Nearly 21 million Global Citizens tuned in to watch the Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 28, 2019, joining the 60,000 Global Citizens gathered in Central Park to celebrate the total impact of our campaign.
With 6.3 million views across its broadcast and its livestream, MSNBC reported the festival ratings were their best yet for the event, which has taken place annually in Central Park among other locations for the last seven years.
Total MSNBC viewers in 2019 increased by 29% compared to 2018 and it was the third straight year in which the festival increased ratings on MSNBC. More than 6 million viewed a portion of the Festival on MSNBC, and those who did watched for an average of 42 minutes, also a record.
YouTube reported 12.5 million viewer impressions, while Twitter had 1.7 million views of its livestream.
The 2019 festival led to nearly $1 billion in commitments being made to achieve the Global Goals and end extreme poverty.
With amazing performances by Queen + Adam Lambert, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Carole King, among many others, viewers on TV and online were treated to several rare experiences.
Carole King sang a surprise duet with Kelly Clarkson of King’s hit song, “Where You Lead.” The clip has been viewed 30,000 times online since its posting.
OneRepublic sang Beyoncé’s hit “Halo,” which frontman Ryan Tedder wrote for Beyoncé. The clip has been viewed 13,000 times online since its posting.
Leonardo DiCaprio made a passionate plea to leaders to support climate youth activates, a clip which has been viewed 10,000 times on YouTube since its posting.
And Queen + Adam Lambert’s rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” inspired thousands of people in Central Park to sing along with them. That clip has over 200,000 views on YouTube so far.
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?! @QueenWillRock + @AdamLambert had everyone on their feet at the 2019 Global Citizen Festival 🎸👑 pic.twitter.com/MSpfXurUeg
— Global Citizen (@GlblCtzn) September 30, 2019
“The Global Citizen movement depends on activating millions around the world to take action, speak up, and call on world leaders to make a difference. Global Citizen thanks MSNBC and Comcast NBCUniversal for their ongoing support of the movement to help the world’s poor. Television continues to play a powerful role in spotlighting the commitments made on-stage, and we cannot wait to see what we will accomplish in 2020 and beyond,” said Stephen Brown, Global Citizen’s VP of Partnerships.
The ratings are a good sign for Global Citizen’s 2020 campaign, which was launched on Sept. 26. The ambitious campaign is aiming to raise $350 billion in commitments to support the Global Goals in the world’s 59 poorest countries, and is culminating in a 10-hour broadcast of music festivals that will span five continents, on Sept. 26, 2020.