accumulated through acts of activism,” said Patrice Motsepe.
 
"One of our goals at the Motsepe Foundation is to improve the living conditions and lifestyles of poor and the disadvantaged people in South Africa and globally. We have projects that are focused on the development of girls and women as well as the youth. We were impressed by the good work that  Global Citizen do in mobilising the youth to hold world leaders accountable and decided to partner with them. The youth is our future and the best investment that we can make in our future, is to invest in the youth," said Dr Precious Moloi Motsepe. 
 
Kweku Mandela said, "My grandfather instilled in me the need to use your voice and actions to champion the struggles of your community. He believed that poverty is man made and could be eradicated by our actions - I am proud to be a part of a movement that reflects this and use citizen power to drive real change."   
 
“This significant event not only honours the legacy of one of the greatest global citizens of our time, but provides a powerful platform for youth around the world to make a positive and tangible contribution for people and planet,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. "I am honoured to be a special guest speaker at the Festival and hope it truly inspires a youth-led movement to take action in both local and global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.” ​

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The Festival will be the culmination of a six-months long campaign engaging Global Citizens around the world on seven Global Goals:
 

• POVERTY: (Global Goal 1): End all forms of poverty everywhere
• ZERO HUNGER (Global Goal 2): End all forms of hunger and malnutrition
• HEALTH (Global Goal 3): Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
• EDUCATION (Global Goal 4): Ensure every child has access to a quality education
• GIRLS & WOMEN (Global Goal 5): End all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere to ensure that #SheIsEqual
• WATER & SANITATION (Global Goal 6): Ensure everyone has access to clean water and sanitation
• LIFE BELOW WATER (Global Goal 14): addressing the threat plastic pollution poses to the oceans.

 
Global Citizen is proud to join forces with the most forward thinking and innovative organizations committed to the mission and movement of ending extreme poverty.
 
The Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 will be presented by our Major Partner The Motsepe Foundation, with major partners, Johnson & Johnson, Cisco, Nedbank, Vodacom, Big Concerts, House of Mandela, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeepers, Eldridge Industries, and Associate Partner, HP.

For more information on how to join the movement, please visit www.globalcitizen.org.za and follow @GlblCtzn on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, using #BeTheGeneration